Wisconsin Law Journal – WI Legal News & Resources Wisconsin Legal News & Resources

“When one contemplates the circumstances of this case, it is difficult to find misconduct in connection with Garnati’s actions… [T]he prosecutor was shown a copy of the note dated April 6 and was told by a confident Mrs. Misselhorn that ...

Harlan Richards appeals an order dismissing his declaratory judgment action challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of the Wisconsin Prisoner Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The issue is whether Richards, a Wisconsin prison inmate, presented the court with a justiciable controversy. ...

“James behaved in a pig-headed fashion. It is hard to imagine that by quoting from sec.1.02 of the Benchbook or expatiating about the drawbacks of self- representation (‘a fool for a client…’) the district judge could have talked him out ...

Bradley Alan St. George appeals his judgment of conviction for first-degree sexual assault of a child and an order denying him postconviction relief. St. George argues he was denied due process and his right to present a defense when the ...

“[T]he only basis on which defendant can defend its effort to collect income taxes from Jackson is his residency. It is the only nexus Wisconsin has. But because that residency is on a reservation, the state cannot use it as ...

“[T]he government argued again that Steward’s holding of the package in his left hand, however fleetingly, the resulting control over it, and dropping it in hope of concealment established possession of it. … The government argues that Judge Murphy’s finding ...

The State appeals an order suppressing evidence that was seized from Jywanza Carter’s home pursuant to a search warrant. As a result of the search, Carter and James Welter were charged with the burglary. The trial court concluded that the ...

“[In Moragne, we] declared a new rule of maritime law: ‘We … hold that an action does lie under general maritime law for death caused by violation of maritime duties.’ Id., at 409, 90 S.Ct. 1772. “As we have noted ...

“Nothing in the statute’s language or background suggests that an illegally returning deportee cannot be convicted unless he knew he lacked the Attorney General’s express consent to reenter. On the contrary, the requirement that the Attorney General’s consent be ‘express’ ...

“In our case, as in Bluffton Castings, the employees’ rights to the monies due, and the precise amount, depend on the collective bargaining agreement. Here, that sum is undisputed. Nevertheless, it remains true that the entitlement to the money due ...

However, we must reverse defendant’s commitment in light of recent decisions which hold that a Ch. 980 commitment petition must be filed within 90 days of his discharge or release; see, for example, State v. Thiel, 2000 WI 67. Defendant ...

“[L]awyers are given considerable leeway in formulating a gender-neutral rationale for jury strikes. … Here, in addition to identifying unique factors that only affected the three struck jurors – unemployment, participation as a plaintiff in a lawsuit, and employment in ...

This is so because the Tax Appeals Commission has held that if a taxpayer fails to file a refund claim within the time prescribed by statute, it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to determine whether the refund claim is valid. “The ...

“In the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Congress determined that victims of employment discrimination were entitled to additional remedies. Congress expressly found that ‘additional remedies under Federal law are needed to deter unlawful harassment and intentional discrimination in the workplace,’ ...

“Mata argues that the trial court was erroneous in finding a factual basis for her forgery pleas because she contends that her conduct did not rise to the level of forgery. Mata claims that her use of aliases when opening ...

“RESPA is the principal federal statute regulating the activities of real estate brokers. The insurance policy at issue is limited to participants in the real estate business and directly addresses potential sources of liability for brokers. Would it not be ...

“Here, the trial court determined that despite Steele’s qualifications under 302.045(2), the seriousness of his offenses precluded his participation in the program. We cannot say that this constituted a misuse of the trial court’s broad sentencing discretion. We therefore affirm ...

“The case for the single-entity approach to calculating an affiliated group’s PLL is straightforward. Section 172(j)(1) defines a taxpayer’s ‘product liability loss’ for a given tax year as the lesser of its ‘net operating loss for such year’ and its ...

Patrick Behrndt appeals from the denial of his motion for relief from the trial court’s judgment dismissing Patrick and approving the settlement as to all other parties. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court erroneously exercised its discretion ...

The circuit court erred in holding that sec. 961.45 required application of the “elements only” test of Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932) to determine whether the prior conviction was for the same act. Accordingly, we reverse the ...

Kenneth D. Spaulding appeals from judgments entered on jury verdicts convicting him of: two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child, and one count of first-degree sexual assault of a ...

“Even under a limited form of the ‘catalyst theory,’ a plaintiff could recover attorney’s fees if it established that the ‘complaint had sufficient merit to withstand a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction or failure to state a claim ...

We therefore affirm the court of appeals. “When Gonzalez told Kelsey to ‘stay put,’ she ran away. We, therefore, conclude that no seizure occurred in the present case, until the officers applied physical force to Kelsey, by catching her after ...

Adam Hill appeals a judgment convicting him of making a bomb threat. He also appeals an order denying postconviction relief. Hill contends that he is entitled to a new trial because he was convicted on the basis of an in-court ...

“When Congress replaced the text of the statute as construed in [McCarthy v. Madigan] with the exhaustion requirement at issue today, it presumably understood that under McCarthy the term ‘effective’ in the former sec. 1997e(a) eliminated the possibility of requiring ...

This is so because the recipient of a durable power of attorney has no personal legal rights in the grant – the power to create, and once created to undo, rests in the principal while that principal is competent, and ...

These appeals arise out of a combined refusal and suppression hearing in an Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated (OMVWI) prosecution. The trial court concluded that the police officer who stopped and then arrested Michael Flunker did not have a ...

“Indian tribes are ‘unique aggregations possessing attributes of sovereignty over both their members and their territory,’ but their dependent status generally precludes extension of tribal civil authority beyond these limits… The Navajo Nation’s imposition of a tax upon nonmembers on ...

Even though the parents may have known who the abuse reporters were, it was nevertheless an unlawful “disclosure” of the reporters’ identities within the meaning of the statute. “Given the statute’s goal of protecting reporters’ identities, it is appropriate to ...

Daniel Stormer was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, third offense. He received a sentence of 60 days in jail with Huber privileges, license revocation for thirty months, and a forfeiture of $1,346.50. The sole issue on appeal ...