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

Attorney Peter C. Rotter nervously watched the primary results roll in on Feb. 17. With 75 percent of the votes tallied, he was third among five candidates vying for the Branch 1 seat in Marathon County Circuit Court. But after that last 25 percent were counted, he had secured a spot in the April 7 election by 134 votes over ...

A hearing to determine whether a deaf person needs an interpreter must be scheduled before the hearing for which the interpreter is requested. Writing for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Feb. 18, Judge Richard Brown wrote, “Courts are public entities that must be accessible to all. We must assure that, if a person is disabled and needs an accommodation ...

Despite advancing out of the primary for the Branch 13 seat in Dane County Circuit Court, Stephen E. Ehlke knows he has a lot of work to do in the seven weeks leading up to April 7. The assistant U.S. attorney received 5,032 votes, which was enough to top attorney Charles Schutze (3,835), but only one-third of the votes cast ...

The recent restructuring of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s criminal investigation unit was not prompted by a handful of demotions or resignations throughout 2008, according to DCI Administrator Mike Myszewski. Rather, the consolidation of three bureaus into one was done to streamline efficiency and provide more direct contact with local police officials, Myszewski said. The public integrity, narcotics and special ...

Faced with an order in federal court to turn over a document that an attorney believes is protected by the attorney-client privilege, an attorney has only two choices. He can turn it over; or he can refuse (and accept whatever sanctions the court may impose). Reise v. Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin System, 957 F.2d 293, 295 (7th ...

Milwaukee County will lose a long-time prosecutor, but it will gain a new judge this March. Gov. Jim Doyle recently appointed assistant district attorney Stephanie G. Rothstein to succeed John Franke, who resigned at the end of 2008 to join Milwaukee law firm Gass Weber Mullins LLC. Rothstein has been a prosecutor in Milwaukee since graduating from Marquette University Law ...

54 new citizens naturalized at courthouse ceremony

An auto mechanic injured at work cannot sue a co-employee under the exception to the Workers’ Compensation Act for negligent operation of a motor vehicle. But the Feb. 10 opinion by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals denying tort remedies questions the proper standard for workplace injuries to mechanics set forth by the state Supreme Court in McNeil v. Hansen, 2007 ...

Part II: The pitfalls

Picking someone out by the numbers

All three candidates for the vacant Branch 15 seat in Milwaukee County Circuit Court claim to have the necessary credentials for the job. But prosecutors Ronald S. Dague and Daniel J. Gabler and attorney Jonathan D. Watts have different ideas as to which experiences qualify someone to sit on the bench in the largest court system in the state. The ...

More than 300 people turned out Friday, Feb. 13, to help the Wisconsin Law Journal celebrate the contributions of 21 outstanding individuals at the newspaper’s inaugural Women in the Law awards Program. This is the sixth time that the newspaper has dedicated a special section to the lauding the efforts of women affiliated with Wisconsin’s legal community, but Friday was ...

Supreme Court supports BBE discretion for foreign attorneys

A propane tank reportedly caught fire on the site of the new Marquette University Law School about 4 p.m. this afternoon. Brigid O’Brien Miller, director of communications for Marquette University confirmed that as of 5 p.m. the fire was still burning, but was contained. However, she said officials were unsure of the cause of the blaze. Four people were on ...

The Wisconsin Supreme Court acknowledges that the practice of law is becoming more global, but it is not quite ready to give legal professionals from other countries the power to advise clients in the state. A petition by the Board of Bar Examiners calls for creation of Supreme Court Rule 40.056 which would allow lawyers from other countries to consult ...

Biological father must support marital child

A recent poll issued to the more than 2,350 members of the Milwaukee Bar Association asked the question of whether judicial candidates were qualified for the jobs they were seeking. Despite the fact that Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson was unable to appear at a candidate forum hosted by the MBA on Feb. 4, more than 90 percent of the ...

Money may not be everything, but it certainly counts for something, especially when it comes to campaign fundraising in a state Supreme Court race. Through the first month of 2009, Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson has raised almost 20 times more money than her opponent, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Randy R. Koschnick. According to pre-primary finance reports filed by ...

What a difference one year makes. Last year, attorneys and judges forged on through heavy snow to attend the Milwaukee Bar Association’s annual Judges Night event. Last Tuesday, many arrived amid spring-like temperatures not even bothering to don top coats. Nearly 400 people turned out to mingle in the Grain Exchange room in the Mackie Building. Members of the judiciary ...

Boston — The economy didn’t slow down the scene at LegalTech 2009 in New York, although it did seem to alter the sales pitch. Vendors and service providers pitched themselves as cost-effective and budget-friendly, or adopted an as-needed, pay-as-you go sales plan. The following are some services and products that caught our eye. Deadlines on Demand: Avoid malpractice California-based CompuLaw’s ...

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Kimbrough v. U.S., 128 S.Ct. 558 (2007), defense attorneys have been free to argue for, and district courts to impose, below-guideline sentences for crack cocaine offenses, on the ground that the guidelines are excessive. A Jan. 24 opinion by Judge Lynn Adelman has now opened the door for the same argument with respect to ...

Boston – For lawyers, a blog is an invaluable tool for marketing, networking and getting the word out about you and your firm. But according to Kevin O’Keefe, president of LexBlog and author of “Real Lawyers Have Blogs,” a common mistake made by blogging attorneys is embedding the blog into their firm’s Web site – which could cost them credibility ...

If you want to substitute for another attorney a week before trial, and get more time to prepare, you need a reason. Otherwise, the court will ask how it can employ a balancing test, with nothing to balance on your side. Facing trial in Walworth County for six counts of sexual assault, Anthony L. Prineas moved a week before trial ...

Part I: The advantages

Finance Committee chair sees tough decisions ahead

A Milwaukee County judge Friday delayed the start of Milwaukee’s enforcement of a sick-leave law until the court rules on a lawsuit challenging the legality of the ordinance. “This is not a very difficult call today,” Judge Thomas Cooper said before ordering the injunction. “This is such a big deal to everybody that we better do it right from the ...

The subjective motivations of a police officer are but one factor courts should consider when deciding whether he was acting in a community caretaker capacity. That Jan. 29 holding by the Wisconsin Supreme Court limits language in some Court of Appeals cases that suggested an officer could not legally act in that capacity, unless it was “totally divorced” from investigating ...

Boston — The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting a worker who was fired after answering questions during an internal sex harassment inquiry to pursue a Title VII claim has the defense and plaintiffs’ bars divided over its impact. While some employment attorneys say the ruling will protect workers from being penalized for speaking out, others say it could hurt ...

It took a congratulatory lunch on a Friday afternoon for attorney Richard A. Congdon to realize how much he is going to miss practicing law. After 34 years as a lawyer, including the last 27 at Congdon, Walden, Schuster & Vaklyes, S.C., he was appointed to succeed Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Mark S. Gempeler, who retired on Dec. 2. ...

Randa, Peterson staying put for now