The Wisconsin "John Doe" investigations of conservatives has ended in fiasco ... for prosecutors. John Doe No. 1, clearly aimed at Scott Walker, focused on Walker's time as Milwaukee County Executive. Despite enourmous efforts led by Democratic prosecutor John Chisholm, no evidence of wrongdoing by Walker was found. John Doe No. 2, focused on alleged illegal coordination between conservative activists and the Walker campaign during the 2011 Recall Election, was far more notorious. Prosecutors, again led by Chislhom, used SWAT-like raids on homes, seized electronics and electronic records, and pretty much terrorized almost the entire conservative activist community in Wisconsin. Prosecutors denied that Walker was the target, something belied by the intimidation of all those who surrounded him. John Doe No. 2 ended with a stinging rebuke to prosecutors by the Wisconsin Supreme Court:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has effectively killed the "John Doe" case which led to home raids and intimidation of a wide range of Wisconsin conservative activists. The decision is embedded at the bottom of this post. Here is the key finding, which completely shreds both the legal theories and motives of the prosecutors, completely vindicates the targets, and praises those who fought back legally against prosecutorial misconduct (emphasis added):

¶133 Our lengthy discussion of these three cases can be distilled into a few simple, but important, points. It is utterly clear that the special prosecutor has employed theories of law that do not exist in order to investigate citizens who were wholly innocent of any wrongdoing. In other words, the special prosecutor was the instigator of a "perfect storm" of wrongs that was visited upon the innocent Unnamed Movants and those who dared to associate with them. It is fortunate, indeed, for every other citizen of this great State who is interested in the protection of fundamental liberties that the special prosecutor chose as his targets innocent citizens who had both the will and the means to fight the unlimited resources of an unjust prosecution. Further, these brave individuals played a crucial role in presenting this court with an opportunity to re-endorse its commitment to upholding the fundamental right of each and every citizen to engage in lawful political activity and to do so free from the fear of the tyrannical retribution of arbitrary or capricious governmental prosecution. Let one point be clear: our conclusion today ends this unconstitutional John Doe investigation.

Andrew Grossman, who filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case and who has served as counsel to Eric O'Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth (two of the targets of the investigation) in various federal civil rights litigation against the prosecutors, provided me with the following statement:

Today's decision puts an end to one of the worst abuses of power ever seen in Wisconsin law enforcement. The next step will be holding those responsible accountable for their actions. The Court's recognition that the John Doe was a politically motivated "dragnet" of Gov. Walker's allies provides strong support for Cindy Archer's civil rights action against the Milwaukee prosecutors and lawsuits by potentially any of the other John Doe targets.

We previously covered Cynthia Archer, Wisconsin Dems used battering rams against Scott Walker supporters – literally Archer was a woman whose home was raised by paramilitary-style commandos working at the behest of Milwaukee County Prosecutor John Chishom as part of "John Doe No. 2." Archer's only alleged crime was being a former aide to Scott Walker, and being conservative. That flimsy pretense was enough enough to make her a target in the second (hence, John Doe No. 2) secret investigation of Walker, based on the allegation that there was illegal campaign coordination among conservative groups and the Walker campaign during the Recall election. We have covered the legal proceedings extensively. The federal and state courts have rejected the prosecution's theory in the face of lawsuits alleging, among other things, that the laws on campaign coordination and the investigations violated freedom of speech. The key case as to the investigation now is on appeal in the state court system, and the John Doe No. 2 investigation is on hold. Our John Doe (WI) Tag traces the history of the cases. But lost in this legal wrangling is the damage done to real people, such as Archer. She explained what happened to her to David French in National Review: