The four finalists for U.S. District Court Judge John C. Shabaz’s seat have also put in their names for the new opening Judge Barbara Crabb has created by announcing her plans to seek senior status. The Federal Nominating Commission has released the names of the 21 people hoping to succeed Crabb on the bench. Among [...]
The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three cases today. One of those cases involves an open records issue that the state Court of Appeals certified to the high court. In Milw. Journal Sentinel v. Wisc. Dept. of Admin. (2007AP1160), the Supreme Court will consider the ability of courts to review a legislative [...]
John Grisham’s “The Appeal” focuses on the dark side of electing appellate judges. He writes about the influence politics and outside money can have in an election process where the voters know so little about the candidates and the appellate system. This is a timely read in Wisconsin, given the amount of money spent in [...]
The state is considering a little change that could save an estimated half million dollars in its budget during the next two years. How little a change? About 1 ¾ inches to be exact. That’s how big the vehicle registration stickers are on the rear license plates of our cars, trucks and vans. Gov. Jim [...]
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case today looking at when elected judges should step aside in cases involving high-level campaign contributors. It’s an important issue as individuals, companies and organizations pour millions of dollars worth of support into judicial races. The last two Wisconsin Supreme Court races were marked by organizations spending millions [...]
A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge should be allowed to engage in political discussion, according to a federal trial court decision from the Eastern District of Wisconsin. U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb has upheld the free speech rights of judges. Crabb’s decision (PDF) in Siefert v. Alexander found the state Supreme Court Rules prohibiting [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court today determined that cheerleading is a team sport. As a result, a state statute granting recreational immunity to participants for injuries resulting from participation in team sports applies. The case, Brittany L. Noffke v. Kevin Bakke, 2006AP1886, arose after Noffke was injured when she fell from the top of a cheerleading [...]
The two candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court – Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Randy Koschnick – will face off in their first debate tomorrow. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association will host a debate between Abrahamson and Koschnick during its annual conference in Green Bay. That debate is scheduled to take [...]
The state Supreme Court will release a decision tomorrow in a case that has raised questions about who is liable for an injury that occurred during cheerleading practice. The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether the recreational immunity law, which limits liability for students participating in contact sports, extends to cheerleading activities. The case [...]
The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case that will determine a circuit court judge’s discretion regarding a John Doe proceeding. The court will consider a judge’s obligation to hear witnesses presented by the petitioner in such a situation. The case stems from a petition, filed by Ira Robins for a [...]
For the first time ever, Wisconsin Law Journal is turning to readers for their opinions on the best that Wisconsin has to offer. For our upcoming Best Of section, we’re looking for the best judges, the best law professors, even the best law-related Web site. We’re also looking for some fun things like the best [...]
Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has named Roland Burris to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate. Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, is senior counsel for Milwaukee-based Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan. Burris, who is based in Chicago, served as attorney general from 1991-95 and was only the second African American to that [...]
The state Supreme Court will take up Vince Biskupic’s libel and slander case against eight defendants, including a northern Wisconsin newspaper, for an article that ran 2004. Biskupic, who ran for state attorney general in 2002, filed a lawsuit in 2005 against the Shawano Leader, a reporter for the newspaper, a story source and five [...]
The Wisconsin Court System is seeking feedback on its Web site. They are asking visitors what they think of the site. A quick six-question survey posted on the Wisconsin Court’s Web site attempts to get feedback on how satisfied visitors are with the site, what they like, and what they’d like to see. A posting [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has announced that it will release a decision tomorrow in a case that has wrestled with a number of issues related to violation of a noncompete clause and tradename infringement. Link In 2000, M. Scott Statz and Steven Statz purchased a pier and boatlift installation business called D.L. Anderson’s Lakeside Leisure [...]
Back in school, a 70 Percent score on an exam was seen as passing. The teacher never identified it as “excellent” or “good.” Rather, papers and exams in the 70th percentile frequently bore the word “average.” So it could be said that when it comes to responding to requests for public information, Wisconsin gets a [...]
When it comes to Wisconsin statutes and local ordinances, there are many things they didn’t teach you in law school. Fortunately, Mark Toth, chief legal counsel of Manpower North America, has pulled together a number of the quirkier laws on his blog.However, he tossed in one “fake” law just to keep folks on their toes. [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has taken an important step in lifting the artificial veil that has existed since the state Court of Appeals was created 30 years ago. With a 6-1 vote, the justices have decided to allow lawyers to cite unpublished Court of Appeals decisions. For three decades, lawyers who found unpublished Court of [...]
For the past seven years, Wisconsin Law Journal has surveyed judges in specific locations around the state, such as Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Dane counties, as part of our annual Judges Directory. This year, with the help of the Director of State Courts office and scores of judges who answered our survey, we undertook the ambitious [...]
As Congress goes back and forth with the Bush Administration over a $700 billion plan to aid troubled Wall Street financial firms, legislators need to pay close attention to part of the emergency legislation that would unduly expand the powers of the executive branch. A Wall Street Journal blog recently posted a draft of the [...]
The field of candidates to succeed U.S. District Judge John Shabaz has gone from 16 to 5 to one. This week, President Bush nominated Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge J. Mac Davis to the Western District of Wisconsin bench. Now it’s up to the U.S. Senate to decide whether to confirm the 3rd District’s chief [...]
Driving around the other day, I was listening to a news story on the radio about the lack of support exonerated inmates receive in Michigan once they are released from prison. I was struck by the stories of several individuals who were released and left to languish, despite the fact that they had spent as [...]
Fourteen years ago, I received the unimaginable phone call in the middle of the night. A voice I did not recognize was telling me that my family had been in an accident with a drunken driver. He said my 37-year-old brother was dead and that my father, 57, was not expected to make it. He [...]
Although Wisconsin’s Supreme Court will continue releasing decisions into July, the U.S. Supreme Court has wrapped up its 2007-08 term. Many of the significant decisions released in the last few weeks were the result of 5-4 decisions along strong ideological lines with Justice Kennedy serving as the key vote. National Public Radio’s legal affairs analyst [...]
A Boston legal services group paid the price for the celebrations of rowdy Celtics fans, who got out of hand after the hometown team took its first championship title since 1986. Video shot during the celebration that got out of hand shows three street signs being tossed through the front windows of Greater Boston Legal [...]
For the third time, the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the Bush administration in its handling of detainees at Guantanamo. In yesterday’s 5-4 decision, the majority determined the detainees have a constitutional right to habeas corpus. Justice Anthony Kennedy who authored the majority decision was the swing vote for that decision. Justice [...]
On May 28, the Wisconsin Supreme Court disciplined one of its own. The justices determined that Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler should be publicly reprimanded for presiding over 11 cases involving a bank where her husband sat on the board of directors while she was a circuit court judge. Justice Louis B. Butler Jr. dissented from [...]
During her inaugural address, Diane Diel made the surprising revelation that one of her goals involved promoting discussion about the mandatory nature of the State Bar of Wisconsin. That’s a wise move on her part. The best thing that could happen is for attorneys in Wisconsin to have an open discussion about whether it’s better [...]
During a recent interview on National Public Radio, Justice Antonin Scalia explained his view that the U.S. Constitution is “dead” and should be treated as if it were. It should be viewed as it was by our forefathers in 1791. Any attempt to interpret for today opens the door for individual justices to insert their [...]
How long is too long to file a lawsuit? If you wait 147 years to file a lawsuit, you have blown any reasonable statute of limitations out of the water. Haven’t you? A 77-year-old Tampa woman is trying to collect on a loan one of her ancestors provided to the city during the Civil War. [...]
