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

The attorney for a same-sex couple recently tried unsuccessfully to use an adoption action to challenge the constitutionality of statutes related to artificial insemination and to the presumption of paternity stemming from marriage.

Tagged with: Bench Blog gay marriage Jean DiMotto Mark Gundrum

What would you do to avoid having to take your final exams? Would you fake your own kidnapping? If you’re in the minority who would actually consider doing something as extreme as fabricating your own kidnapping, you’re not alone, because that seems to be exactly what happened at the University of Houston Law Center: http://bit.ly/1MC0PEX

The District 2 Court of Appeals recently outdid itself for conciseness by issuing a five-page decision.

Tagged with: Bench Blog District 2 Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto Lisa Neubauer Paul Reilly

WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) — A West Bend couple woke to a frightening surprise over the weekend: http://bit.ly/1Q2bIpk

A recent encounter with opposing counsel in a very terse and contentious case got me thinking about the (over)use of the word “frivolous.”

Tagged with: Nate Cade On Ethics

A Connecticut jury has rejected a woman's bid to sue her 12-year-old nephew for injuries she says she suffered from his exuberant greeting at his birthday party four years ago: http://bit.ly/1PrB8eR

In a case of reckless homicide by text messages, a defendant sought to suppress evidence of the messages themselves. The trial court denied his motion and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Kathryn Foster Lisa Neubauer

A sheriff apologized Thursday to a pair of female lawyers who were told they needed to take off their underwire bras at jail to avoid setting off the metal detector if they wanted to talk to their incarcerated clients.

With the onset of fall, the kids are back in school and football has begun.

Tagged with: Nate Cade On Ethics

A medical-malpractice case — an area of litigation replete with expert testimony — recently spurred the Court of Appeals to examine how Daubert principles should be applied to medical experts.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Daubert Jean DiMotto

Can a jury consider the training and experience of a semi-trailer truck driver in determining his negligence? Is a commercially licensed truck driver held to higher standard of care when a semi-trailer is involved in a collision?

Tagged with: Bench Blog Brian Blanchard Jean DiMotto Pat Roggensack Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Court of Appeals in a decision that would have remanded a case to the circuit court in order to expose a drunken driver to a higher maximum sentence.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Brian Blanchard drunken driving Gary Sherman Jean DiMotto JoAnne Kloppenburg Patrick Crooks Wisconsin Supreme Court

For the second time in as many years, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided a dog-sniffing case.

Tagged with: Bench Blog drug sniffing dog Florida v. Jardines Jean DiMotto

In a hotly contested case about suppressing a dog’s sniff search of a residence, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously decided that the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applied.

Tagged with: David Borowski exclusionary rule Joan Kessler Kitty Brennan Wisconsin Supreme Court

It has been awhile since I wrote about a website that provides quality scientific or technical research.

Tagged with: Bev Butula

There is nothing that harms the integrity of the criminal justice system more than a rogue officer planting evidence.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Robert Zapf

Enhancements continue at Congress.gov!

Tagged with: Bev Butula

The Court of Appeals recently decided a Crawford issue in a murder trial. In so doing, it emphasized the importance of bringing in needed experts to testify.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Michael Hoover

There are a large number of websites dedicated to the False Claims Act. Attorneys and legal professionals interested in this area of law are often searching for recent cases and news to remain current.

Tagged with: Bev Butula False Claims Act

For readers who appreciate how words continue to evolve with our culture, check out Word Spy.

Tagged with: Bev Butula

The Court of Appeals has decided that expressing opinions is not whistleblowing. But what constitutes opinion and what constitutes whistleblowing?

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Juan Colas

Bobby Chen's legal luck has finally run out.

In 2009 I wrote about Wisconsin TechSearch, the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering document delivery program. It is six years later and it continues to be a valuable service.

Tagged with: Bev Butula

When blogging started to become commonplace a decade ago, it wasn’t something many lawyers concerned themselves with. Eventually, lawyers began to blog and many began to wonder whether blogs constituted lawyer advertising and thus required disclaimers.

Tagged with: blogging

In a rare unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court acted to protect a criminal defendant’s statutory right to peremptory substitution of judge.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Jon Counsell Thomas Flugaur Wisconsin Supreme Court

The National Agricultural Library recently released a new search engine called PubAg.

Tagged with: Bev Butula

Internet advertising is commonplace. But what happens when the sale of advertised goods goes awry and an out-of-state advertiser is sued in Wisconsin?

Tagged with: 14th Amendment advertising Bench Blog Internet Jean DiMotto Mark Gundrum Paul Malloy

In a pair of decisions released on the same day, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided that manure and septage are pollutants at the point they contaminate wells.

Tagged with: Bench Blog DNR Jean DiMotto Wisconsin Supreme Court

With tax season upon us, many legal researchers search for basic tax rates and schedules.

Tagged with: Bev Butula taxes

The New Year brings a new legislative session. Most of us have a basic understanding of the legislative process, however many legal researchers are not familiar with every aspect of a bill’s journey.

Tagged with: Bev Butula