Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission Public Hearing

In May 2012, alum blogger Michael Gonring wrote about Wisconsin’s lack of funding for civil legal aid for poor people and the importance of our shared pro bono oath. These posts highlight a formidable challenge facing our profession, the courts, and society at large. Our poorest residents often cannot get legal help with civil legal problems. Resources have declined dramatically in recent years for low income Wisconsin residents who have critical civil legal needs, depriving many of access to justice.

On Thursday, September 13, 2012, Wisconsin’s Access to Justice Commission will hold a public hearing at Marquette Law School from 5-7:30 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to gather and share information about access to justice issues in Wisconsin, civil legal services for low income residents, and the great and growing unmet legal needs of poor and vulnerable Wisconsin residents. All are welcome to attend the hearing and provide testimony.

This public hearing is a project of the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission. The Access to Justice Commission was created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the State Bar of Wisconsin to develop and encourage means of expanding access to justice for low income Wisconsin residents. More information about the Commission can be found at www.wisatj.org.

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Why Were the Lawyers Wearing Blinders?

In the September 2009 issue of the ABA Journal, the author of the article “Town Without Pity,” Wendy Davis, asked, “Where Were the Lawyers?”  Judge Mark Ciavarella had been giving jail sentences to juveniles that were shocking to the conscience for minor offenses.  All the lawyers in the court system, including the district attorney, knew what was happening, but very few challenged Ciavarella. Barry Dyller, a local Wilkes-Barre attorney quoted in the article, stated that “only the absolute strongest lawyers, who didn’t mind facing his wrath” ever argued with the judge’s decisions. The other defense attorneys, the article notes, appeared resigned to these rulings. Additionally, if there were any lawyers who suspected the judge was taking bribes, there is no record of any stepping forward.

In August 2011, Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison on racketeering charges, among others, in a case that was called “Kids For Cash.”  Ciavarella, along with another Luzerne County judge, accepted bribes totaling over $2.6 million from the builder of juvenile detention centers in exchange for sending thousands of children to newly built facilities in order to ensure the facilities would be adequately utilized. 

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Addicted to the Internet?

Whoa, you like to think that you’re immune to the stuff, oh yeah
It’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough
You know you’re gonna have to face it, you’re addicted to [the Internet].

Robert Palmer, Addicted to Love (1986) (more recently covered by Florence & The Machine (2010))

This morning, I awoke and reached for my smartphone to turn off the alarm. Because I already had the phone in my hand, I checked the day’s weather (for both the Madison area, where I live, and Milwaukee, where I work). Then, of course, I had to check email, to see what had come in during the night. And, while I was at it, I took my turn in the eight concurrent games with three different people that I have going on Words with Friends. After that, I finally got out of bed.

According to an article by Tony Dokoupil in the July 16, 2012 issue of Newsweek, that kind of morning makes me just like more than one-third of smartphone users. We are the ones who check our phones before we even get out of bed. Really? Only one-third of us do that? 

Technology has allowed us to be continuously connected to a wider world, and too many of us are tethered to those portals.

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