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Monday, February 16, 2009
Lawyers’ donations to Abrahamson disputed By Megan Orear The Daily Cardinal
lorenzo zemella/the daily cardinal
Students gathered in the Red Gym Sunday evening to partake in a Black History Month celebration. Two motivational speakers kicked-off the event, which was hosted by the Black Student Union.
BSU celebration inspires students for the future By Ryan Hebel The Daily Cardinal
Struggles and pain infused the “hope and change” sentiment last night when students gathered for a Black History Month event at the Red Gym. Far from static lecturers, emcees Kwbena Antoine Nixon and Muhibb Oyer roamed through the surrounding audience with electricity that mixed personal anecdotes, crowd participation and spoken-word tales of real world suffering in the black community. The distinguished poets’
message was clear. “Be the rose that bursts through the concrete,” Dyer said. UW-Madison sophomore Kasandra Bellamy said juggling college life and obstacles at home could be difficult for black students at Madison. “It does take a toll on you being in school and thinking about what’s going on at home, all your friends dying and struggling and having kids … there are just so many things you have to control and think about to be here,” she said.
According to Nixon, President Barack Obama’s recent election united more students than ever. Mirroring Obama’s campaign, the theme of this year’s Black History Month is “The Quest for Black Citizenship in America.” “This group of young people was the main cog in getting Barack elected, and they did it on a grassroots level so there’ll be a lot more … people getting involved because they can put a stake on it and say, ‘Yeah, we were a student union page 3
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson accepted donations from lawyers whose cases are still pending before the court, a move that has drawn ire from her opponent’s campaign. According to an investigation by the Associated Press, nearly 30 lawyers with cases pending before the Supreme Court contributed more than $30,000 to Abrahamson’s campaign since August. Seamus Flaherty, campaign advisor for Abrahamson’s opponent Jefferson County Judge Randy Koschnick, said Friday her acceptance of these donations and failure to disclose them to other parties in the case is “shocking.” “Starting with judicial ethics, judges are supposed to avoid even the appearance of partiality in cases, and the response from her campaign has been cavalier in light of the concerns that these donations raise,” Flaherty said. According to Heather Colburn, Abrahamson’s campaign manager, donations from lawyers with pending cases are legal and very common, and many lawyers who contribute to Supreme Court races have at one point gone before the Court. “Campaign contributions are part of the electoral system, and it’s not surprising that people who have been before [Abrahamson] respect her and want to be a part of her reelection campaign,” she said. Koschnick signed a Clean Campaign Pledge when he
announced he was running in November, which includes a promise to return such donations. According to Flaherty, Koschnick has received no donation offers he had to give back. Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe said this issue of donations and conflicts of interest are “a symptom of the bigger problem that we have with the way Supreme Court elections are run nowadays.”
“Candidates for Supreme Court nowadays are damned if they do, damned if they don’t.” Mike McCabe Executive Director Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
According to McCabe, Supreme Court candidates could either stay away from financial conflicts, lose control of their campaigns and likely lose the race, or “enter the money game” and deal with constant conflict of interest charges. “Candidates for Supreme Court nowadays are damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” McCabe said. “This just screams out for reform.” Judicial candidates are particularly vulnerable to conflict of interest charges, but if they do not accept enough donations, they could be outspent by outside interest groups, according to McCabe.
He sweeps, he scores
Police say old evidence convicts alleged rapist By Caitlin Gath The Daily Cardinal
Courtney Cowins, the alleged suspect in a brutal rape and beating of an East side Madison resident in 2006, has been charged with first-degree sexual assault based on evidence police say they had all along. According to Channel 3000, the evidence used to convict Cowins in his December 2006 crime was mistakenly left off the list of evidence to be sent to the crime lab. However, the underwear of the victim possessed DNA which matched that of Cowins. Cpt. Tom Snyder of the Madison
Police Department said the mistake was simply a clerical error. “It was not included on the initial property list but it was included within the narrative of a police report, so unfortunately it wasn’t noted at the time,” he said. “It was just a matter of finding it within a narrative of a police report, and that’s what happened.” In addition to being charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault, Cowins also faces charges of burglary, battery and recklessly endangering safety. Cash bail for Cowins was set at $70,000. His preliminary hearing has been set for Feb. 19.
Residents of the Jana Lane neighborhood, the area where the crime occurred, are just happy to see Cowins behind bars after allegedly committing such a violent crime. “The whole district is relieved he has been apprehended now and is off the street,” Ald. Joe Clausius, District 17, said. “This really frightened everyone, this whole invasion that happened.” According to a recent crime report by the FBI, overall crime throughout Madison in 2008 went down 1.9 percent compared to 2007, but violent crime increased by about 6 percent.
East Washington Street gas station suffers armed robbery An armed robbery occurred at an East Washington Street gas station early Friday morning. At around 1:30 a.m. Friday, several police officers responded to the BP gas station, located at 4222 E. Washington St., after a
man allegedly robbed the station. According to police, the suspect entered the gas station with a gun showing and attempted to flee with an unknown amount of money. The suspect is described as
a white male, possibly between 5'8" and 5'10", and of thin build. He is said to be wearing a grey or light blue jacket. A police canine was used in an attempt to locate the suspect, but he was not found.
nick kogos/the daily cardinal
Students get down and snowy while playing broomball on Lake Mendota Sunday as part of the Hoofers’ annual Winter Carnival.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”