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

Jury instructions are a central part of any criminal trial.

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

For more than 15 years, Wisconsin courts have operated under the “truth in sentencing” model.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton parole Truth-in-Sentencing

Attorney General Brad Schimel has announced his plan to ask the Legislature for millions more dollars to hire more prosecutors throughout the state.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Brad Schimel DOC On the Defensive

The Netflix series “Making a Murderer” has garnered national attention. The episodes are compelling, largely because Steven Avery was wrongly convicted of rape, having served 18 years in prison for that crime.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Steven Avery

In her State of the Judiciary Address, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack promised that she will fight for higher judicial salaries when the Legislature begins work on the state’s next budget.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Pat Roggensack pay

Under Wisconsin law, a 17-year-old is considered an “adult” for the purpose of criminal prosecution.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive

In recent years, some of the biggest cases before the United States Supreme Court have dealt with how Fourth Amendment protections should apply in modern circumstances.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Fourth Amendment On the Defensive

Americans are over-legislated, a fact that partly explains why we incarcerate more people than any other country on the planet.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive

America has 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of its prisoners. As a society, we should have the courage to recognize that doubling down on a failed system is not a means of making our communities safer.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive

Of the 1.6 million military members who are now veterans, about 670,000 have been deemed to have a disability that is connected to their military service.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive PTSD

It’s that time of year when social media becomes flooded with pictures and posts from new law school graduates, all who will soon embark on different careers.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton John Chisholm On the Defensive

By state law, probation must be the first consideration at sentencing. Because of this, and because many everyday crimes do not warrant incarceration, thousands of defendants are placed on probation every year in Wisconsin.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Probation

There is nothing that harms the integrity of the criminal justice system more than a rogue officer planting evidence.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive Robert Zapf

Gov. Scott Walker’s recently unveiled biennial budget proposal outlines a measure to create “conflict offices” that would result in the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office retaining more criminal cases.

Tagged with: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers On the Defensive Scott Walker Wisconsin State Public Defender

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced the immediate termination of “equitable sharing,” a civil-asset forfeiture program run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Eric Holder On the Defensive

The adage that prosecutors can “indict a ham sandwich” has been called into question recently, when grand juries declined to prosecute officers involved in the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York.

Tagged with: Christopher Manney Dontre Hamilton John Chisholm Michael Brown

The theme of Franz Kafka’s book, “The Trial,” resonates as strongly today as ever. Prosecutors have amassed powers and tools that were inconceivable even a generation ago.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Christopher Wiesmueller John Doe John Doe investigation Neal Nettesheim On the Defensive

A prominent New Jersey criminal defense attorney, William Buckman, committed suicide in a hotel room Oct. 14.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Dennis Barry National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers On the Defensive

Justice Antonin Scalia has been the target of considerable invective, largely because of his support for the death penalty.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Antonin Scalia Florida v. Jardines Fourth Amendment Kuchler & Cotton SCOTUS U.S. Supreme Court

It has become common knowledge that a Ferguson, Mo., police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black man.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Michael Brown On the Defensive

In a rare unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in Riley v. California that police must secure a warrant before searching a cellphone owned by a criminal suspect.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Fourth Amendment GPS Kuchler & Cotton On the Defensive privacy search warrant U.S. Supreme Court

In the past decade, there have been a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” as it applies to juvenile defendants.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Eighth Amendment Kuchler & Cotton Miller v. Alabama On the Defensive stabbing

In the 1980s, America faced a crack cocaine epidemic.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton cocaine crack heroin National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Few motions in criminal cases cause more confusion than those based on a court’s inherent authority.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton CCAP Consolidated Court Automation Programs Kuchler & Cotton On the Defensive Wisconsin Supreme Court

Criminal defense attorneys have few tools they can use to learn about the prosecution’s case.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Kuchler & Cotton On the Defensive

Under Wisconsin law, certain young offenders are entitled to have their criminal conviction expunged from their record.

There is a crisis in this country. Considerable numbers of otherwise good people have become addicted to opiates.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Kuchler & Cotton On the Defensive

In 1993, the Wisconsin Constitution was amended to give crime victims certain privileges.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive

Since he was elected governor, Scott Walker has not appointed a single person to Wisconsin’s Pardon Advisory Board.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Gov. Scott Walker On the Defensive

Every day, in criminal trials throughout the state, juries are instructed as follows: “If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the [elements of the crime] have been proved, you should find the defendant guilty. If you are not so satisfied, you must find the defendant not guilty.”

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton On the Defensive