Commentary

Jul 18, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Shiffra case causes trouble for state Supreme Court … again

In a highly unusual “decision,” the Wisconsin Supreme Court again deadlocked in a Shiffra case but this time issued five different opinions, most of them containing personal sniping.

Jul 12, 2016

When the news becomes news

In early June the media became the story in a Chippewa County courtroom. The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram chose an approaching trial as the subject of a feature that should have never seen the light of day.

Jul 8, 2016

New OSHA reporting rule also impacts drug-testing policies

Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek recently published a special report regarding a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule that will increase employers' reporting requirements for workplace illnesses and injuries.

Jul 7, 2016

View from around the state: An unsettling settlement

The full facts of the civil rights lawsuit against four Racine police officers and the city of Racine may never be known, now that the City Council has agreed to a $100,000 settlement of the case.

Jul 5, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Supreme Court has wrong say on pro se

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently rebuked the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a 2010 opinion upholding a Waukesha County judge’s cursory denial of a defendant’s right to self-representation.

Jul 1, 2016

CRITIC’S CORNER: The truth (about jury instruction 140) is out there

In my column from March, I wrote about Wisconsin’s criminal jury instruction 140. This instruction explains the notion of reasonable doubt, but then, strangely, concludes by telling jurors “not to search for doubt” when rendering their verdict but instead “to search for the truth.”

Jun 29, 2016

Making the jump from criminal to civil is more natural than you may think

I spent five years as a prosecutor in the Racine County District Attorney’s office and made the leap to civil law in January of 2014 with Habush Habush & Rottier. Since then, I’ve heard the above comment expressed with some frequency by lawyers who only practice criminal law and question how well their experience would transfer to a civil practice.

Jun 27, 2016

View from around the nation: Time has come for serious debate on assault weapons

All guns kill. Some do so with horrifying efficiency.

Jun 22, 2016

AG opinion not just about high-capacity well permits

In what industry representatives hope is a sign of more good things to come, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is streamlining its high-capacity-wells policies in response to Attorney General Brad Schimel’s May 10 formal opinion on 2011 Wis. Act 21’s limits on agency authority.

Jun 20, 2016

View from around the nation: All the Internet is created equally

With a ruling that high-speed Internet service should be equally accessible to all Americans, a federal appeals court has come down forcefully in favor of competition and consumer protection.

Jun 14, 2016

BENCH BLOG: Court weighs in on difference between custody, detention

A sexual-assault case provided the context for the Court of Appeals to distinguish a formal arrest from detention in one’s home during the execution of a search warrant.

Jun 13, 2016

OSHA rule on injury reporting creates new obligations for employers

On May 12, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a final rule requiring certain employers to electronically submit workplace injury and illness information to OSHA and requiring all employers to adopt procedures to encourage employee reporting.

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