Uppity Wisconsin
Making Wisconsin Progressive Again
"Beyond Thin" Judge Draws Notice for a SC Vacancy
Sat, 02/07/2009 - 9:59am | mal contends
Justice Diane P. Wood is drawing attention as a leading candidate to fill the first vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Wood is famous in some circles (especially in Wisconsin) for her judicial equivalent of voiced disgust shown towards Stephen Biskupic, former U.S. Atty for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, who launched several political prosecutions during his tenure with the Bush administration's Department of Justice, including the repulsive political prosecution of an innocent woman, Georgia Thompson.
Wood was nominated to serve as an appellate judge by President Clinton and confirmed in 1995.
As Mark Pitsch notes in a State Journal piece in 2007 [largely an it's-not-what-Biskupic-did-that-really-matters piece]:
Wood is famous in some circles (especially in Wisconsin) for her judicial equivalent of voiced disgust shown towards Stephen Biskupic, former U.S. Atty for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, who launched several political prosecutions during his tenure with the Bush administration's Department of Justice, including the repulsive political prosecution of an innocent woman, Georgia Thompson.
Wood was nominated to serve as an appellate judge by President Clinton and confirmed in 1995.
As Mark Pitsch notes in a State Journal piece in 2007 [largely an it's-not-what-Biskupic-did-that-really-matters piece]:
Georgia Thompson, a state purchasing agent for Doyle's Department of Administration, was indicted in January 2006 and convicted six months later in the midst of a heated gubernatorial election.
Tags: Pardon Jailed Wisconsin Veteran
Wed, 12/17/2008 - 6:53pm | mal contends
President-elect Barack Obama has tremendously more on his plate than reinventing government and restoring some semblance of accountability to Americans.
Ensuring that the world does not enter into a second depression, halting a war or two, saving the environment, formulating an industrial policy on alternative energy, one can go on; all are problems of a massive scale.
But readers of Uppity Wisconsin may notice a comment from a veteran posted this week about another veteran who is serving a four-year sentence in federal prison.
Ensuring that the world does not enter into a second depression, halting a war or two, saving the environment, formulating an industrial policy on alternative energy, one can go on; all are problems of a massive scale.
But readers of Uppity Wisconsin may notice a comment from a veteran posted this week about another veteran who is serving a four-year sentence in federal prison.
Biskupic Leaving in Disgrace
Wed, 12/03/2008 - 9:23am | mal contends
Stephen Biskupic, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (2002 - present) has announced that he is resigning in January before the new administration takes office.
Good riddance, though Biskupic allowed that he has amassed a good "track record."
Many Wisconsin Democrats and allies would agree with that positive performance assessment.
But I doubt that Biskupic is sending a Christmas card to the proven-innocent Georgia Thompson this year [see also Biskupic tried to 'squeeze' Georgia Thompson, and Investigate Biskupic].
Good riddance, though Biskupic allowed that he has amassed a good "track record."
Many Wisconsin Democrats and allies would agree with that positive performance assessment.
But I doubt that Biskupic is sending a Christmas card to the proven-innocent Georgia Thompson this year [see also Biskupic tried to 'squeeze' Georgia Thompson, and Investigate Biskupic].
Vets Get New Hearing with Obama
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 11:27am | mal contends
Tuesday, November 11 is Veterans Day. But the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA), charged with providing patient care and delivering veterans' benefits, has become a malfunctioning governmental agency.
Jailed Wisconsin Vet Loses Appeal, VA Claim Still Pending
Sun, 07/13/2008 - 8:35am | mal contends
via mal contends
In a unanimous opinion (07-1546) a three-member panel for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed the controversial conviction on fraud of Wisconsin Navy veteran, Keith Roberts.
In a unanimous opinion (07-1546) a three-member panel for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed the controversial conviction on fraud of Wisconsin Navy veteran, Keith Roberts.
The Roberts family is planning on filing a motion for an en banc hearing, a hearing before the full appellate court.
U.S. Atty Stephen Biskupic's office had convinced a jury that Roberts and a deceased Navy airman (Gary Holland) did not have a friendship, and Roberts who was on line duty at a Naval base in Naples, Italy on February 5, 1969 at the time that Holland was crushed to death by a C-54 aircraft, exaggerated his efforts to save Holland, which constituted fraud for which he was convicted in November 2006 by a jury in northern Wisconsin.
Weak grounds for a federal prosecution? These are the grounds on which the government successfully pursued a prosecution against this honorably discharged Navy veteran who served during a combat era.
Death of 1960s Navy Airman Focus of Jailed Vet's Plight
Sun, 06/15/2008 - 9:23am | mal contends
via mal contends - The death of Airman Gary Holland on February 5, 1969 continues today to cause hardship and despair.
Holland was crushed to death by a C-54 aircraft at a Naval base in Naples, Italy.
Holland's death causes despair today because former VA General Counsel attorney and VA national Director of Compensation and Pension Services, Renee L. Szybala, helped engineer the prosecution of Gary Holland's fellow airman, Keith Roberts, by US Atty Stephen Biskupic.
The crime?
The crime?
Jailed Wisconsin Veteran Awaits Court Decision, in Fed Prison for Claiming PTSD Benefits
Mon, 06/02/2008 - 10:01am | mal contends
via mal contends -
Madison, Wisconsin - Keith Roberts awaits the decision of his appeal before a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit as he sits in a federal prison in Minnesota because the United States government said he did not tell the truth about his service in the Navy.
Veterans are assumed under the Veterans Judicial Review Act of 1989 to be (as they often are) in an diminished capacity to tell the full truth of the circumstances they encountered that contributed to their suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The many stressors that would lead to the granting of disability benefit payments need to be rigorously documented to the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs' (VA) satisfaction, thus the VA claims process propagated under administrative rules is non-adversarial and paternalistic for the veterans.
Madison, Wisconsin - Keith Roberts awaits the decision of his appeal before a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit as he sits in a federal prison in Minnesota because the United States government said he did not tell the truth about his service in the Navy.
Veterans are assumed under the Veterans Judicial Review Act of 1989 to be (as they often are) in an diminished capacity to tell the full truth of the circumstances they encountered that contributed to their suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The many stressors that would lead to the granting of disability benefit payments need to be rigorously documented to the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs' (VA) satisfaction, thus the VA claims process propagated under administrative rules is non-adversarial and paternalistic for the veterans.
Weakening US Criminal Case, VA Turns Down Jailed Wisc Vet’s PTSD Claim
Tue, 05/13/2008 - 4:41pm | mal contends
by Michael Leon (via mal contends)
Madison, Wisconsin —Vietnam-era Navy veteran Keith Roberts (1968-71) is an honorably discharged Navy airman who feels betrayed by his government, specifically the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Dept of Justice, for its self-conscious and successful efforts to financially ruin and imprison him.
House Judiciary Comm Demands Action on Political Prosecutions, Including US Atty Biskupic's
Fri, 04/18/2008 - 7:40am | mal contends
via MAL Contends
The House Judiciary Committee is proceeding in investigating the Bush administration's political prosecutions.
Press Release from April 17
(Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Committee Members Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Artur Davis (D-AL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced three critical actions in the Committee's investigation into allegations of selective or poltiically-motivated prosecution in the Justice Department.
The Members today invited Karl Rove to testify before the committee; urged the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate those allegations; and demanded that Attorney General Michael Mukasey provide additional documents on this subject.
Today's actions result from the Committee's majority staff report, also released today, which details the cases, interviews and documents they have reviewed since the Committee began its investigation last year.
The House Judiciary Committee is proceeding in investigating the Bush administration's political prosecutions.
Press Release from April 17
(Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Committee Members Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Artur Davis (D-AL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced three critical actions in the Committee's investigation into allegations of selective or poltiically-motivated prosecution in the Justice Department.
The Members today invited Karl Rove to testify before the committee; urged the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate those allegations; and demanded that Attorney General Michael Mukasey provide additional documents on this subject.
Today's actions result from the Committee's majority staff report, also released today, which details the cases, interviews and documents they have reviewed since the Committee began its investigation last year.
Jailed Wisc Vet out of Solitary, Elderly Parents Pray for Visit with Son Before Their Death
Sun, 04/13/2008 - 10:02am | mal contends
Today is the innocent and jailed Wisconsin Navy veteran Keith Roberts' birthday.
And Roberts (1968-71) is celebrating it back in the general population in a federal prison in Minnesota, as his wife reports that he has been released from solitary confinement, and is working on a supplemental brief, ordered to be filed with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, while Roberts' parents, who are in their 80s and unable to travel to Minnesota, hope to see their son before they die.
Writes Mrs. Roberts in an e-mail:
Jailed Wisconsin Veteran Sent to Solitary Confinement, Seeks Help
Mon, 04/07/2008 - 9:07am | mal contends
An innocent and reportedly depressed Navy Airman Keith Roberts (1968-71) suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and serving a four-year sentence for wire fraud since March 2007, has for reasons unclear been moved and caged in solitary confinement in a federal prison in Minnesota for almost a month, according to the veteran's wife.
Roberts was targeted by the US Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2003-05, and became the central figure in an Alice-in-Wonderland tale, after U.S. Attorney Stephen Biskupic of Wisconsin and top VA officials schemed to convict Roberts’ of fraudulently receiving VA benefits (by wire transfer as the VA requires).
Despite hostility from high quarters of the VA, Roberts may be again granted the benefits for which he is federal prison for receiving.
U.S. Atty Biskupic is the same U.S. Atty who infamously prosecuted an innocent Wisconsin woman in a political prosecution, and several innocent Wisconsin citizens for voter fraud in apparent service to the electoral needs of the national GOP.
Roberts was targeted by the US Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2003-05, and became the central figure in an Alice-in-Wonderland tale, after U.S. Attorney Stephen Biskupic of Wisconsin and top VA officials schemed to convict Roberts’ of fraudulently receiving VA benefits (by wire transfer as the VA requires).
Despite hostility from high quarters of the VA, Roberts may be again granted the benefits for which he is federal prison for receiving.
U.S. Atty Biskupic is the same U.S. Atty who infamously prosecuted an innocent Wisconsin woman in a political prosecution, and several innocent Wisconsin citizens for voter fraud in apparent service to the electoral needs of the national GOP.
Report: Corrupt US Atty Ready to Investigate Wisc Voters in Primary
Mon, 02/18/2008 - 3:47pm | mal contends
Here's a reassuring bit of news. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that US Atty Stephen Biskupic stands ready to investigate any cases arising from casting votes in tommorow's presidential primary, if someone complains and the Milwaukee Co DA begs out from investigating.
Writes John Diedrich:
U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic said his prosecutors and the FBI will be available to investigate cases if citizens are dissatisfied with the response they get from the city Election Commission, police or local prosecutors.
Harper's Magazine: How Can US Atty Biskupic Continue in His Job?
Sat, 02/02/2008 - 9:20pm | mal contends
Harper's magazine remains the best watchdog of the U.S. Dept of Justice corruption.
From Scott Horton's column today blasting U.S. Atty Biskupic:
Compensating the Victims
The Bush Justice Department has engaged in a number of blatantly political prosecutions. One was already ascertained in an internal probe. My understanding is that a pending Inspector General investigation has reached the same conclusion in another case in which it confirmed Karl Rove’s intervention and involvement, and that it is looking at several more. And one of them was ascertained by a Court of Appeals decision, by a unanimous, all-Republican panel of the Seventh Circuit, which in fact labeled a prosecution, which produced a conviction and was before them on appeal, with a stinging one-word rebuke. They called it “preposterous.”
Compensating the Victims
The Bush Justice Department has engaged in a number of blatantly political prosecutions. One was already ascertained in an internal probe. My understanding is that a pending Inspector General investigation has reached the same conclusion in another case in which it confirmed Karl Rove’s intervention and involvement, and that it is looking at several more. And one of them was ascertained by a Court of Appeals decision, by a unanimous, all-Republican panel of the Seventh Circuit, which in fact labeled a prosecution, which produced a conviction and was before them on appeal, with a stinging one-word rebuke. They called it “preposterous.”
The Appeals judges ordered the immediate release of the prisoner after hearing the case, not even waiting for the issuance of an opinion. This was the case of Georgia Thompson, a Wisconsin civil servant, who was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney in Milwaukee with the evident purpose of helping the Republican candidate for governor get a leg up during the election. Moreover, the U.S. Attorney had previously been on Karl Rove’s list of prosecutors to fire, and after this and some other highly suspect cases, his name disappeared off the list. The facts speak for themselves, a lawyer might say.
Colon: Feds Should Cough Up Money for Corrupt Prosecution by US Atty
Thu, 01/31/2008 - 4:27pm | mal contends
Why should Wisconsin citizens get stuck with the $200,000 tab paid to an innocent Wisconsin woman who was the victim of a political prosecution by the United States Dept of Justice?
State Representative Pedro Colon (D-Milwaukee) says the federal government should foot the bill, not Wisconsin taxpayers.
United States Attorney Stephen Biskupic was excoriated by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit last year in an extraordinary decision that freed the innocent state worker, Georgia Thompson.
From the Associated Press:
MADISON,Wis. (AP) -- A lawmaker wants the state to force the federal government to reimburse an employee who was wrongly convicted in federal court.
Prosecute U.S. Atty Biskupic under Federal Criminal Code?
Fri, 01/25/2008 - 1:44pm | mal contends
The conduct of Stephen Biskupic, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (2002 - present) has generated two prominent reactions.
As arguably the most controversial U.S. Atty in Wisconsin history, Biskupic has drawn both praise and angry denunciation for his prosecutions of:
- The proven-innocent Georgia Thompson (see also Biskupic tried to 'squeeze' Georgia Thompson)
- Several overturned “voter fraud” cases (see also Voter-Fraud Complaints by GOP Drove Dismissals)
As arguably the most controversial U.S. Atty in Wisconsin history, Biskupic has drawn both praise and angry denunciation for his prosecutions of:
- The proven-innocent Georgia Thompson (see also Biskupic tried to 'squeeze' Georgia Thompson)
- Several overturned “voter fraud” cases (see also Voter-Fraud Complaints by GOP Drove Dismissals)