Jun

30

Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program: Theory to Practice

Posted by: | June 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Andrea Schneider and Natalie Fleury have a new paper on SSRN that describes the Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program and analyzes the MFMP’s design by reference to dispute resolution theory.  The MFMP responded to the ongoing foreclosure crisis in Milwaukee, emerging from an initiative involving Marquette Law School and several government agencies, elected leaders, and community [...]

Jun

28

SCOTUS Takes Another Case on Right to Counsel in Collateral Proceedings

Posted by: | June 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment

For the second time this month, the Court has granted certiorari in a case dealing with the right to counsel in collateral proceedings.  The first case, Martinez v. Ryan (see my post here), concerns a potential constitutional right to counsel in a collateral proceeding in state court.  The new case, Martel v. Clair (No. 10-1265), deals with a potential statutory [...]

Jun

28

The Right to Violent Video Games

Posted by: | June 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children.  In Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 564 U.S. 1 (2011), the Court held that the First Amendment right to free speech protects the video games.  As I predicted last November in a blog post on the [...]

Jun

27

Department of Justice Files Fair Housing Act Suit Against City of New Berlin

Posted by: | June 27, 2011 | 2 Comments

On Thursday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint against the City of New Berlin. The complaint arises out of a series of events that led to the City’s denial of a “workforce” housing development proposal made by MSP Real Estate, Inc. (MSP).  The DOJ alleges that the City of New Berlin ultimately denied the [...]

Jun

27

Marquette Law School Alumnae Honored as “Women in Law”

Posted by: | June 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment

On Thursday, June 23rd, the Wisconsin Law Journal recognized its 2011 Women in Law honorees.  There were several MULS alumnae among the group: Elizabeth Blackwood, Michelle Fitzgerald, Mary Gerbig, Christine Liu McLaughlin, and Linda Meagher.  As you can read further on the Wisconsin Law Journal’s website here, these Marquette lawyers have compelling stories, have accomplished so [...]

Jun

25

Bullcoming Arrives, But Where’s the Path?

Posted by: | June 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment

The Supreme Court continues to refurnish the modern courtroom with eighteenth-century antiques. Without the slightest glint of irony, or even humor, the Court assessed the admissibility of twenty-first century scientific evidence using legal doctrine crafted on parchment with quill pens in an age when mirrors were placed to direct sunlight into the face of the [...]

Jun

25

Ozanne v. Fitzgerald: Haste Makes Waste

Posted by: | June 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment

On June 23, I participated in a discussion concerning the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in Ozanne v. Fitzgerald, 2011 WI 43, on the Wisconsin Eye public affairs show “Legally Speaking.”  Rick Esenberg and I continued our ongoing difference of opinion regarding this litigation, which seems to generate an endless supply of novel and contentious legal [...]

Jun

22

Child Support, Contempt of Court, and (Maybe) Lawyers

Posted by: | June 22, 2011 | 3 Comments

This week, the US Supreme Court handed down a decision in Turner v. Rogers, a case involving a non-custodial parent who was jailed for nonpayment of child support.  Failure to pay child support is a violation of a court order to pay, and is thus handled as a civil contempt of court case.  A finding [...]

Jun

21

Education Round-up: More New MPS Principals and More Changes in Detroit

Posted by: | June 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment

The second wave of new principals in Milwaukee Public Schools is going to hit shore tonight at a meeting of the Milwaukee School Board’s finance committee. This time, it is slated to bring new principals to 19 schools. Last month, the first wave brought new leaders to 21 schools. The two waves – and there [...]

Jun

21

Ail to the Chief

Posted by: | June 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment

The dark underside of life tenure for Supreme Court Justices is the difficulty of removing an obviously ailing Justice even after his or her capacity to serve has seriously deteriorated.  However, despite the absence of effective formal removal mechanisms, Chief Justices have sometimes been successful in nudging declining Associate Justices off the bench, as in the cases of [...]

Jun

21

How to Hold Onto Your Sports Franchise

Posted by: | June 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a nice run in the recently concluded NBA playoffs, but it was nothing compared to their run from Seattle.  The story of the escape of the former SuperSonics from Seattle is the central case study in a new paper on the retention of major league franchises by Paul Anderson and William [...]

Jun

20

The Media and Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Posted by: | June 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

Last month I was contacted by the Italian newspaper Il Foglio and interviewed regarding criminal proceedings against Dominique Strauss-Kahn.  A French banker and head of the International Monetary Fund, Strauss-Kahn has been charged with sexually assaulting a maid for the $3000-a- night hotel suite in which he was staying in New York City.  To my [...]

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