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Courts (and the legal field in its entirety) should choose civility

There are frequent reminders for lawyers in Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs and articles on the importance of civility among adversaries. Civility, like all good lessons, should flow from the top down, as children learn from their parents. In law, that means civility starts with the judges and court commissioners.

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Editorial: Undo high court’s lamentable decision

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

In a body blow to open and transparent government and the ability of citizen watchdog groups and journalists, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 last summer that a Waukesha community group, Friends of Frame Park, was not entitled to attorney fees after suing the city of Waukesha for public records that the city later released before being ordered to do so by a court.

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Editorial: Trust and credibility are inevitably linked

The dismissal of a complaint against one of the candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seems appropriate to us, given the underlying accusations. But it should most definitely be a reminder to all those involved in the courts that there’s a great deal more to their credibility than just to be cognizant of the law.

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What the First Amendment really says – 4 basic principles of free speech in the US

Elon Musk has claimed he believes in free speech no matter what. He calls it a bulwark against tyranny in America and promises to reconstruct Twitter, which he now owns, so that its policy on free expression "matches the law." Yet his grasp of the First Amendment – the law that governs free speech in the U.S. – appears to be quite limited. And he's not alone.

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Public still paying for fraud probe records fights

Gableman ordered to not delete records

Many people in Wisconsin are under the impression that the disastrous probe into the state’s 2020 presidential election conducted by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is over, as are its costs to taxpayers. They’re wrong.

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Politics vs. real life. A living wage is a start

On Jan. 19, the Wisconsin Assembly gave a final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would, they claim, make it more difficult for violent criminals to get out of jail on bail. The proposal will go before voters where it will undoubtedly be ratified in the April 4 election.

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FTC proposes wholesale ban of noncompete clauses

noncompete clauses

On Jan. 5, the Federal Trade Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a new rule that would prohibit employers from including noncompete clauses in agreements with employees and independent contractors.

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Editorial: Get with the times

With the Wisconsin Legislature gearing up, there’s a lot to get done. In discussions at our office this week we thought of something we’d like to see legislators do, but it might take a bit more time than most legislative tasks.

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Looking back: The best and worst of 2022

One of my favorite columns is to review family law cases and legislation from the prior year. It gives me yet another opportunity to express my thoughts on the good and the bad that occurred. Fortunately for me as a columnist, there was enough bad to make this column (hopefully) somewhat entertaining as “good” tends to be boring.

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Competing rights and interests

On Nov. 6, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Brackeen v. Haaland, a case which presented numerous constitutional and legislative issues regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act or ICWA. 

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