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

Hon. Harry G. Snyder Without a pecuniary interest, a taxpayer cannot bring a suit for declaratory judgment challenging a municipality’s zoning amendment or the creation of a Tax Incremental Financing District (TID), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on Nov. ...

The decision here is a good one to keep handy for use in dissuading clients who wish to guarantee their children’s loans from doing so. The question is whether anything can be done for those clients who persist in their ...

Hon. Harry G. Snyder Guarantors on a real estate note are not entitled to notice that the primary obligors permitted their property insurance to lapse, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on Nov. 6. On Oct. 28, 1997, David S. ...

Board will ask Supreme Court for committee to review unauthorized practice of law

Hon. Patience Roggensack The state’s high court appears to be on the brink of modifying a key element of case citation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has tentatively approved the citation of unpublished opinions, which have been authored. That change would ...

The state’s high court has taken steps toward eliminating the ability of parties in a lawsuit to ask that trial court or court of appeals decisions that they don’t like be vacated or reversed. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has “approved ...

Hon. Thomas Cane On Oct. 29, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals again held a reducing clause in an underinsured motorist (UIM) policy unenforceable, finding it confusing, misleading, and contradictory. In September 1995, Gary Hanson was injured in an automobile accident. ...

A decision governing state legislators’ immunity from arrest, citing exclusively ancient authority as precedent, may seem of little relevance to the average attorney or citizen. Ironically, however, the decision is of great significance to citizens ranging from the most civic-minded ...

The imposition of a longer sentence after a successful appeal of the original sentence by the defendant did not violate due process, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on Oct. 30, where the victim’s condition had worsened since the original ...

The race for Wisconsin’s open attorney general’s seat has taken place in the shadow of a heated gubernatorial race. Editor Tony Anderson recently caught up with Vincent R. Biskupic and Peggy A. Lautenschlager, the two candidates looking to succeed James ...

Gerard Randall accepts the 2002 Innovator of the Year Award as Wisconsin Law Journal publisher Mark Stodder watches. The Daily Reporter Publishing Co. honored Randall from among a group of 15 finalists for the award during a dinner ceremony Oct. ...

What the court held Case: State of Wisconsin v. Joseph F. Volk, No. 01-3342-CR. Issue: When a sentencing court imposes a penalty enhancer, may it add the additional time to both the period of confinement, and the period of extended ...

The decision effectively reinstates the decision last year in State v. Jones, 2002 WI App 29, 250 Wis. 2d 77, 640 N.W.2d 151, ordered withdrawn, 2002 WI 53, 252 Wis. 2d 592, 645 N.W.2d 610. In that case, rather than ...

What the court held Case: LaCount v. Salkowski, No. 02-0630. Issue: Where divorced parents of a minor have joint legal custody, but only one parent sponsored the child to obtain a driver’s license under sec. 343.15, is liability imputed to ...

The decision is arguably incompatible with the Supreme Court decision in Ynocencio v. Fesko, 114 Wis.2d 391, 338 N.W.2d 461 (1983). In Ynocencio, a minor driver was sponsored by his stepmother. The stepmother and the minor’s father had legal custody, ...

Hon. Michael W. Hoover An employer violated the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) by refusing to modify an employee’s job duties after an automobile accident left her a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on ...

The decision creates a chasm between state law under the WFEA and federal law under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but the size of the chasm is questionable. It is unlikely that Catlin could have survived summary judgment were ...

"At the onset of post-charge pretrial police interrogations, the accused must be made aware that the adversarial process has begun and that he or she can request the assistance of counsel at the onset of post-charge pretrial police interrogations." Judge ...

The decision in this case is indisputably correct, but to the extent that the decision suggests that a defendant can validly waive his Sixth Amend-ment right to counsel without being informed of the charges against him, based only on Miranda ...

The decision points out the need for an explicit adaptation of the factors to be considered pursuant to State v. Guzy, 139 Wis. 2d 663, 667, 407 N.W.2d 548 (1987), when determining the lawfulness of a stop and detention that ...

Hon. Gregory A. Peterson In determining whether property is part of a "parcel" of land exempt from special assessments as "eligible farmland," all contiguous property of an owner should be considered as one, rather than looking to legal descriptions, the ...

The decision points out the need for an explicit adaptation of the factors to be considered pursuant to State v. Guzy, 139 Wis. 2d 663, 667, 407 N.W.2d 548 (1987), when determining the lawfulness of a stop and detention that ...

The vehicle was sufficiently similar to that described by the complainant. The fact that the car was within a few blocks of the scene of the domestic abuse incident was an additional relevant factor: it was reasonable to infer that ...

Hon. Ralph Adam Fine When determining whether to admit a hearsay statement as a statement against interest, each declaration is to be viewed separately, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on Sept. 24. Conflicting Stories In September 2000, ninety-two-year-old Constance ...

The decision is the second by the court of appeals this year to apply the rule of Williamson that a court must determine the admissibility of each declaration separately to determine if it is a statement against interest. In July, ...

We fail to see how “fairness” would be served by shielding Susan from any post-divorce decline in plan value, while imposing the entire loss on Daniel. Judge David G. Deininger Wisconsin Court of Appeals Where a marital settlement agreement unambiguously ...

Given the recent bear market, especially in some sectors, there is obviously a lot of money riding on the interpretation of this case. Future marital settlement agreements should be carefully reviewed to ensure that they unambiguously allocate risk. The decision ...

Jeffery Robinson Silence, during opening statements, is not golden, according to a Seattle criminal defense attorney. Jeffery Robinson of Schroeter Gold-mark & Bender in Seattle has handled more than 200 trials during his time in practice. Robinson drew on his ...

On July 10, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that an unambiguous clause in an insurance policy, which is specifically-approved by statute, can be rendered invalid if the remainder of that policy does not adequately explain the coverage in which the ...