The state commission that kept the guidelines current no longer exists and that makes considering them a pointless exercise, the District 2 Court of Appeals said.,”MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin lawmakers should scrap a law requiring judges to consider sentencing guidelines when punishing people who commit certain felonies, an appeals court said Wednesday.

The state commission that kept the guidelines current no longer exists and that makes considering them a pointless exercise, the District 2 Court of Appeals said.

Lawmakers eliminated the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission in a cost-saving measure in last year's state budget. The commission was created in 2001 to study sentencing patterns in Wisconsin, with a goal of making them more uniform from county to county.

Judges were to fill out worksheets when they sentenced people on 11 of the most common felonies showing how they arrived at the punishment. Factors such as the type of victim and offender's history were to be considered.

The guidelines recommended sentencing ranges but judges did not have to follow them. The worksheets were analyzed by the commission, which used them to keep guidelines current and advise other judges.

But lawmakers failed to repeal a law that requires judges to consider the guidelines when they eliminated the commission. The appeals court warned Wednesday that is giving defendants an avenue for appeal since many judges are no longer filling out the worksheets or looking at the guidelines.

Lawmakers must get rid of the law, Chief Judge Richard Brown wrote for a three-judge panel.

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Panel named to hear Wis. misconduct case is nixed

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Never mind.

Hours after naming a three-judge panel to hear the misconduct complaint against Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, court officials withdrew the order.

Court spokesman Tom Sheehan would not say why the panel was suddenly disbanded. He says a different panel will be named at a future date.

The panel named earlier Wednesday included appeals court judges Harry Snyder and Ralph Adam Fine and reserve judge Neal Nettesheim. Snyder was to act as its presiding judge.

The committee is to hear the Judicial Commission's complaint that Gableman violated an ethics rule when his campaign ran a television ad that made misleading claims about his opponent.

If the panel finds the complaint has merit, it will make a recommendation on Gableman's punishment to his colleagues on the Supreme Court.

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Menominee want Wis. casino review postponed

KESHENA, Wis. (AP) – The Menominee Indian tribe is asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to postpone a ruling on a potential off-reservation casino until President Bush is out of office.

In a letter dated Wednesday, Tribal Chairman Lisa Waukau said the tribe fears a "hasty" decision by Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne based on political pressure. She asks that the decision be left to the next presidential administration.

The application was filed a little more than two years ago. It asks that land at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park at Kenosha be taken into federal trust on behalf of the Menominee for gaming.

Tribe spokesman Evan Zeppos says Kempthorne is well-known for ruling against off-reservation gaming.

Kempthorne did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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Wis. Guard: Iraq experience will help unit

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Fighting in foreign lands is nothing new for the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, but the brigade might be in its best shape ever to handle a massive deployment to Iraq next year, guard commanders said Wednesday.

More than half of the 3,500 or so soldiers in the brigade are combat veterans and many already have completed tours in Iraq, resulting in better preparation that should help save lives this time around, said Wisconsin Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson.

"We have a lot of operational experience we didn't have before," Anderson said. "It should translate into a much smoother transition … to the theater of combat."

The 32nd Brigade is made up of units in 36 Wisconsin communities. Most of the brigade is made up of part-time soldiers from around Wisconsin, although several dozen soldiers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan also belong to the unit.

The Wisconsin National Guard announced in September as many as 3,500 soldiers from the 32nd and six other Wisconsin Army National Guard units will head to Iraq next spring for a 10-month tour.

They'll report for duty at local armories in mid-February and spend two months training at Fort Bliss in Texas before heading overseas. Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Donovan has described their mission as "security," but declined to elaborate.

The deployment will be the largest of Wisconsin National Guard forces to a combat zone since World War II.

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