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

Sentencing Possessing child pornography Michael Jensen appeals a judgment, entered upon his guilty pleas, convicting him of twenty-seven counts of possessing child pornography contrary to Wis. Stat. § 948.12(1m) (2005-06). Jensen argues the trial court erroneously exercised its sentencing discretion ...

Tagged with: Sentencing Digest

Trusts and Estates Partial assignment; judicial estoppel Rick S. Guerard appeals from a judgment that admitted the will of Arlene W. Bowsher to probate and stated that Guerard, the sole beneficiary under the will, could not withdraw an amended partial ...

Tagged with: judicial estoppel

Sentencing DNA surcharge Jose G. Santiago, pro se, appeals an order denying his motion to modify his sentence. He challenges the DNA surcharge imposed by the circuit court, arguing that the court failed to adequately explain why it was imposed. ...

Tagged with: DNA surcharge Sentencing Digest

Civil Procedure Personal jurisdiction; trusts; personal service; amended pleadings Milwaukee Safeguard Insurance Company, as subrogee of Tom and Ruby Thoma, appeals an order dismissing its claims against Diane Hanson and the Peter J. Meadows Irrevocable Trust. Milwaukee Safeguard argues the ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Digest Personal jurisdiction trusts

Torts Governmental immunity; subcontractors A subcontractor working on a government project is entitled to immunity where it conformed to the approved specifications. “Here, the City of River Falls dictated which traffic control devices Pember was required to use and where ...

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Employment Worker’s compensation An employer paying the medical expenses of an employee in institutional care can be required to pay the costs of transfer to a residential setting, even if it is not medically necessary. “Bowman asserts there is no ...

Tagged with: Employment Digest Worker's compensation

Evidence Electronic monitoring devices Gregg Kandutsch appeals a judgment of conviction for operating while under the influence of an intoxicant, fifth and subsequent offense. He claims the circuit court erroneously admitted daily summary reports from his electronic monitoring device at ...

Tagged with: Evidence Digest

Criminal Procedure Coram nobis In these consolidated appeals, Michael Daniels appeals from an order denying a petition for a writ of coram nobis. The circuit court denied Daniels’s petition. We affirm.  This opinion will not be published. 2009AP2196-CR, 2009AP2197-CR, 2009AP2198-CR ...

Constitutional Law Civil rights; color of state law Even though an alderman beat a private citizen, he did not do so under color of state law, and he cannot be sued under Section 1983. “Even drawing all reasonable inferences in ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Digest Constitutional Digest

Constitutional Law Adult book stores Owners of adult bookstores were properly granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of an ordinance requiring them to close on Sundays, and between midnight and 10 a.m. on other days. “Appellate review of an order ...

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Civil Procedure Personal jurisdiction A doctor in Texas, licensed only in Texas, cannot be sued for cybersquatting in Illinois. “A defendant’s deliberate and continuous exploitation of the market in a forum state, accomplished through its website as well as through ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Digest LLC Personal jurisdiction

Bankruptcy Reassignment of contracts Where it would require $3 million to perform a contract, and the proposed assignee only had $1,000 in assets, the bankruptcy court properly refused to permit assignment of the contract to that party. “The bankruptcy judge ...

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Intellectual Property Trademark infringement; standing Before a plaintiff may assert a claim under the Lanham Act, she must have a commercial interest to protect. “Relying on cases in other circuits, Stayart argues that because her activities include advocacy and boycotts ...

Tagged with: Intellectual Property standing Trademark infringement

Professional Responsibility Public reprimand Where attorney Barry LeSieur was convicted of OWI, third offense, a public reprimand is appropriate. “[W]e determine that Attorney LeSieur’s conduct demonstrates a pattern of disregard for the requirements of the law and calls for the ...

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Professional Responsibility Even though Gary R. George has not acknowledged wrongdoing that led to his criminal convictions, reinstatement of his law license is appropriate. “There is nothing in the supreme court rules that requires Attorney George to acknowledge the wrongfulness ...

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Criminal Procedure Plea withdrawal Arthur Conner appeals a circuit court order that denied his motion for postconviction relief from a criminal drug conviction. We withdrew a previously issued decision in this matter to allow supplemental briefing. We now affirm. This ...

Tagged with: Criminal Procedure Digest Plea withdrawal

Family Marital property; valuation Christy L. Handland appeals from that portion of a judgment of divorce that divided the marital property and ordered her former husband, Thomas Handland, to pay her an equalization payment. Specifically, Christy argues that the circuit ...

Tagged with: Family Digest Marital property valuation

Motor Vehicles Speeding Jenny L. Nowak appeals the judgment of conviction, after a jury trial, for violating Wis. Stat. § 346.57(4)(e) by operating a motor vehicle at thirty-nine miles per hour in a twenty-five mile per hour zone. Nowak alleges ...

Tagged with: Motor Vehicles Digest Speeding

Property Landlord-tenant; eviction Julia Latimer appeals a judgment of eviction entered following a trial to the court. Latimer argues that the trial court erred when it (1) failed to conduct the proper evidentiary analysis and failed to explain its decision; ...

Tagged with: eviction Landlord-tenant Property Digest

Motor Vehicles OWI; prior convictions; collateral attacks David J. Bucknell appeals from a judgment of conviction for fourth offense operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant (OWI). He challenges an order denying his motion collaterally attacking ...

Tagged with: collateral attacks Motor Vehicles Digest OWI prior convictions

Civil Procedure Personal jurisdiction A out-of-state computer company that registers internet domain names is subject to suit for cybersquatting. GoDaddy has thoroughly, deliberately, and successfully exploited the Illinois market. Its attempt to portray itself either as a local Arizona outfit ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Digest Personal jurisdiction

Sentencing Procedural errors Where the district court announced that it would impose the mandatory minimum sentence during the change of plea hearing, before it knew the advisory guidelines range or had heard either party’s argument regarding the sentence, the sentence ...

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Property Foreclosure; confirmation Lowell Management Services, Inc. appeals from an order confirming the foreclosure sale of property on which it held a construction lien. We previously decided Lowell’s appeal from the judgment of foreclosure. Lowell Mgmt. Serv. Inc. v. Geneva ...

Tagged with: Foreclosure Property Digest

Property Landlord-tenant Custom Services Unlimited, LLC (“CSU”) appeals from that portion of the judgment of the circuit court that found that it had breached a lease agreement it had with Marquette Warehouse, LLC, and awarded attorney fees to Marquette. Marquette ...

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Contracts Formation The Winters Group, LLC (TWG) and Robert J. Schulz appeal from a judgment in favor of Sharon L. Post for the $9,500 she paid TWG for a bathroom and sunroom addition to her home. They argue that under ...

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Schools Open enrollment A resident school district may not limit the number of student transfers to nonresident school districts under sec. 118.51(6). “The School District contends that because there is no language expressly removing the cap after the 2005-06 school ...

Sentencing Accurate information Christine L. Williams appeals from a judgment convicting her of one count of child neglect resulting in death and three counts of forgery and from an order denying her postconviction motion for resentencing. Williams contends that her ...

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Motor Vehicles OWI; alternative tests Robert J. Brunello, Jr., appeals from an order denying his motion to suppress chemical test results. The trial court denied his suppression motion after determining Brunello’s early request for a blood test expressed his preference ...

Tagged with: Motor Vehicles Digest OWI

Bankruptcy Automatic stay A prisoner’s filing for bankruptcy does not stay the prison from recovering restitution from him for costs associated with his violation of prison rules. “I am satisfied the assessment made against the debtor in this case is ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy Digest

Motor Vehicles OWI; refusal; forcible blood sample; due process Andrew M. LaFond appeals an order revoking his operating privileges because of his failure to submit to a chemical blood test in violation of Wis. Stat. § 343.305(10). LaFond argues the ...

Tagged with: due process Motor Vehicles Digest OWI