Reactions from the right and left to the decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to end the “John Doe” investigations by a Democrat prosecutor targeting several conservative groups have been markedly different.

The allegations of political coordination with the Scott Walker campaign resulted in pre-dawn paramilitary raids on homes of Republicans, which is a gross excess of the government’s power to investigate potential wrongdoings.

For centuries under Anglo-American law, nighttime raids for search and seizure purposes have been disfavored except in exigent circumstances.  They are inherently dangerous for those being searched, and for searching agents who could be mistaken as intruders and shot.

Rick Moran captures several perspectives from the right that are highly critical of the abusive nature of this political witch hunt (“Wisconsin Supreme Court ends 'John Doe' investigations”).

Meanwhile, the left is not celebrating that these grotesque investigations were stopped, but is complaining that its authority to limit political speech is impeded.  The leftwing Center for Media and Democracy writes:

Justice Shirley Abrahamson, writing in dissent, called the majority's decision "an unprecedented and faulty interpretation of Wisconsin's campaign finance law and of the First Amendment." Justice Patrick Crooks' dissent warned that the majority's decision "will profoundly affect the integrity of our electoral process."

Besides handing Walker a political victory just days after he announced his presidential run, the ruling eviscerates in Wisconsin campaign finance law--and could threaten similar limits around the country.

The 4-2 opinion ending the John Doe investigations shows the violations of privacy, personal property rights, and, yes, dignity that the anti-free speech left used in this investigation.  Justice Michael Gableman writes:

The breadth of the documents gathered pursuant tos ubpoenas and seized pursuant to search warrants is amazing.Millions of documents, both in digital and paper copy, were subpoenaed and/or seized. Deputies seized business papers, computer equipment, phones, and other devices, while their targets were restrained under police supervision and denied the ability to contact their attorneys. The special prosecutor obtained virtually every document possessed by the Unnamed Movants relating to every aspect of their lives, both personal and professional, over a five-year span (from 2009 to 2013). Such documents were subpoenaed and/or seized without regard to content or relevance to the alleged violations of Ch. 11. As part of this dragnet, the special prosecutor also had seized wholly irrelevant information, such as retirement income statements, personal financial account information, personal letters, and family photos.

Both the Wisconsin “John Doe” investigation and subsequent reactions expose the Stasi DNA of the left.