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

A dress code imposed by a Kansas Senate committee chairman that prohibits women testifying on bills from wearing low-cut necklines and miniskirts is drawing bipartisan ridicule from female legislators: http://bit.ly/1TbpCGt

Hooray, New Year’s resolution season is upon us!

"Should police automatically have the right to search the vehicle of someone arrested on suspicion of OWI? Or should they have to show that they have some reason, particular to the driver who was arrested, to believe that OWI-related evidence will be found in the vehicle?"

Tagged with: drunken driving Fourth Amendment

One of the great privileges of being a judge is to be able to speak with jurors after a trial, to thank them and to ask them questions about what they had just witnessed.

Tagged with: Jury

The Court of Appeals has once again extended the application of Daubert standards in Wisconsin, this time to a social worker’s testimony in a case involving the sexual assault of a child.

Tagged with: Bench Blog David Reddy Jean DiMotto Paul Reilly

Transparency is the core value of a democratic society. In a democratic self-government, voters have the power to select and reject those who will wield the power of government.

Tagged with: Ed Fallone Open Records open records law

For 25 years, the maximum penalty amounts for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act have remained frozen. A thaw is about to set in — and quick.

Tagged with: OSHA Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek

Free speech is under attack — including at our nation’s colleges.

Tagged with: Critic's Corner free speech Michael D. Cicchini

Attorney Curtis Creveling is a lifelong resident of Allentown, Pa. But ever since he was young kid, when his dad bought him a Green Bay Packers uniform for Christmas, he’s been a die-hard cheesehead. So when he was notified last month that he had won a ticket to a Packers playoff game scheduled the same day his client was due in court for a hearing, it wasn’t a close call. The Packers took priority: on.wsj.com/1Z8A0yf

The Netflix series “Making a Murderer” has garnered national attention. The episodes are compelling, largely because Steven Avery was wrongly convicted of rape, having served 18 years in prison for that crime.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Steven Avery

Driving while drunk is wrong. But it is less wrong in Wisconsin than in most other states.

Tagged with: drunken driving

Earlier this month, state Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, released a misleading opinion piece on a bill aimed at overhauling Wisconsin's workers' compensation system.

Tagged with: Worker's compensation

The Court of Appeals has affirmed that it's not only the rules of evidence that do not apply in criminal pretrial proceedings; equally inapplicable is the right of confrontation.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Confrontation Clause drunken driving Jean DiMotto Lisa Neubauer Mark Gundrum Paul Reilly

It was disheartening last week to see three state Supreme Court justices siding with secrecy over openness in an open records dispute between the New Richmond News and that city's police department.

Tagged with: Open Records Rebecca Bradley

Earlier this month, thousands of would-be law students sat down at testing locations across the country to take an exam that would play an incredibly significant role in the caliber of law school they’d be able to get into, and thus later impact the quality of job they’d be able to land after graduation. Of course, we’re speaking about the LSAT, a test that is administered three times each year, but this time around, some of those who decided to take the December exam were in for a nasty surprise: http://bit.ly/1Tjwq2B

Francis Wagner Jr. is suing his ex-wife because she writes mean things in the memo section of his alimony checks. Check it out

Will the breaking up of the state’s Government Accountability Board into two agencies controlled mostly by representatives of the main political parties result in nothing more than gridlock and inaction?

Tagged with: G.A.B. Government Accountability Board

The U.S. Department of Justice recently scored victories in two False Claims Act cases involving providers’ alleged failure to return overpayments as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Tagged with: Affordable Care Act Medicaid Medicare Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek

A fisherman who survived for 15 months at sea is being sued for $1 million by the family of his dead colleague, who accuse him of eating their relative to survive: http://read.bi/1QshiSm

A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice was charged Tuesday with ethics violations that could lead to his removal after the state attorney general exposed lewd and offensive emails he swapped with friends and a state prosecutor through a private email account.

Although I have written before about social media and ethics, a recent court order has me thinking yet another admonition is in order.

Tagged with: Nate Cade On Ethics Social media Twitter

In her State of the Judiciary Address, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack promised that she will fight for higher judicial salaries when the Legislature begins work on the state’s next budget.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Pat Roggensack pay

The Court of Appeals has rejected a disbarred attorney’s pro se bid to overturn his felony conviction for theft.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Jeffrey Conen Jeffrey Elverman Patricia Curley

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to publicly censure a Jackson County judge for misconduct and suspend him without pay for 30 days: http://bit.ly/1To9DTC

A Wisconsin judge who sentenced a lawyer to five days in jail on Thursday thought it appropriate to continue the punishment with a condition he deemed a “moving jail.” Judge Philip Kirk of Waupaca County told Appleton lawyer Michael Petersen that during his 12 months of probation he will have to inform every client that he is a crook, cheat, thief and liar: http://post.cr/1lK7Ixs

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

What should you do if a client says to you, “Give me a 10 percent discount . . . or else”?

Tagged with: Ed Poll fees Lawbiz Coaches Corner

It's a situation straight out of a bad romantic comedy: http://bit.ly/1My1TcR

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