Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Any Chance of Protection?

Post author:Mario Falsetti
Post published:April 23, 2013
Post category:Public Tort Law Wisconsin Civil Litigation

I was inspired to write this post after a lovely conversation with my roommates (for those of you that might not know, by “roomies/roommates” I mean my parents #Living@Home) who were up north skiing over winter break. Essentially, my roomies called me with a very urgent question regarding the law. “Son, it appears they are having us sign a ‘Waiver and Release’ form that is really long, with lots of statements in capital letters that really don’t make any sense. Is there a statute on point that requires companies to use the word NEGLIGENCE in all capital letters over 30,000 times? What do we DO!?!?” asked my confused father. Fresh off my Professor Anzivino contracts exam, I knew exactly how to respond.

“Dad, you guys are in Wisconsin correct?”

“Yes, we are in Wisconsin.”

“Excellent. Dad, Mom, as an aspiring law student, and in order to adhere to the heightened Ethical Code that comes with being a lawyer, please understand I cannot provide any legal advice… but I think you should read the contract and ski away!”

Wisconsin #1 in Black Incarceration; How Did We Get Here?

Post author:Michael M. O'Hear
Post published:April 22, 2013
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Milwaukee Public Race & Law Wisconsin Criminal Law & Process

A new report from the UWM Employment and Training Institute shows that Wisconsin leads the nation in incarcerating black males. Based on data from the 2010 U.S. census, Wisconsin incarcerates about one in every eight of its black men between the ages of 18 and 64. This includes individuals held in state and local correctional facilities. The Badger State’s black incarceration rate is, in fact, about one-third higher than that of the second-place state, Oklahoma, and nearly double the national average.

Wisconsin also leads the nation in incarcerating Native-American males, but its white-male incarceration rate (one-tenth of the black rate) closely tracks the national average. Wisconsin’s Hispanic incarceration rate is actually below the national average.

The Milwaukee County data are particularly striking: more than half of the County’s black males between the ages of 30 and 44 have been or currently are housed in a state correctional institution.

Is this a recent phenomenon? I’ve taken a look at some historical data on racial disparities for my three-states research. The following graph indicates that Wisconsin has been above Indiana and Minnesota for some time in black imprisonment (that is, prisoners per 100,000 residents), but that the current wide gap did not really open up until after 1990:

Israel Reflections 2013–A Meeting with a Judicial Giant

Post author:Andrea K. Schneider
Post published:April 18, 2013
Post category:International Law & Diplomacy Judges & Judicial Process Public

A highlight of our trip was meeting with Justice Aharon Barak. Barak has been hailed as the father of Israeli constititutional law, and Justice Elana Kagan called Justice Barak her “judicial hero.” His remarks covered a widespread range of topics from the development of Israeli law to several difference famous Israeli Supreme Court cases to the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court. Two different students share their thoughts below:

From Alexandra Weiland:

On a recent trip to Israel with Marquette University Law School, our class was fortunate enough to meet with Justice Aharon Barak, former president of the Israeli Supreme Court. Barak’s contributions to the Israeli legal system could be characterized as staggering.