WLJ Ray Dall'Osto News

How we judge the judges?

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:16:58 CDT

The May 28th decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Matter of Judicial Disciplinary Proceedings Against Hon. Annette Ziegler, 2008 WI 47, sets the stage for what will next occur regarding Judge Michael Gableman, newly elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the numerous complaints that have been filed against him arising out of the down and dirty campaign tactics leading to the April 1st defeat of Justice Louis Butler.

Atticus Finch Was Wrong?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:47:49 CDT

Well, the unrelenting swiftboating I previously decried in this column worked as intended in last Tuesday’s election for state Supreme Court justice. The lies and distortions of the third-party groups’ ads were compounded by television ads run directly by Judge Michael Gableman’s campaign that criticized Justice Louis Butler for doing his job to effectively represent his client, years ago back when he was a public defender. Judge Gableman defended these unfair distortions on Election...

Swiftboating the Supreme Court

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:35:59 CDT

Aw c’mon, stop it! The latest round of television ads, the most recent coming directly from the campaign of Circuit Judge Michael Gableman, who is challenging Justice Louis Butler for his seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, represent a new low in judicial campaigns in Wisconsin.

Forfeiture by wrongdoing ? Will original intent prevail?

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:38:59 CST

The recent guilty verdict in the hard-fought homicide by poisoning case of State v. Mark Jensen has focused public attention on the “forfeiture by wrongdoing” rule, the parameters of which will be further defined by the United States Supreme Court in Giles v. California, Docket No. 07-6053. The Court granted certiorari in Giles in January 2008, to review the California Supreme Court decision, which adopted a reflexive broad rule of admissibility of hearsay, when a criminal defendant causes the unavailability of a declarant witness, regardless of the reason, motivation or connection to what might have been the declarant’s testimony or the intent to prevent such. People v. Giles, 40 Cal. 4th 833, 152 P.2d 433 (2007).

A New Years resolution you really can fulfill

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:10:49 CST

New Year’s Resolution 2008 -- don’t be afraid to ask the question.

Gift of the Magi...

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 14:00:16 CST

It is the holiday season again, and whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid or whatever, it is a time when many of us tend to be more charitable and forgiving of our fellow human beings. Is it because we recognize that we are all one big family?

The Day the Music Died…

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:53:45 CST

Last month’s arrests and shutdown of operations in England and the Netherlands of OiNK, the latest Napster-like attempt at peer-to-peer shared music downloads, was easily overshadowed in the news by the shutdown of the free press and public expression in Pakistan by General (and President for Life) Pervez Musharraf.

Race does count in sentencing

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:17:51 CDT

The First Tuesday in October 2007 has come and gone, with the United States Supreme Court taking up the important issue of what amount of judicial discretion should exist in the post-Booker world for a District Judge to sentence below the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

Ray Dall'Osto Bio

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:30:35 CDT

Ray Dall'Osto is a veteran criminal defense and constitutional law attorney, who practices with Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown in Milwaukee.