Brunner acquitted in crash that killed Marquette lacrosse players (MILWAUKEE)
Acquittal for a driver involved in a fatal, highly publicized crash in Milwaukee. Judge David Swanson read the verdicts Thursday in Milwaukee County Court in the trial of 43-year-old Amandria Brunner, charged in connection with a crash that killed two Marquette University lacrosse players last September. Brunner was acquitted of six felonies including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle in the deaths of 19-year-old Scott Michaud and 20-year-old Noah Snyder. The driver of the Jeep they were passengers in, 21-year-old Peter McColgan, is charged with two counts of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle. Brunner’s defense acknowledged she was drunk when the crash occurred but argued McColgan was responsible as he was speeding and attempting to beat a yellow light.
Wisconsin Supreme Court rules against state’s race-based college grant program (MADISON)
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rules a race-based college grant program is unconstitutional. The unanimous decision released Thursday saw conservative Justice Annette Ziegler authoring an opinion in which she was joined by conservative justices Rebecca Bradley and Brian Hagedorn and liberal Janet Protasiewicz. The court’s three other liberal justices wrote a concurring opinion. The conservative Wisconsin Institute For Law and Liberty represented plaintiffs and calls the ruling which will end the state’s Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant a “major win for students.” The program provides $2,500 annually for Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and certain Southeast Asian students attending private, tribal or technical colleges. Wisconsin voters in November will be asked to approve a Constitutional amendment to prohibit consideration of race by the UW System or state government.
Call for new gun laws at Capitol (MADISON)
At the Capitol, calling attention to child victims of gun violence in Wisconsin. Advocates spoke in the rotunda this week alongside portraits of kids killed by guns. That display remains in place for the remainder of June, which is Gun Violence Awareness Month. State Senator LaTonya Johnson of Milwaukee said the deaths of children ” should not be normal, and it should never be accepted.” Nick Matuszewski with Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort said universal background checks and red flag laws could save lives. Gun rights advocates argue those would be ineffective, since most gun deaths are committed by persons who are prohibited from owning firearms.