Love and Violence: Valentine’s Day Edition

On Monday, February 6, Florida couple Joseph Bray and his wife Sonja got into a fight because, she says, he failed to wish her a happy birthday.  According to the arrest affidavit, the fight escalated; Joseph Bray pushed Sonja Bray onto their couch, grabbed her neck, and raised his fist to hit her, although he did not strike her.  Joseph Bray was arrested and when he appeared in court on a domestic violence charge, you can be sure the judge issued appropriate sanctions.

Or not.

Judge John Hurley ordered in lieu of posting a bond that Joseph Bray get his wife flowers and a birthday card, take her to Red Lobster for dinner, then take her bowling.  And he ordered the couple to see a marriage counselor. 

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Spreading the Love: We are a Community of Lawyers

I was writing a different blog post this morning, one I will get back to, when I received an email from my son’s high school principal.  One of his classmates, a senior and a boy my son knew, had committed suicide.

Since receiving that email, I have been out of sorts.  There’s the obvious tragedy of a young man taking his own life, of his family and friends left behind.  But it also triggered in me deeper emotions, for he died today, Valentine’s Day, a day marketed to be about love not death.  Today is also the day, twenty years ago, that my father died from lung cancer.  I am definitely out of sorts.

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Change in Wisconsin Venue Law

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. Professor O’Connor notes in her article that as a general matter, “a plaintiff can file its action against the state in any county – including counties having no connection to the defendant, the plaintiff, or the cause of action.”

With regard to appeals, under the new law, a party seeking an appeal may not file the appeal in the same court of appeals district where the case was originally venued at the circuit court. However, the party may choose among the remaining three Wisconsin court of appeals districts.

 

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