Sentencing and corrections reform in Wisconsin: Looking back, looking ahead
After about three decades of nearly continuous growth, Wisconsin’s prison population has stabilized over the past dozen years at about 22,000 to 23,000 inmates.
Court upholds firing of Milwaukee officer who punched woman (UPDATE)
A state Court of Appeals has ruled that a board had the authority to change its decision to suspend a Milwaukee police officer.
Truth-in-sentencing opponents waiting for change
Those in Wisconsin’s legal community who oppose truth-in-sentencing understand their chances for overturning, or at least toning down, the law depend on how well they play the long game.
7th Circuit decision unearths problems with mandatory minimums
A 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision released this week highlights the frustration some judges have with mandatory minimum sentences, as attorneys say a judge's decision to give a lower-than-mandated sentence was illegal.
Candid courtroom: Outspoken judges prompt criticism, admiration
Not every judge would feel comfortable writing in an opinion that “the sight of a shackled litigant is apt to make jurors think they’re dealing with a mad dog.”
Lessons learned: Prosecutors’ approaches to heroin epidemic differ from crack’s heyday
Nearly two decades after the height of crack cocaine use in Milwaukee, former District Attorney Mike McCann questions the tactics his office used to prosecute the problem.
Progress, room for improvement 50 years after Gideon decision
Fifty years ago today, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black delivered the unanimous, nine-page majority opinion in Gideon v. Wainwright.
BLAWG LOG: O’Hear on mandatory minimums and the disappearing trial
The New York Times has a new article on mandatory minimums and plea bargaining. The article notes the near-disappearance of the American criminal trial over the past generation.
BLAWG LOG: Farewell, Attorney Nathan A. Fishbach, by Michael O’Hear; Pettit: Landlords should treat tenant roommates as one person
The Milwaukee legal community lost one of its most distinguished members with the untimely passing of Nathan A. Fishbach.
Legal News
- Former law enforcement praise state’s response brief in Steven Avery case
- Eric Toney announces re-election bid for Fond du Lac County District Attorney
- Former Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Peter Barca announces new bid for Congress
- Republicans file lawsuit challenging Evers’s partial vetoes to literacy bill
- More human remains believed those of missing woman wash up on Milwaukee Co. beach
- Vice President Harris returning to Wisconsin for third visit this year
- Wisconsin joins Feds, dozens of states to hold airlines accountable for bad behavior
- Trump ahead of Biden in new Marquette poll
- Bankruptcy court approves Milwaukee Marriott Downtown ‘business as usual’ motion
- New Crime Gun Intelligence Center to launch in Chicago
- Arrest warrant proposed for Minocqua Brewing owner who filed Lawsuit against Town of Minocqua
- Wisconsin Supreme Court justices question how much power Legislature should have
WLJ People
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Russell Nicolet
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Benjamin Nicolet
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Dustin T. Woehl
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Katherine Metzger
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Joseph Ryan
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – James M. Ryan
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Dana Wachs
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Mark L. Thomsen
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Matthew Lein
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Jeffrey A. Pitman
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – William Pemberton
- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Howard S. Sicula