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

In a carefully reasoned decision, the Court of Appeals required certain safeguards before a defendant may be allowed to plead guilty by phone.

Tagged with: Bench Blog James Habeck Jean DiMotto Lisa Stark State v. Soto

Political interests keep grasping for judicial control.

Tagged with: Judicial Commission Wisconsin Supreme Court

Independent oversight of Wisconsin's judges and court commissioners is at risk in Gov. Scott Walker's proposed new state budget.

Tagged with: Judicial Commission Wisconsin Supreme Court

Gov. Scott Walker has called for elimination of many public and legal notices in his recently proposed budget.

Tagged with: editorial public notices

The saying "no good deed goes unpunished" was turned on its head recently in the Racine County lockup after the District Attorney's office dropped about a dozen charges against an unruly inmate.

Tagged with: Tricia Hanson

Lawyers aren’t typically taught to find the emotion in their cases or in their clients. Often, it’s just the opposite.

Tagged with: Jim Mathie On Mediation

With almost two months of 2017 behind us, there is no time like the present for lawyers to be working on their business-development plans.

Tagged with: marketing

In a lucid, logically ordered and eminently readable opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied the federal government’s motion for an emergency stay of a temporary restraining order enjoining the enforcement of President Trump’s travel ban.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Donald Trump Immigration Jean DiMotto

This year marked the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. Among the many provisions of this fundamental document is the right, afforded by the 7th Amendment, to a civil jury trial.

Tagged with: 7th Amendment Benjamin Wagner Bill of Rights

The Court of Appeals applied the agency doctrine of apparent authority when deciding whether the property owners in an eminent domain case had obtained jurisdiction over the governmental entity that condemned their property.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Eminent domain Haas v. City of Oconomowoc Jean DiMotto

Steven Avery was convicted of murder in 2007. At his trial, the state called numerous scientific experts to help seal his fate. Then, a few years later, Wisconsin adopted the stricter Daubert standard for the admissibility of expert testimony. Had this supposedly tougher standard been in effect earlier, how would it have affected Avery’s trial?

Tagged with: Critic's Corner Michael D. Cicchini Steven Avery

Take the "For Sale" sign off Wisconsin's courts.

Tagged with: Wisconsin Supreme Court

After about three decades of nearly continuous growth, Wisconsin’s prison population has stabilized over the past dozen years at about 22,000 to 23,000 inmates.

Tagged with: Michael O'Hear Sentencing

The Slender Man craze swept the younger digerati while their unwitting elders occupied themselves online with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Tagged with: Anissa Weier Morgan Geyser stabbing

More than 50 retired jurists are making a reasonable request of the state Supreme Court: Set a "bright line" for judges to step down from cases that involve a party who has made a campaign contribution to that judge.

Tagged with: Janine Geske Louis Butler Michael Gabelman Mike Skwierawski

Earlier this month the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a lengthy decision in the case of Seifert v. Balink, handing down the court’s first decision on the recently amended Wis. Stat. § 907.02 and, specifically, whether a medical expert’s opinions are reliable under Daubert.

Tagged with: Daubert Seifert v. Balink

The Court of Appeals took a dim view of a brother’s response to his sister’s declaratory lawsuit in which she sought to affirm her riparian rights on the Sailor Creek Flowage in Price County.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Jean DiMotto Patricia Curley Patrick Madden

With high financial stakes, demanding clients and looming deadlines, it’s easy to let our control of our words and actions slip under pressure. Nearly every day we read stories about lawyers being uncivil and doing uncivil things — most of the time, in high-pressure situations.

Tagged with: Michael R. Panter

Overturning two lower court rulings, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck a blow for government secrecy.

Tagged with: Brad Schimel Rebecca Bradley Shirley Abrahamson Wisconsin Supreme Court

In its first non-disciplinary case of the term, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a 3-1-3 decision for the second time in six months despite the presence of a new justice.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Daniel Kelly Gregory Potter Jean DiMotto State v. Weber Wisconsin Supreme Court

As you approach mediation, one of the things that you might do to figure out what your case is worth is get a second opinion.

Tagged with: Jim Mathie On Mediation

Many law schools have let their students down over the past decade.

Tagged with: Critic's Corner Law school Michael D. Cicchini

The family of Jay Anderson Jr., who was shot and killed last June by a Wauwatosa police officer, says that federal prosecutors have agreed to review the case now that Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm has decided that the officer's actions were justified self-defense.

Tagged with: John Chisholm

In a recent column about BATNA, I suggested that as you get closer to your BATNA range, you will want to evaluate your confidence about that range.

Tagged with: Jim Mathie On Mediation

As the former president of the Outagamie County Bar Association and the current vice president of the Brown County Bar Association, I was asked to share some of the experiences these leadership positions have brought me.

Tagged with: Brown County Bar Association Habush Habush & Rottier Jacob Reis Outagamie County Bar Association

It's no secret some banks behaved badly during the past decade.

In my column from earlier this month, I discussed lawyers’ obligations to ensure confidential information is not disclosed when e-discovery procedures are taking place.

Tagged with: attorney-client privilege Rules of Evidence Tim Edwards

Is a tree-cutting service entitled to recreational immunity when cutting trees on a conference center’s property that has a public path? The Court of Appeals says “no,” relying on a Wisconsin Supreme Court case from earlier this year on recreational immunity.

Tagged with: Bench Blog District 2 Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto Mark Gundrum Phillip Koss Recreational immunity

Jury instructions are a central part of any criminal trial.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Jury instructions Kuchler & Cotton Michael Cicchini On the Defensive

The Court of Appeals examined immunity from prosecution for a person who aids someone who appears to be suffering from a drug overdose. In the process, the opinion in State v. Williams offered a raw glimpse into the drug subculture.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Brian Hagedorn Chad Kerkman immunity Jean DiMotto Mark Gundrum Paul Reilly State v. Williams