MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Capitol Police have declined to investigate the leak of a state Supreme Court abortion order in June citing a conflict of interest, but the court's chief justice told The Associated Press she is pursuing other options.
Chief Justice Annette Ziegler told AP via email on Thursday that she continues “to pursue other means in an effort to get to the bottom of this leak.” She did not respond to messages last week and Monday asking what those other means were. Other justices also did not return a request for comment Monday.
Ziegler called for the investigation on June 26 after the leak of a draft order that showed the court would take a case brought by Planned Parenthood that seeks to declare access to abortion a right protected by the state constitution. A week after the leak, the court issued the order accepting the case.
The draft order, which was not a ruling on the case itself, was obtained by online news outlet Wisconsin Watch.
Ziegler said in June that all seven of the court's justices — four liberals and three conservatives — were “united behind this investigation to identify the source of the apparent leak. The seven of us condemn this breach.”
Ziegler told AP last week that the justices asked State Capitol Police to investigate the leak. That department is in charge of security at state office buildings, including the Capitol where the Supreme Court offices and hearing chamber are located. The police are part of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' administration.
That created a “clear conflict” given the governor's “significant concern about outcome of the court’s decisions in addition to being named parties in several matters currently pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Evers' administration spokesperson Britt Cudaback said.
Evers is not a party to the case where the order was leaked, but he has been outspoken in his support for abortions being legal in Wisconsin.
Cudaback said Capitol Police had a conflict because any investigation “will almost certainly require a review of internal operations, confidential correspondence, and non-public court documents and deliberations relating to any number of matters in which our administration is a party or could be impacted by the court’s decision.”
However, Cudaback said Evers' administration agreed there should be a thorough investigation “and we remain hopeful the Wisconsin Supreme Court will pursue an effort to do so.”
Ziegler noted that unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the state Supreme Court does not have an independent law enforcement agency that can investigate.
Investigations into the inner workings of the Wisconsin Supreme Court are rare and fraught.
In 2011, when Justice Ann Walsh Bradley accused then-Justice David Prosser of choking her, the Dane County Sheriff's Department led the investigation. That agency took over the investigation after the chief of Capitol Police at the time said he had a conflict. But Republicans accused the sheriff of having a conflict because he was a Democrat who endorsed Bradley.
The Sauk County district attorney acted as special prosecutor in that case and declined to bring charges.
The leaked order in June came in one of two abortion-related cases before the court. The court has also accepted a second case challenging the 1849 abortion ban as too old to enforce and trumped by a 1985 law that allows abortions up to the point when a fetus could survive outside the womb.
Oral arguments in both cases are expected this fall.
FILE - Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler listens to arguments at the Supreme Court in Madison, Nov. 11, 2013. (M.P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - The entrance to the Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers is seen inside the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond, File)
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray recently turned 27, but he brushed off a suggestion during preseason camp that he might be creeping toward veteran status in the NFL.
“I'm still young,” he said, grinning.
Not really. But honestly, that's a very good thing for the Arizona Cardinals.
Now in his sixth season, the former No. 1 overall pick is at the top of his game. His performance in Sunday's 41-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams was one of the best of his career. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 59 yards.
He's making great decisions. He's making great throws. He's got a solid offensive line blocking for him. He's got a second-year coach in Jonathan Gannon who believes in him.
Life is pretty good these days.
“Great game," Murray said on Sunday. "Marvelous work out there. Great team effort on offense, defense and special teams. We had a great week of practice. I expect to come out here and play like this when you’ve prepared and you’ve got a great feel for it.”
Murray wasn't the only player who had a big day. Rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. caught his first two NFL touchdown passes and had 130 yards receiving. James Conner ran for 122 yards.
The Cardinals (1-1) are a work in progress, but the win was an important step against an NFC West rival that's given them loads of trouble over the past decade. The Cardinals had lost nine straight at home to the Rams.
For a franchise that endured back-to-back 4-13 seasons in 2022 and 2023, it was a positive sign.
The Cardinals' defense isn't filled with a lot of well-known names, but it cobbled together an effective performance. Arizona put pressure on Matthew Stafford with five sacks after having just 33 last season, which ranked near the bottom of the NFL. They're very good at safety with Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson and have a strong group of linebackers, led by Kyzir White and Mack Wilson.
The Murray-to-Harrison combination looks like it could be dynamite as the two touchdowns showed on Sunday. But there are still some chemistry issues to work out. All of Murray's four incompletions came on Harrison targets. Both players say they're just now beginning to understand how to best play with each other.
“We left a lot of meat on the bone,” Gannon said.
Edge rusher Dennis Gardeck had one of the best games of his career with three sacks, providing the kind of consistent pressure on an opposing quarterback that the team has sorely missed over the past year. The 30-year-old is a fan favorite in the desert, making the team in 2018 as an undrafted free agent after playing in college at Sioux Falls (South Dakota), a Division II school at the time. He worked his way up, beginning as a special teams ace before developing into a starter.
Receiver Greg Dortch had a quiet day with two catches for 11 yards, but that's mostly because Murray has so many options that someone is going to be left out each week. Baker got turned around on one of the Rams' few big gains, losing the ball in the air before recovering to make the tackle.
Gannon said the Cardinals came out of Sunday fairly healthy. Rookie DL Darius Robinson (calf) has to miss at least two more games before he's eligible to come off injured reserve.
31 — The 41-10 final score was the biggest margin of victory for the Cardinals since 2016, when they beat the Rams 44-6.
The Cardinals host another tough opponent in the Detroit Lions on Sunday. It's the second game of three straight at State Farm Stadium.
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Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) celebrates the touchdown by running back James Conner during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) celebrates in the end zone his touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. The Arizona Cardinals won 41-10. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
