Jan. 4, 2017 – Criminal defense attorneys are often too busy working in their practice to work on their practice. That’s where the Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual from State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE^® comes to your defense: with ready-made aids to ensure quality and save you time in each case.

For anyone practicing criminal defense – young or old, new or experienced – Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual provides a practical guide to helping your clients that you can come back to again and again.

Newly supplemented, Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual keeps you updated with recent U.S. and Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions – as well as new ready-to-e-file forms.

And don’t overlook some of the best parts of Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual: the procedures and checklists, found in the first two chapters, which keep your practice efficient and profitable no matter how long you’ve been practicing.

It’s Easy to Keep Track of Best Practices

Chapter 1 contains an outline of criminal procedure. Even experienced criminal defense attorneys shouldn’t skip over it. Use the checklists as reminders of best practices.  Use them to establish a process for thorough, competent, and consistent representation in every case.

Already have your own checklists and procedures? Use the ones in Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual to inspire revisions to your own – such as adding quick references to relevant cases and statutes. These checklists are detailed and full of case law citations.

These checklists take you from start to finish:

• Time Limitations – A quick reference for statutory deadlines; this is one you’ll want to keep nearby.

• The Initial Appearance – A detailed checklist that explains how to interview the client, give them initial advice, begin the investigation, argue bail/bond at the initial appearance, demand discovery after the initial appearance, and consider various motions, among other things.

• The Preliminary Examination – This list guides you through the preparation for the preliminary examination, suggests strategy, offers techniques on examining witnesses at the preliminary examination, and provides motions to consider.

• Plea Negotiations and the Plea Decision – This detailed checklist covers the attorney’s ethical responsibilities, the potential consequences of convictions, an evaluation of the client’s options, maximum and minimum sentences, defense strategies for negotiation, factors for the client to consider in making a decision, and making a final decision, among other things.

• The Arraignment – This list suggests what to do before, during, and after an arraignment.

• Trial – This extensive checklist is broken down into tasks before trial, at the opening, at the close of the state’s case, at the close of all the evidence, and after the verdict. It includes helpful reminders of deadlines, various motions to make, and issues to preserve.

• Sentencing – A very detailed checklist to help any defense attorney prepare thoroughly. It covers common arguments to make, alternatives to incarceration, the presentence report, preparing the defendant, planning for witnesses, sentence credit, and advising the client of the right to appeal.

Tips to Keep You Organized

Getting organized is the first step to providing good representation – and avoiding unpleasant conversations with appellate attorneys later on.

For attorneys new to criminal defense, chapter 2 shows you how to organize the client file. A well-organized file ensures that you do what needs to be done, keep track of events in the case, and have all the information you need at hand.

The best thing about Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual is that it doesn’t just give you an outline and some checklists; it explains, in detail, how to check off the items on those lists. And with the latest supplement, you can trust that the law is up to date and relevant.

How to Order

The Wisconsin Criminal Defense Manual is now available in print and online via Books UnBound, the State Bar’s interactive online library. The print book costs $179 for members and $229 for nonmembers.

Subscribers to the Bar’s automatic supplementation service will receive future updates at a discount off the regular price. Annual subscriptions to Books UnBound start at $159 per title (single-user price, call for full-library and law-firm pricing).

For more information, or to place an order, visit the WisBar Marketplace or call the State Bar at (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838.