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

We are unapologetic defenders of the First Amendment — free speech, free press, freedom to assemble and ask the government to redress grievances, and religious freedoms.

Tagged with: free speech

In what could lead to a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court last week heard arguments in a Wisconsin case that challenges the despicable practice of political parties drawing up legislative and congressional districts to lock in their power and disenfranchise voters.

Tagged with: redistricting U.S. Supreme Court

When the Tavern League of Wisconsin supports a bill to "crack down" on repeat drunken drivers, that's probably a sign the measure doesn't go far enough to address the problem.

Tagged with: drunken driving

Preparing a mediation statement gives you an opportunity to take a serious look at your case and at your opponent’s case.

Tagged with: Jim Mathie mediation On Mediation

House Speaker Paul Ryan told officials at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory in Menomonee Falls last week that Congress is moving "full throttle on tax reform."

Tagged with: taxes

The Court of Appeals has once again taken up the circumstances in which a person can be considered to have been or not been arrested.

Despite my best efforts, I get sucked into arguments on social media, especially at night. Granted, most of the arguments involve extremely trivial things, so sleep deprivation notwithstanding, my involvement does not materially affect my life. (Still, wow, some people ...

The facts, as laid out in an Associated Press report published Sept. 4 in The Journal Times, are shocking and horrifying.

Tagged with: drunken driving

Is a tip to law enforcement from Tumblr.com equivalent to a tip from an anonymous police informant or a tip from an identified citizen informant?

Tagged with: Bench Blog Child Pornography Jean DiMotto Search warrants

In an effort to improve well-being in the legal profession, the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs has released a report detailing ways to help lawyers lead healthier, more-fulfilling lives.

The property is idyllic. It consists of two parcels in a cove on the St. Croix River along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border where the river widens and flattens to form Lake St. Croix.

Tagged with: Eminent domain U.S. Supreme Court William Murr

This term the United States Supreme Court issued two decisions that place limits on plaintiffs’ ability to file lawsuits in states with no connection to their claims.

For two decades, Wisconsin was a shining example of what an open court system could be. The state Supreme Court was one of the few in the nation that conducted deliberations in public.

The Court of Appeals relied on an 102-year-old precedent to decide the case of Hart v. Artisan and Truckers Cas. Co.

This practice can be risky because internal IT teams are often unable to monitor personal computers and may not have an opportunity to update them with the latest security software

Tagged with: cybersecurity

The clause was ultimately found to violate First Amendment free-speech rights. The decision is already making itself felt.

Tagged with: First Amendment Lanham Act Samuel Alito U.S. Supreme Court

Civility, niceness, and more specifically incivility and meanness, are big news today.

Tagged with: Ethics Stacie Rosenzweig

Wisconsin prosecutor Michael Griesbach recently wrote, “To be sure, mistakes were made in the Avery case.”

Tagged with: Critic's Corner Making a Murderer Michael D. Cicchini Michael Griesbach Steven Avery

Read the case of Teague v. Schimel at your peril.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Teague v. Schimel

Madison should pay close attention to the Milwaukee trial of a former police officer in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Sylville Smith.

Tagged with: Dominique Heaggan-Brown

Mediation is often portrayed as a rational and logical choice that saves money and time. Well, it is that. But let’s face it, it’s also usually required by the court and something that you might not do if it weren’t. That means there’s a risk that it becomes perfunctory.

Tagged with: Jim Mathie mediation On Mediation

My, my, how time flies when we are having redistricting fun.

Tagged with: redistricting Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently reaffirmed its two-tiered framework for loss of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. It overruled another case requiring a finding of intentionality and once again declined to mandate warnings to a defendant before forfeiture.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Janine Geske Jean DiMotto State v. Suriano Todd Ehlers

President Donald Trump has managed to seat a new justice on the U.S. Supreme Court's bench — Neil Gorsuch, formerly a judge in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In doing so, the president once again drew attention to the doctrine which “conservatives” have historically preached from whatever hilltop perch they could find, using words which former D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Robert Bork laid down in his book, “The Tempting of America.”

Tagged with: Neil Gorsuch U.S. Supreme Court

The Court of Appeals took the opportunity to again offer instruction regarding when a tort claim accrues for purposes of the statute of limitations.

Tagged with: Bench Blog David Wambach Jean DiMotto Mark Gundrum Terence Cahill

Whenever I write a motion or a brief on behalf of a client, it inevitably requires that I quote language from a published case, the criminal complaint, or some other document.

Tagged with: Brendan Dassey Critic's Corner ken kratz Michael Cicchini

In our first installment in the April 12 Wisconsin Law Journal issue, we analyzed the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., LLC v. Nebraska Cultures of California, Inc., 2016 WI 14.

Tagged with: American Family Mutual Insurance Co. v. American Girl Inc. Colin Willmott Jonathan Schwartz

A police officer’s question to a suspect led the Wisconsin Supreme Court on a 42-page exploration of the constitutional consequences recently. State v. Harris tells the tale.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Daniel Kelly Jean DiMotto Michael Wilk State v. Cunningham State v. Harris Wisconsin Supreme Court

In July, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its panel decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and affirmed a district court’s ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not redress sexual-orientation discrimination in the workplace. 830 F.3d 698.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit EEOC Title VII

The Wisconsin Supreme Court decided in 2016 several fundamental questions concerning liability-insurance coverage.

Tagged with: Colin Willmott Jonathan Schwartz LLC v. Nebraska Cultures of California Wisconsin Pharmacal Co. Wisconsin Supreme Court