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  • November 24, 2010

    Attend the State Bar’s Government Relations seminar Legislative History and Intent: Fact or Fiction? on Dec. 10

    Nov. 24, 2010 – The State Bar of Wisconsin is hosting a full-day, 6.5-credit Continuing Legal Education seminar on Legislative History and Intent:  Fact or Fiction? on Dec. 10.

    When an act of the Legislature is not drafted with the most precise language, or when seemingly clear language has unintended interpretations, courts look to other resources to determine intent. Unfortunately, the legislative process in Wisconsin is not geared toward documenting intent:

    • There is no verbatim record of floor debates
    • There are no formal reports of standing committees indicating the reasons why legislation should be enacted
    • There are no transcripts of committee proceedings

    Tap the expertise of specialized sources 

    Without those resources, documentation of legislative intent must rely on other means. At this seminar, you’ll uncover the resources available to you from the following sources:

    • Legislative Reference Bureau
    • Legislative Fiscal Bureau
    • Audit Bureau
    • Legislative Council

    Understand how to argue intent 

    Experienced appellate attorneys and a judge will share their insights on how to effectively argue legislative intent when a statute could be interpreted in more than one fashion.

    Watch for “creative” intent 

    You’ll also learn to discern whether evidence of legislative intent is being created by proponents of a bill, trying to persuade a court to accomplish what they failed to do in the Legislature when passing the bill.

    Declare your intention 

    Become more adept at finding out how and why a law came to be, and how to argue legislative intent in your client’s favor.

    Seminar speakers include:

    • G. Michael Halfenger, Foley & Lardner LLP
    • Terry C. Anderson, Wisconsin Legislative Council
    • Bob Lang, Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau
    • Stephen R. Miller, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
    • Janice L. Mueller, Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau
    • Atty. Jefren E. Olsen, State Public Defenders Office - Appellate
    • Hon. Gary E. Sherman, Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV
    • Connie Von Der Heide, State Law Library

    Who should attend:

    • Appellate attorneys
    • Civil and criminal litigators who need to research the legislative history or intent of a statute
    • Government attorneys
    • Municipal attorneys
    • Public officials

    Sign up for this seminar and learn about legislative resources for lawyers, where to look for clues to legislative intent, and how to argue legislative intent.

    Register for either the live seminar in Madison, the Dec. 10 live webcast  or the Dec. 21 webcast replay.


     RotundaReport

    Rotunda Report is the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Government Relations e-newsletter that highlights legislative, judicial, and administrative developments that impact the legal profession and the justice system. It is published twice a month and is distributed free to attorneys, public officials and others who help shape public policy in Wisconsin. We invite your suggestions to make the Rotunda Report more informative and useful and we encourage you to visit our Web site for the most current information about justice-related issues.

    © 2010, State Bar of Wisconsin


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