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

I know parents sharing a bed with their kids is a hotly contested issue. When I lived in Pensacola, Fla., the area’s medical examiner put her face on multiple billboards that essentially said “Don’t do it. It’s dangerous and I should know, I do the autopsies.”

Tagged with: N. Patrick Crooks Shirley S. Abrahamson Wisconsin Supreme Court

Milwaukee recently saw its 11th co-sleeping death this year. In response, County Supervisor Mark Borkowski suggested state legislators enact new laws that would permit prosecutors to bring “manslaughter” charges against parents who cause the death of a child through co-sleeping.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton co-sleeping Kuchler & Cotton Mark Borkowski On the Defensive

After almost 20 years as a jury consultant, I have seen, talked about and/or been a party to many types of jury research; some great, some terrible and a lot in between.

Tagged with: Jury jury selection

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives, Charles Dawin said. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

Prenuptial agreements designed to govern a future divorce are strange animals.

Tagged with: Family Law Gregg Herman JoAnne Kloppenburg Loeb & Herman Todd Bjerke

It will be interesting to see how likely a soon-to-be-proposed bill regarding state Supreme Court term limits fares as it makes its way through the Legislature.

Tagged with: Eric Heisig

A recent LA Times column describes a twist in medical fees. A specialist, in this case a cardiologist, is charging a premium retainer fee for accessibility. And that’s just access, not treatment.

Tagged with: Ed Poll Lawbiz Coaches Corner Rules of Professional Conduct

I missed Constitution Day last week. What I didn’t miss however, was the release of a new iOS app for the Constitution Annotated (also known as the U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation).

Tagged with: Bev Butula Constitution

It’s been said that most people hate lawyers in general, but love their own.

Tagged with: Jane Pribek Joel Aziere Legal Cents Stafford Rosenbaum LLP

When someone is called as a witness in any kind of legal matter, it’s usually a new and disturbing experience.

Tagged with: Department of Justice witness

When there’s no objection to jury instructions, how can they be faulty enough to warrant reversal?

Tagged with: Bench Blog Court of Appeals Dennis Cimpl Jean DiMotto Joan Kessler Milwaukee County Circuit Court

In criminal prosecutions, defendants often feel as if they are fighting an impossible battle.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton DEA Kuchler & Cotton National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers On the Defensive U.S. Supreme Court Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Fifty-two counts of alleged misconduct are pending against attorney Bridget Boyle-Saxton.

Tagged with: Bridget Boyle-Saxton OLR State Bar Wisconsin Supreme Court

When a settlement is reached between the parties, there often remains much in the way of details to iron out.

Tagged with: McCoy Leavitt Laskey settlement

One of the most successful and pervasive small-business sectors is one many people (often including those who are in it) don’t even think of as a business: the single-practitioner law firm.

Tagged with: CLE Ed Poll Lawbiz Coaches Corner

Should Wisconsin legislators have complete immunity to lawsuits while they are in office and perhaps beyond?

Tagged with: J.B. Van Hollen Leah Vukmir open records law

As noted in my previous column, there are enormous gaps between a witness’s real-world experiences and those in the strange world of being a witness.

Tagged with: Expert witness

New Securities and Exchange Commission rules that go into effect Sept. 23 offer benefits, but require additional duties for securities issuers.

Tagged with: Murphy Desmond SEC

The WHA Information Center, a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, provides access to a variety of information.

Tagged with: Bev Butula

As the legal profession continues to contend with everything from layoffs to fee pressures, we have reached a point where upheaval is the new normal.

Tagged with: Ed Poll fees Lawbiz Coaches Corner

Voir dire is subject to judicial control and discretion, so it pays to know your judge.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Kitty Brennan Rodney Cubbie Voir dire

It’s a great time to be an associate, or hiring one.

There are surprising and enormous gaps between a witness’s real-world experiences and the very strange, unnatural world of being a witness.

Looking to enhance your writing skills? Bryan Garner, the highly recognized author and editor, offers a variety of interesting materials on his website, LawProse.

Tagged with: Bev Butula

While much of the English-speaking world was getting comfortable with – or being made uncomfortable by – its new understanding of the word “twerking” last month thanks to Miley Cyrus, the federal judiciary was welcoming another modern addition to its lexicon with somewhat less fanfare.

A co-worker sent me a link Wednesday to a blog post that discusses the possible charges against the character of Walter White in the AMC show “Breaking Bad.”

Tagged with: Eric Heisig

The legal profession does not require anything remotely resembling effective client communication as part of our law school curriculums.

Tagged with: Ed Poll Lawbiz Coaches Corner

On May 21, 1924, 19-year-old Nathan Leopold was out on a mission with his lover and equally brilliant partner, Richard Loeb. When they spotted Loeb’s 14-year-old cousin, Bobby Franks, walking home from an after-school basketball game, they offered him a ride. The Franks family never saw their son alive again.

I think I may have found the oddest entry ever put into a court record. And it’s in Milwaukee County.

Tagged with: Eric Heisig Judges


It sounds so simple: If a judgment or order “disposes of the entire matter in litigation as to one or more of the parties” and is properly entered or recorded (Sec. 808.03(1), Stats.), it is “final,” and the appeal time starts ticking.

Tagged with: Briefs for the Brief Writer Diane Slomowitz Fox O’Neill & Shannon