Every so often you see a story that makes you ashamed of the legal profession. Lisa Holewa of AOLNews reports here about Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth, who sent a letter threatening prosecution of sex ed teachers in his county if they comply with a new Wisconsin sex education law. 

According to Holewa’s story, “In his letter, Southworth told school district leaders the new law promotes sexual assault of children, and warns that teachers who follow the law could be charged with misdemeanor or felony delinquency of a minor, with maximum punishments ranging from nine months in jail to six years in prison.”

Here is a copy of Southworth’s letter. Incredibly, the University of Wisconsin Law School gave this man a diploma. They must not have been screening for fanatics that year. 

Southworth does not agree with the new law, the Healthy Youth Act, and is apparently proceeding under his own version of the nullification doctrine. Under the Southworth world view, if the district attorney in a county disagrees with a new state law, he can threaten criminal prosecution of anyone who obeys it.

Holewa reports that the Healthy Youth Act “requires schools with sex-education courses to teach students medically accurate, age-appropriate information, including how to use birth control and prevent sexually transmitted diseases.” Southworth maintains that a teacher who instructs a student 16 years of age or younger on how to use birth control devices under the Act could be guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor if the teacher knows that the student is already regularly engaging in intercourse or if the “natural and probable consequences” of the teacher’s instruction causes the student to so engage.

The idea that a teacher could be guilty of violating a Wisconsin criminal statute, for engaging in conduct mandated by a Wisconsin civil statute is absurd. This is one of the most sickening examples of politicizing the criminal justice process that I have ever seen.

Southworth is a disgrace to the legal profession.

Weingarten’s experience as a Superior Court juror was similar to mine. Amazingly, the prosecutor did not move to strike me, despite my status as a criminal defense attorney. The other jurors and I listened to a day and a half of testimony and argument in a gun possession case, and almost immediately voted to acquit, because the lone police officer’s story was simply not credible. I didn’t have to do any arguing. Nobody did. We all walked backed to deliberate, took a vote, and found that it was 12-0 for acquittal.