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.”

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A bill that seeks to add another charge prosecutors can use for co-sleeping deaths already is getting pushback for a lack of clarity.

Tagged with: Adam Gerol Alberta Darling Anthony Cotton child neglect co-sleeping John Chisholm Kuchler & Cotton Leah Vukmir Samantha Kerkman

Milwaukee recently saw its 11th co-sleeping death this year. In response, County Supervisor Mark Borkowski suggested state legislators enact new laws that would permit prosecutors to bring “manslaughter” charges against parents who cause the death of a child through co-sleeping.

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In criminal prosecutions, defendants often feel as if they are fighting an impossible battle.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton DEA Kuchler & Cotton National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers On the Defensive U.S. Supreme Court Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Law enforcement officers for years have taken advantage of overly broad civil forfeiture laws.

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Most lawyers have assumed that the Constitution is unambiguous in preserving one’s right to remain silent.

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Defense attorney Frank Gimbel did not want to question his client John Spooner in court recently, but was forced to when the 76-year-old insisted upon taking the stand.

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Most lawyers in criminal practice have heard a defendant utter the expression “real lawyer.”

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More than half of all black men in Milwaukee County have spent time in prison, according to a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study.

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Congress hatched the idea of fusion centers in the aftermath of the Sept.11, 2011, terrorist attacks.

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Every defendant convicted of a crime in federal court must confront the federal sentencing guidelines.

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Attorneys who are appointed to cases by the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office are paid $40 per hour.

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Sometimes lost in the debate over gun control is the fact that this country needs meaningful change to the way in which mental health treatment is ordered, offered and executed.

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton gun control Kuchler & Cotton Law Offices National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

In November, the voters of Colorado and Washington supported initiatives that legalized marijuana within their states.

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Morton’s Fork describes a choice between two equally unpleasant options.

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After two failed attempts, a state legislator will try again to reinstate jury trials for juveniles facing extended detention.

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A legislative proposal expanding use of hearsay in preliminary hearings could lead to questionable testimony and potentially render felony pre-trial examinations worthless.

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Rather than just reading 19 pages of jury instructions to the people who would decide if Jesus Gonzalez was guilty of murder, Milwaukee Judge Richard Sankovitz mixed in some visuals.

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On Aug. 27, Michael Fitzsimmons awoke at 2 a.m. to the sound of noises coming from his garage. It was dark out and Fitzsimmons walked outside to investigate. Upon entering his garage, Fitzsimmons was confronted by a man later identified as James Babe.

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Twenty-six of Wisconsin’s best and brightest young attorneys were honored Aug. 31 at the Wisconsin Club during the Wisconsin Law Journal’s Up and Coming Lawyers event. More than 250 honorees and guests attended the event. Honorees were selected from more than 75 nominations in a wide range of practice areas – everything from criminal defense to trusts and estates to the city attorney’s office. For more photos from the event, see the Sept. 6 issue of the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Tagged with: Allison Ritter Anthony Cotton Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown Grant Huebner Kuchler & Cotton Michael Best and Friedrich Up and Coming Lawyers