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Arguing that the law penalizes those who exercise their constitutional right of association, Madison lawyer Lester Pines argued Monday that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court should strike down the state’s controversial collective bargaining legislation.

Republican lawmaker’s push to retool the way Wisconsin’s chief justice title is bestowed could be, longtime Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said Wednesday, a result of her ability to use the “bully pulpit.”

The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday meant in part to prevent prosecutors from having to enlist pharmacologists to attest to the psychological effects of synthetic drugs in cases against sellers of the banned substances.

Lawmakers struck a compromise Tuesday on legislation meant to remove obstacles to the involuntary treatment of people suffering from mental illnesses.

Until 5:05 p.m. Wednesday night, state Rep. Gary Hebl thought there would be an amendment to a bill requiring the installation of devices that prevent someone convicted more than once of drunken driving from starting a car after having a drink.

Despite concerns that the move might be “only political” in nature, an Assembly committee on Thursday voted in favor of a measure that would amend Wisconsin’s constitution to require biennial elections of the state’s chief justice.

Lawmakers are considering special fees for insurers as the price to prevent fraud in the state’s workers’ compensation system.

A Wisconsin Court of Appeals declined Monday to issue a legal stay the state attorney general had sought in a challenge of a 2011 law stripping most public workers of collective-bargaining rights.

The Wisconsin Attorney General is calling on the state Supreme Court and court of appeals to allow school union elections to go forward despite a Dane County judge’s order to the contrary.

As the State Bar and others work on alternatives to Supreme Court elections, a new report pointed to the increasingly high spending on races for Wisconsin’s highest court.

State Supreme Court justices heard arguments Wednesday debating what sort of domestic-partnership law would comply with the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The group questioning the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s domestic partnerships registry has changed tactics now that it is bringing its case to the state Supreme Court, according to a lawyer specializing in family law.



Annette Bruner’s son meant much more to her than $25,000.

Bar and liquor owners could obtain judgments of $1,000 against underage drinkers they sue in civil court under a bill passed by the state Senate on Tuesday.

The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday governing what information doctors are obliged to provide to patients.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced Friday that it has accepted five new cases and denied opportunities to review a long list of others.

In amending a bill concerning what doctors must tell patients about alternatives to prescribed medical treatments, lawmakers have missed the mark, says the president of Wisconsin’s trial lawyers association.

Prosecutors would no longer have to enlist pharmacologists to attest to the psychological effects of synthetic drugs in cases against sellers of the banned substances, under a bill heard by the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor on Wednesday.

Republican state senators shot down four amendments Democrats offered Tuesday to a bill that would place a $30 million cap on the contingency fees the state can pay to law firms.

Underage drinkers who use fake IDs to buy alcohol would be subject to civil lawsuits under a bill passed by a state Senate committee.

State lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday that would require divorcees to provide notice courts of a new marriage, triggering a cessation of child support and maintenance payments.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next month in a legal challenge of the 2011 law stripping most public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

A state Senator is seeking to grant legal immunity to “a new type of good Samaritan:” someone who, despite illegally using drugs or alcohol, takes another person to an emergency room to prevent an overdose.

The Wisconsin Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor approved a bill Tuesday that would prevent law firms from receiving more than $30 million from contingency-fee contracts held with the state.

Many of the biggest battles over hotly contested Republican-backed legislation in recent years have been fought a block away from the state Capitol at the Dane County Courthouse.

State lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill allowing police officers to search a parolee they reasonably suspect has committed or is about to commit a crime.

Wisconsin’s law stripping most public employees of all but a few of their collective bargaining rights does not violate the Constitution, a U.S. district judge ruled Wednesday.

When David Turnpaugh appeared before the Wisconsin Claims Board on Wednesday for the third time in three years, he knew he would receive compensation for his wrongful conviction on prostitution and bail-jumping charges in 2006.

A construction company is alleging it is out $217,499 and accusing Wisconsin officials of violating procurement rules by insisting on the use of a particular product for a veterans home project.

Legislation that would deregulate pepper spray in Wisconsin is scheduled for a public hearing Tuesday in Madison.