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

It would indeed be unfortunate if this decision were published as recommended, and not reversed by the Supreme Court. Admittedly, the majority’s interpretation of Local Rule 365 is something that attorneys can comply with, and should be expected to. Opposing ...

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“Ferreting through a policy to dig up ambiguity should not be judicially rewarded because this sort of ambiguity is insufficient. Rather, inconsistencies in the context of a policy must be material to the issue in dispute.” Hon. David T. Prosser ...

Every first year law student learns the quote of Oliver Wendell Holmes that, “you can always imply a condition to a contract.” Had the court decided this case otherwise, it would have been good law in Wisconsin to paraphrase the ...

“Anyone who enters a business premises, including a person with criminal intent, should presume that the owner possesses a weapon, even if the weapon is not visible.” Hon. David T. Prosser Wisconsin Supreme Court The carrying a concealed weapon (CCW) ...

There is little doubt that, as Justice Prosser was sharp to recognize in his concurrence in Cole, these cases are going to generate a “deluge of frivolous litigation.” A large number will be from prisoners who failed to raise “as ...

Hon. Michael J. Skwierawski Following 25 years of judicial service to Milwaukee County, five as chief judge, Michael J. Skwierawski, 60, is retiring. Those within the First Judicial Administrative District say he is leaving the state’s largest court system better ...

Michael R. Davis Michael R. Davis compares appearing at trial with performing music on stage. Having done both, Davis would know. Davis, a shareholder with DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. in Madison, is the new Dane County Bar Association (DCBA) ...

“The essential inquiry is whether a change in access is ‘reasonable.’ Thus, the fact that National Auto has access to Highway 12 via a frontage road does not resolve whether that access is reasonable. Rather, this is a question for ...

The majority opinion is unusual in two respects. First, it fails to even address the position raised in the dissent — that Schneider v. State, 51 Wis.2d 458, 187 N.W.2d 172 (1971) only applies when the State acts pursuant to ...

“The existence of such conduct in the past makes no difference to the present legal analysis. Simply put, multiple wrongs do not make a right.” Justice Jon P. Wilcox Wisconsin Supreme Court Article VII, Section 10(1) of the Wisconsin Constitution ...

In the wake of the decision, no judge can run for, or accept appointment to, a nonjudicial, nonfederal, office until the expiration of an elected term. However, a judge or justice could still run for the U.S. House of Represen-tatives, ...

Hon. Ann Walsh Bradley A district attorney cannot petition for commitment of a prisoner as a sexually violent person, in the absence of a referral from the Department of Corrections (DOC) to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Wisconsin Supreme ...

For anyone interested in rules of statutory construction, the issue in this case provides a fascinating case study. Consider the history of the issue in this case. On Dec. 8, 1998, in State v. Shaw, 226 Wis.2d 160, 594 N.W.2d ...

The state Supreme Court has determined that a claim for emotional distress over the death of a loved one must be paid out of the bodily injury limits for the person who died, in line with the “limits of liability” ...

When a defendant is resentenced after a successful appeal, the court can only impose a longer sentence if affirmative reasons justifying the longer sentence appear in the record, and are based on objective information regarding events or identifiable conduct on ...

The decision in this case is one that has been needed for a long time, for two reasons. The first is the belated recognition that the Leonard and Pearce standards are not the same, and that previous statements that they ...

“What attracted me to the law was the study of law in American history and world history.” Daniel Blinka An interest in the past moved Daniel Blinka toward his future as a lawyer and Marquette University Law School professor. Looking ...

“While conceding that the facts out of Gordon’s own mouth amounted to disorderly conduct while armed, Gordon’s attorney argued vigorously for acquittal on the more serious felony and misdemeanor counts. This was a reasonable tactical approach under the circumstances, plainly ...

The decision, insofar as it concerns an attorney’s concession of guilt, brings Wisconsin in line with most jurisdictions and the Seventh Circuit, which has long recognized that an attorney may concede guilt to one charge in a multi-count trial as ...

“There might be harm in a case such as this if for example a plaintiff had some leeway in classifying damages as economic rather than noneconomic, or if knowledge that noneconomic damages were unavailable would have induced her to devote ...

The decision has the potential to become a trap for Wisconsin defense attorneys who don’t spend much time in federal court, because damage caps need not be pleaded in Wisconsin state courts, but dicta in this case suggests they should ...

Equitable estoppel does not bar defendants from asserting the statute of limitations as a defense, even though the defendants’ attorney told the plaintiff that he would accept service of the complaint and summons in lieu of the defendants themselves, the ...

The holding that the statute of limitations is not tolled pending a voluntarily dismissed federal action, but not a state one, creates a trap for the unwary that attorneys must pay attention to. Prior to this decision, even a very ...

Hon. Shirley S. Abrahamson A school district is immune from liability for the negligence of a guidance counselor in advising a student on coursework, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held on June 19. However, in a series of concurrences, and one ...

Justice Bablitch asserted in his concurrence, "A doctrine of governmental immunity that has caused such injustice and inequity, in this case and others, cannot, and I predict, will not, stand much longer." It is likely that the court will soon ...

Milwaukee Bar Association Executive Director Jim Paetsch watches as Rep. Terri McCormick announces her bill, which would increase eligibility standards for State Public Defender representation, which have remained unchanged since 1987. The new standards would be tied to W-2. A ...

Given the importance of the issue, the likelihood that the Wisconsin Supreme Court will grant review, if petitioned, should be considered very high. The court has not considered waiver since the Dudek case in 1967, and the decision here greatly ...

The court concluded that there is no generally accepted meaning of “just cause” in private employment contracts, and the term is ambiguous. However, there is a long-standing definition of “good cause” for discharge in private employment contracts, and, according to ...