Grabbing the bull by the horns, the Court of Appeals clarified a recurring issue in those misdemeanor sentencings that involve a penalty enhancer.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto

An insurer is exempt from paying court costs and settlements connected to lawsuits filed after a contractor ruptured a gas line and caused an April 2008 explosion in Oconomowoc, the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals explosion Grady Hayes & Neary J. Mac Davis Lisa Neubauer Mark Gundrum OSHA Paul Reilly

In a child sexual assault case that divided the Court of Appeals, the state Supreme Court properly kept the focus on the elements of the crime and a jury’s function.

Tagged with: Ann Walsh Bradley Bench Blog Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto Kitty Brennan Patricia Curley Wisconsin Supreme Court

A 1995 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision was not enough to sway the Court of Appeals to hold the town of Delavan to a similar standard, according to a recent decision.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals James Carlson Wisconsin Supreme Court

State prosecutors filed an appeal Friday of a federal judge's decision overturning a Wisconsin man's conviction for killing his wife with poison.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Julie Jensen Mark Jensen William Griesbach

Two contractors that worked on the defunct Staybridge Suites project in Milwaukee, and have been waiting years for payment, may never get compensated.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals Foley & Lardner Quarles & Brady

Two unnamed parties are suing the judge and prosecutor overseeing a secret investigation that's reportedly looking into fundraising efforts by Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and other conservative groups.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals John Doe investigation Wisconsin Club for Growth Wisconsin Supreme Court

In a decision that touches all three branches of government, the court of appeals decided that in actions for civil forfeiture pretrial discovery may be conducted.

Tagged with: Bench Blog collective bargaining Court of Appeals First Amendment Freedom of speech Jean DiMotto John Markson Paul Lundsten Scott Walker William Hanrahan

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued 1,045 decisions in 2013. Of those cases, it upheld about 83 percent of them.

Tagged with: Brian Blanchard Court of Appeals Michael Hoover Richard Brown Wisconsin Supreme Court

In December the Court of Appeals decided a novel insurance exclusion case involving a grade-school boy’s gun death.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto Lisa Stark

Employers can require their workers to sign arbitration agreements waiving all rights to class-action lawsuits over workplace grievances, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Tagged with: class-action lawsuit Court of Appeals National Labor Relations Act NLRB

Convicted murderer Jack E. Johnson asked the Wisconsin Court of Appeals to find that a warrantless search conducted in Mexico, which violated U.S. Fourth Amendment protections, should also be viewed as a bad search by Wisconsin courts.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals Fourth Amendment Jack Johnson Justin Welch

A well-presented Court of Appeals case affirmed that when the defendant breaches a plea agreement prior to sentencing, the state may change its side of the agreement.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Court of Appeals District II Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto Lisa Neubauer Plea agreements

The Court of Appeals has peeled a layer off Wisconsin’s thick and smelly land-use onion.

Tagged with: 2nd District Court of Appeals Court of Appeals Mark Gundrum

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that the Kewaskum School District was wrong when it claimed Act 10 negated any part of a contract that was in effect when the law was passed.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals Paul Reilly

The U.S. Supreme Court has changed course after nearly 50 years by deciding that the touchstone of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence is trespass to a property interest, not reasonable expectation of privacy.

Tagged with: Bench Blog Court of Appeals Florida v. Jardines Fourth Amendment GPS Jean DiMotto Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Forum selection clauses are commonly used to control where disputes can be adjudicated, particularly those arising from business and consumer contracts. But when a party files suit in a court other than the one specified in such an agreement, how can the aggrieved party enforce the contract terms, given that federal law controls the issue of venue?

Tagged with: Court of Appeals Elena Kagan John Roberts Ruth Bader Ginsburg U.S. Supreme Court

In a new court of appeals case, the doctrine of mutual mistake in a home sale contract meets a motion for sanctions based on frivolous claims.

Tagged with: Bench Blog breach of contract Court of Appeals Jean DiMotto Kevin Martens Kitty Brennan

County employees who retire after a health benefit is taken away are not eligible to receive the benefit, even if it was promised when they were hired, according to a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision issued Tuesday.

Tagged with: Christopher Foley Court of Appeals Hawks Quindel Joan Kessler Lindner & Marsack

When there’s no objection to jury instructions, how can they be faulty enough to warrant reversal?

Tagged with: Bench Blog Court of Appeals Dennis Cimpl Jean DiMotto Joan Kessler Milwaukee County Circuit Court

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals refused to overturn the conviction of a Somali refugee who argued that a Milwaukee County judge didn’t properly explain the ramifications a plea would have on his immigration status.

Tagged with: Carl Ashley Court of Appeals

A western Wisconsin horse trainer has lost a legal dispute over a show jumper in a case that gives a glimpse into the world of champion horses.

Tagged with: breach of contract Court of Appeals

When David Turnpaugh appeared before the Wisconsin Claims Board on Wednesday for the third time in three years, he knew he would receive compensation for his wrongful conviction on prostitution and bail-jumping charges in 2006.

Tagged with: Brian Hagedorn Court of Appeals David Turnpaugh Paul Van Grunsven Wisconsin Claims Board

A mental commitment case that recently went before the state Supreme Court offers a valuable lesson to attorneys and judges: listen closely.

Tagged with: Annette Ziegler Bench Blog Court of Appeals David Prosser Jean DiMotto Mark Mangerson Michael Gage Third District Court of Appeals Wisconsin Supreme Court

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

Tagged with: Anthony Cotton Court of Appeals Eighth Amendment forfeiture Kuchler & Cotton Law Offices On the Defensive

The village of Brown Deer is seeking confirmation from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals that a reconstruction project on five roads is legal.

Tagged with: Alan Marcuvitz Brown Deer Court of Appeals Hugh Braun Michael Best & Friedrich Rick Sankovitz

A Green Bay man’s marijuana conviction was overturned after the Court of Appeals said a police officer unlawfully searched the man’s car and found evidence during a traffic stop that was already completed.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals marijuana

A health and fitness club could not enforce an exculpatory waiver that a member signed when he joined the club, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a dismissal.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals exculpatory evidence

A recent decision from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed that the University of Wisconsin Hospital could pursue a hospital lien against a Medicare-eligible patient even after the Medicare billing period had expired.

Tagged with: Court of Appeals John Albert liens Medicare Wisconsin Court of Appeals

It’s an issue that leaves employment lawyers and their clients scratching their heads: Must an employer reassign a disabled employee to a vacant position that would have otherwise been filled by a competitive process?

Tagged with: 7th Circuit ADA Court of Appeals Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren U.S. Supreme Court