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The Dark Side

Apr 4, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: Thompson a solid pick for new public defender

Congratulations to Kelli Thompson on being named the state’s new public defender.

Mar 30, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: There’s no pilpul in the Wisconsin Law Journal

I recently learned a new Yiddish term while reading a novel called "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok: "pilpul."

Mar 22, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: What is this state smokin’?

Everyone has to have faith in something or somebody. I have faith in the actuaries who work for insurance companies. If they say women should have lower rates for life insurance than men, then I know women live longer than men on average. If they base car insurance rates on zip codes, then I know […]

Mar 21, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: The hazards of playing basketball at the firehouse

A little while back, I was informed that somebody who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers had injured himself playing basketball and would be out for the beginning of the baseball season, if not longer.

Mar 16, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: 7th Circuit needs to enter the 20th Century

I arrived at work the other morning, all caffeinated and nicotined-up, excited about corrupting the youth of Milwaukee, the same as I do every other day.

Mar 14, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: When good unions go bad

This is an example of what is wrong with public sector unions. I’m not attacking public sector unions here. They have their pros and cons. But this case is a good example of one of the cons — excessive litigation that private sector unions and employers wouldn’t pursue. It is a 188-page decision from the […]

Mar 9, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: Why I recycle only valuable things

I can understand why not everyone is as thrilled as I am with the governor’s proposed budget.

Mar 2, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: Faulkner knows how to write a good bailment story

It’s a pity I’m not as great a writer as William Faulkner.

Feb 23, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: The Grateful Dead meet the courthouse crowd

When I was young, it was an annual event to go see the Grateful Dead perform at Alpine Valley. You can imagine what that entailed. I never went to the extreme of traveling around the country to follow the band. Some people have always had to work, you know. But when they came to town […]

Feb 21, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: Somebody moved my bowling alley

The abuse of eminent domain in the United States is at least as old as the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954), in which the court shamelessly held that confiscating the property of homeowners and business owners, in order to transfer it to politically-connected cronies, was a valid public use, comparable to building a public road.

Feb 14, 2011

THE DARK SIDE: An Aesop’s Fable for the legal eagles

It was January in Wisconsin, and I was sitting in my dining room, watching the cardinals and chickadees at the birdfeeder through the window. I was shoveling fistfuls of fresh blueberries imported from Chile into my gullet, while I pondered how wonderful international trade is.

Feb 7, 2011

From the golf course to the courthouse

So who is, or was, your favorite client?

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Should Wisconsin Supreme Court rules be amended so attorneys can't appeal license revocation after 5 years?

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