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

“Congress has unambiguously conditioned the States’ receipt of Title IX funds on their waiver of Eleventh Amendment immunity from private causes of action. Although Title IX does not expressly provide for a private right of action, the Supreme Court has ...

“Unlike Mose [v. Tedco Equities-Potter Road Ltd. Partnership, 228 Wis.2d 848 (Ct. App. 1999)], neither G&L nor K&T knew that the land was going to be contaminated and neither party negotiated a compromised purchase price as a result. Thus, we ...

Wisconsin Patients Compensation Fund, Boscobel Area Health Care (BAHC), and Wisconsin Hospital Association Liability Insurance Plan appeal from a judgment on a hospital malpractice claim. The plaintiff, Elizabeth Wilson, recovered damages for injuries suffered while she was a BAHC patient, ...

“We do not consider a position in an amicus brief to be more deserving of Chevron deference than a tariff classification ruling. Upon reading Mead, we find that a litigation position in an amicus brief, perhaps just as agency interpretations ...

“[W]e conclude that even though the Heritage policy is a general liability policy, Wis. Stat. sec. 632.32(6)(a) applies. While not required by law to offer automobile liability coverage, Heritage did provide coverage with the endorsement for non-owned auto liability. The ...

Chris Spangberg appeals a summary judgment dismissing his legal malpractice action against attorney John Talis, his insurer and his law firm. Spangberg’s complaint alleged that Talis negligently allowed the statute of limitations to expire on two claims Spangberg wanted to ...

“In an attempt to show that he has raised a substantial constitutional claim, Beslic argues that the language of 8 U.S.C. sec. 1182, which provides that aliens are inadmissible if they are attempting to enter the United States to ‘evade ...

We further conclude that defendant’s request for resentencing because his sentence was unduly harsh has already been adjudicated and there are no new factors which would justify modifying defendant’s sentence. “Although there may be situations… in which it is appropriate ...

Douglas Lisney appeals from a judgment convicting him of disorderly conduct while using a dangerous weapon, and from a subsequent order denying his motion for postconviction relief. Lisney argues that he is entitled to a new trial because he was ...

“[W]e should consider whether there was any causal relation between that negligence and the suicide. We think not. Johnson did not commit suicide because he had sores on his body. As nearly as can be reconstructed from the evidence, he ...

“In Lac Courte Oreilles Band v. Voigt, 700 F.2d 341 (7th Cir. 1983) (LCO I), the court of appeals recognized that the Chippewa have usufructuary rights and remanded the case to the district court for determination of several issues, including ...

Kelly J. Bodoh appeals from a judgment of conviction of party to the crime of first-degree intentional homicide and from an order denying his motion for postconviction relief. He argues that trial counsel was constitutionally deficient by not investigating additional ...

“We agree with Viezca that there are similarities between this case and Duff. Portions of Count one of the indictment in this case were worded much like the indictment in Duff, as it charged Viezca, Mendoza, and Guerrero with having ...

“While Detective Kaltenbrun was undercover, unlike the uniformed officers in Hughes, here the totality of the circumstances led him to believe that Garrett was involved in the destruction of the bag of cocaine. Evidence that: (1) only minutes before, two ...

Kenneth Fowler appeals, following his Alford pleas, from a judgment convicting him of burglary and kidnapping. He also appeals from the circuit court order denying his motion for postconviction relief. He argues that the trial court erred in denying his ...

“[W]e find that Sapoznik’s redacted plea allocution contains the particularized guarantees of trustworthiness that justify its admissibility under the Confrontation Clause. … [T]he mere fact that Sapoznik may have pleaded guilty to get a ‘good deal’ does not mean he ...

Precision Machine and Manufacturing Inc. (Precision) appeals from a judgment for $88,177.89 in favor of Michael Keyes. The claims that Keyes pursued in this action derived from his employment relationship with Forge Flite, Inc. The trial court held Precision liable ...

Jeffrey Raniewicz appeals from a judgment entered after a jury convicted him of one count of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), with intent to deliver, while possessing a dangerous weapon, and one count of felon in possession of a ...

“[T]he prosecutor’s comments were directed towards reinforcing that the government’s case was undisputed in material respects. … While the prosecutor’s comments would have been improper if Alanis was the only person who could have contradicted, denied, rebutted, or disputed the ...

Mac-Gray Co. Inc. appeals an order which granted Walsh Apartments LLC, a writ of restitution evicting Mac-Gray from its occupancy of the laundry rooms in Walsh’s apartment complex. Mac-Gray had leased the laundry rooms from the former owner of the ...

“Taking the facts in the light most favorable to Stutler, we conclude that no reasonable jury could find that the conduct endured by Stutler was severe enough to rise to the level of an adverse employment action. Rockett’s conduct after ...

Melvin Pulver appeals the judgment entered upon a jury verdict awarding him $9,153 damages plus costs and interest for injuries he sustained in a three-car automobile accident. Pulver contends he is entitled to a new trial because: (1) the jury’s ...

“[T]here is no evidence that Spears had a sexual or romantic interest in Frazier, though that is possible. But many cases of sexual harassment involve hostility to female coworkers because they are female. Sometimes it is because the men feel ...

Kevin Booth, pro se, appeals his judgment of conviction for attempted second-degree sexual assault with a person who the defendant knows is unconscious and an order denying postconviction relief. Booth argues that: (1) he was denied his Sixth Amendment right ...

“Alexander has presented no evidence from which it can be inferred that the defendants’ stated reason for his termination was a pretext for discrimination. Gruchow explained to Moritz that despite the fact that he had been careful not to relay ...

Andrew B. Collette appeals pro se from a judgment of conviction and an order denying postconviction relief. In his pro se postconviction motion, Collette contended that his postconviction counsel was ineffective, that the sentencing violated his double jeopardy protection and ...

“Henderson’s first motion was not a section 2255 motion as such; it is deemed a section 2255 motion as a result of the rule adopted in Evans and other cases… Nothing in AEDPA says that a motion not labeled as ...

Sirvictor Bryant appeals from a judgment convicting him of possessing cocaine with intent to deliver it and three misdemeanors. The issues are whether the trial court erred by allowing the State to present certain testimony at his trial and by ...

“Whitehead argues that his right to a fair and impartial jury was violated because a local newspaper published the names and addresses of the jurors. Indeed, the Supreme Court has found that publication of juror names and addresses can contribute ...

Although a husband’s incarceration may be considered in determining child support obligations, the trial court appropriately observed that the husband’s incarceration was the result of his voluntary choice to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated despite four previous OWI arrests, ...