Madison Attorneys Alledge Illegal Conduct By Republican Legislative Leaders

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http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2011/03/madison-attorneys-allege-illegal.html
The Wisconsin Constitution absolutely prohibits members of the Wisconsin Senate from being arrested for a non-criminal offense. The failure or refusal of a senator to attend a session of the senate is not a crime. Nor is it in contempt of the Senate. Moreover, the Senate’s authority to cite any individual for contempt is limited to those offenses listed in Wis. Stat. §13.26(1), none of which have been committed by any of the absent senators. The Wisconsin Senate’s action today in citing fourteen of its members for contempt for their refusal to attend the Senate’s sessions and to issue warrants for their arrest has no basis in the law of this state.

Each house of the Wisconsin Legislature may “compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.” Wis. Const. Art. IV, §7. However, the Wisconsin Constitution confers on each legislator a broad privilege from arrest:

Members of the legislature shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest; nor shall they be subject to any civil process, during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

1. And that would be a problem if "Rule of Law" ment anything to Repbublicans

[divine_truine]

2. No schit! sherlock!

gop seriously poisoning the political [process. gop devoid of integrity & courage and will not admit they cannot stand the fact that obama won the '08 election! OMFG! You mean to tell me the gop are proud of the 8 yrs. of bush? and want more of it? gop have all but pissed off union & non-union workers for the last time. REPUBLICANS' TRUE CONSTITUENTS ARE THOSE KOCH-WHORE CORPORATIONS WHOSE FOCUS IS PROFIT$ OVER HUMANS!

[FBaggins]

3. What do they funk "compel" means?

This is a very interesting legal interpretation that tries to claim that they can't ACTUALLY compel anything.

These senators are lawmakers and well understand what the provision means. That's WHY they left the state. They knew that they could be arrested if they didn't.

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4. kick