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Wisconsin Judicial Council seeks ways to stay relevant

By: Michaela Paukner, [email protected]//September 20, 2019//

Wisconsin Judicial Council seeks ways to stay relevant

By: Michaela Paukner, [email protected]//September 20, 2019//

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As fewer projects from outside committees and agencies come to the Wisconsin Judicial Council, its members are debating ways to keep the committee relevant.

The Judicial Council studies and makes recommendations relating to court pleading, practice and procedure. The 21-person committee includes Wisconsin judges, lawyers, state lawmakers, the deans of UW Law School and Marquette University Law School, and citizens.

Bill Gleisner, chair of the Judicial Council, said the committee is responsible for finding worthwhile projects for its members. He said tasks coming from other agencies and committees have dwindled over the last decade, but he emphasized the continued importance of the Judicial Council’s role.

“We have a good history of the Supreme Court taking our recommendations seriously,” said Gleisner. “It’s our duty to speak up.”

The Judicial Council has six projects up for discussion for 2019-20. The committee reviewed two at its Friday meeting, including forming a subcommittee to monitor the discussions of the U.S. Judicial Conference, the national policy-making body for the federal courts. Gleisner said the subcommittee would focus on conference matters related to criminal procedure, civil procedure and evidence.

Some committee members expressed concern about dedicating time to the initiative, saying it was a huge assignment to give limited staff. The committee discussed resources they could utilize to make gathering information less time intensive, with the consensus that two people will focus on the federal level while one monitors state Supreme Court matters. The three members will share their findings with the chair over the next few months, and then the committee will discuss next steps for the project.

The next Judicial Council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 18 at the state Capitol.

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