May
14
The Pro Bono Oath
Posted by: Michael Gonring | May 14, 2012 | 3 Comments
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined in February to grant the Civil Gideon petition and its proposed requirement that legal counsel be appointed for impoverished civil litigants, it instead noted a familiar fallback solution: pro bono initiatives. When Congress decided in 2011 to drastically cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation, which funds legal services [...]
May
7
New Appellate Brief Filing Checklist
Posted by: Melissa L. Greipp | May 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment
The Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin has created an Appellate Brief Filing Checklist. The checklist was published as a link in the Appellate Practice Section’s De Novo newsletter and can be accessed here. Thanks to the Appellate Practice Section for creating this useful checklist.
May
7
Funding Civil Legal Aid
Posted by: Michael Gonring | May 7, 2012 | 5 Comments
Alberta Darling had a lot on her plate in the late winter of 2011. As co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee in the Wisconsin Legislature, the 66-year-old senator from River Hills, described on her website as having “a passion for protecting, educating, and improving the lives of children,” was one of the chief stewards of [...]
Apr
8
The Use and Misuse of History
Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | April 8, 2012 | 15 Comments
In his novel 1984, George Orwell imagined a future world where a government at war could switch allegiances with the country’s enemies and allies and a docile public would accept the revised version of history unquestioningly. Orwell, a keen observer of the modern world, recognized that history itself could be manufactured and manipulated in the service of broader [...]
Apr
2
Electronic Filing Has Arrived in the Milwaukee County Circuit Courts
Posted by: Melissa L. Greipp | April 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment
As of today, eFiling is now available in Milwaukee County for family and civil cases. John Barrett, the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court, referred in this press release to eFiling’s “fast, secure filing” and “ease of use and cost efficiency”, among other benefits. The Wisconsin Court System website also includes a demonstration of the process [...]
Mar
31
Federal Judge Partially Strikes Down Wisconsin Act 10, the Anti-Collective Bargaining Bill
Posted by: Paul M. Secunda | March 31, 2012 | 1 Comment
The Western District of Wisconsin issued its much anticipated opinion in WEAC v. Walker yesterday on the constitutionality of Wisconsin Act 10, the public-sector anti-collective bargaining bill that was enacted into law last June after a monumental political fight. Of course, Act 10′s passage continues to have ramifications as Governor Walker was officially subjected to a recall [...]
Mar
25
Signing a Recall Petition Does Not Require Judicial Recusal
Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | March 25, 2012 | 12 Comments
We live in interesting times. A segment of the general public is quick to forgive the killing of two young men in Slinger, Wisconsin and Sanford, Florida as the unavoidable consequence of the exercise of a constitutional right. Yet at the same time, state court judges who have exercised their constitutional right of self-governance by signing [...]
Mar
22
Celebrating March 22, 1877: Women First Allowed Bar Admission in Wisconsin
Posted by: Lisa A. Mazzie | March 22, 2012 | 5 Comments
On March 22, 1877, the Wisconsin legislature passed a bill that prohibited denying a person admission to the state bar on the basis of sex. The bill was in no small part due to the efforts of Lavinia Goodell, the first woman admitted to the state bar in Wisconsin. Goodell was born in New York [...]
Feb
27
A Jewel in Our Midst
Posted by: Joanne Lipo Zovic | February 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Throughout the history of legal education, there has been a consistent call for greater levels of experiential learning and especially clinical education in the law school curriculum. This call has received renewed strength in the Carnegie Report released in 2007. It reminds us again of the importance of building skills for lawyering, for serving as [...]
Feb
21
Difficulties Arising Out of No-Merit Reports
Posted by: David Behm | February 21, 2012 | 4 Comments
Under Wisconsin Statute 809.32(1), an attorney representing a criminally convicted client on appeal must file a no-merit report if he or she: concludes that a direct appeal on behalf of the [client] would be frivolous and without any arguable merit within the meaning of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and the [client] requests that [...]
Feb
13
Change in Wisconsin Venue Law
Posted by: Melissa L. Greipp | February 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Wisconsin Act 61 changed the law in Wisconsin regarding where a lawsuit is venued. Adjunct Professor Erin O’Connor recently wrote this article on the change in the law and its implications for Wisconsin litigation. The new law affects both where a case may initially be venued, as well as where an appeal may be brought. [...]
Feb
3
The Court of Appeals Speaks in the Recall Case
Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | February 3, 2012 | 10 Comments
Today, the District IV Court of Appeals issued an opinion that reverses a ruling by the Waukesha County Circuit Court denying a motion to intervene in the case of Friends of Scott Walker v. Brennan. The practical impact of today’s Court of Appeals decision is that the committees seeking the recall of Governor Walker and other [...]
Blog Editors
- Alan Borsuk
- Bruce E. Boyden
- Edward A. Fallone
- Melissa L. Greipp
- Scott C. Idleman
- Lisa Mazzie
- Michael M. O'Hear
- Ryan Scoville
