The National Association of Attorneys General are scheduled to meet Sept. 16-18 in Milwaukee on measures that prosecutors and law enforcement officials can take to keep children safe.
Read More »Author Archives: Dan Shaw, [email protected]
Prosecutors, law enforcement frustrated by synthetic drug legislation
Brown County officials had to wait months before prosecuting a man arrested in September on suspicion of selling synthetic drugs.
Read More »Outside spending on high court race tops $1.2 million (UPDATE)
Even though independent groups spent $1.2 million on the spring’s Supreme Court election, the contest was one of the cheapest in recent years.
Read More »Candidates’ spending tops $1 million in high court race (UPDATE)
The two candidates for last spring's Wisconsin Supreme Court election raised slightly more than $1 million through their campaigns.
Read More »Targeting politics on the bench
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Linda Clifford had a target on her back from the early days of her 2007 campaign.
State’s high court rules in contractor immunity case (UPDATE)
After 5-½ years of legal battles, Mark Showers has a state Supreme Court opinion supporting his argument that contractors should not have lawsuit immunity simply because they are working on public projects.
Read More »High court rules ATC must pay to take property in transmission project
A five-year lawsuit has ended with Scott and Lynnea Waller receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a utility company could not erect power lines on their former land without taking the whole property.
Read More »CAPITOLISMS BLOG: Concrete evidence of humor at the state’s high court
It’s hard to imagine anyone turning to Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings for entertainment.
High court rules concrete claims went beyond puffery (UPDATE)
In a case involving two construction companies, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s decision that a concrete manufacturer’s assurances about the quality of its product were not protected under laws allowing “puffery,” or exaggerated language in advertising.
Read More »Supreme Court rules in workers’ comp case
A lawyer who argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court is predicting its ruling Thursday will eliminate a “trap” that tripped up attempts to appeal workers’ compensation decisions.
Read More »State’s high court to take up 2 cases
The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it has accepted two new cases, one involving an insurance matter and the other the collection of a blood sample in an operating-while-intoxicated case.
Read More »CAPITOLISMS BLOG: A foolish consistency
Although Gov. Scott Walker’s 57 vetoes to the state’s new budget contained few surprises, the reasons given for his use of his powerful pen might have left some observers scratching their heads.
Walker signs budget that includes GPS, DNA changes
Counties would no longer have to come up with their own money if they want to test out using GPS devices to keep track of people who have been placed on restraining orders.
Read More »Pay-progression plan keeps state lawyers from getting 1 percent bump
State lawyers affected by a proposed attorney pay-progression plan won’t receive the 1 percent raise approved by committee Wednesday for most state and University of Wisconsin workers.
Read More »Prosecutors in peril: Dangers of job don’t deter attorneys in public eye
Assistant Attorney General Karie Cattanach has seen some disturbing things in her line of work, but it was a doctored photo of her 18-month-old daughter that shook her to the core.
Walker makes appointments to 2 benches
Gov. Scott Walker’s office announced Monday the appointments of two judges, one to the Eau Clair County Circuit Court Branch 1 and one to the Jefferson County Circuit Court Branch 3.
Read More »DNA collection proposal modified again
Days after the U.S. Supreme Court decided it is constitutional to take DNA samples from people arrested for serious crimes, state lawmakers made further changes to a proposal that would make such collections legal in Wisconsin.
Read More »Lawmakers expand state attorney pay progression proposal
Certain state lawyers’ salaries would progress through a 17-step system until they reach a maximum of $119,471 a year under a provision adopted by lawmakers in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Read More »Wis. Supreme Court budget concerns only partly answered
The chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court received only partial satisfaction Wednesday in response to her concern that a technical matter would cost the court millions of dollars over the next two years.
Read More »Bill would allow relatives to file suit over abortions
Lawmakers will consider bills Wednesday that would prohibit using abortions to avoid having a baby of a certain sex, bar a state health insurance plan from covering abortions in most circumstances and exempt insurers hired by religious organizations from having to cover contraceptives.
Read More »Lawmakers alter DNA collection proposal (UPDATE)
The Republicans who dominate the state’s Joint Finance Committee plan to keep Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to collect DNA samples from people who have been arrested on suspicion of felonies. But they could drop the plan to take them from those arrested for certain misdemeanors, the co-chairman of the committee said Thursday.
Read More »Grant to help eliminate racial disparities in justice system
Dane County will receive a $24,000 grant from the American Bar Association to help the county reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
Read More »Lawmakers want to test GPS restraining orders (UPDATE)
Lawmakers plan to use counties as testing grounds before implementing statewide Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to use GPS devices to track people who have been put under a restraining order.
Read More »Committee nixes solicitor general’s office (UPDATE)
The state’s Joint Finance Committee voted unanimously to eliminate Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to hire a solicitor general and three deputy solicitor generals to help the Department of Justice handle appeals and similar matters.
Read More »Committee scales back pay plan for newer state attorneys (UPDATE)
Wisconsin’s up-and-coming assistant attorneys general, public defenders and district attorneys won’t be able to make more than $57,688 a year under a new pay-progression plan adopted Tuesday by the state’s Joint Finance Commission.
Read More »State Supreme Court to take on 3 new cases
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to accept three new cases and reject 22 others.
Read More »Appealing to both sides
It’s a rare breed of lawyer that can successfully handle cases at trial and on appeal, but not specialize in either.
Budget committee approves labor relations cut
The state Legislature’s budget committee approved Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to reduce the workforce of a commission that deals with labor relations.
Read More »Assembly votes to cap lawyer contingency fees
The state Assembly voted 60-36 Wednesday in favor of a bill that would cap at $30 million the amount of contingency fees lawyers can collect for doing state work.
Read More »Walker’s budget calls for 13 fewer attorney positions
Gov. Scott Walker might be going too far, according to a nonpartisan fiscal report, if he cuts 65 percent of the staff jobs at a state commission that mediates labor disputes.
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