News & Pubs Archive

An environmental group recently lost a federal appeal to prohibit hunters from training dogs (using guns) on land the National Park Service donated for recreational uses, as well as off-road motorcycles, and military helicopter drill activities.

The two U.S. Senators representing Wisconsin, Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, have announced four potential candidates to fill the judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Meet the 2020 State Bar of Wisconsin officer candidates, including two government lawyers who are nominees for State Bar president-elect. The candidates come from a wide variety of backgrounds and from across the state – get to know them before the election in April.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has dismissed a lawsuit against the State Bar of Wisconsin. Two State Bar members filed the lawsuit, challenging rules that require all attorneys to be members of the State Bar.

The State Bar of Wisconsin's Board of Governors last Friday discussed but took no action on possible changes to the "emeritus" classification of State Bar membership. Currently, attorneys who reach age 70 can elect to take emeritus status.

Retail theft under $500 is a misdemeanor. Recently, the state supreme court ruled that a statute allowing multiple “thefts” to be aggregated applies to “retail theft” such that multiple misdemeanor retail thefts can be aggregated into a felony.

We know you don’t hear it enough, so we want to say it again: Thank you.

Brian Halverson was in jail when he admitted to a police officer, over the phone, that he stole and destroyed another inmate’s valuable documents. But the officer did not provide Miranda warnings before Halverson admitted the crime.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that all circuit courts have original adult-court jurisdiction, regardless of county, once a juvenile is waived into adult court, a clarification of the so-called “once waived, always waived rule.”

In the annual State of the Judiciary Address, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack had a lot of activity to report, from state budget wins to successful pilot projects, from e-filing to research and statistics.

Microsoft received royalties through software licensing agreements with out-of-state hardware manufacturers whose products were used in Wisconsin. Recently, an appeals court rejected a claim that such royalties were taxable to Wisconsin.

A Wisconsin town had authority to deny a property owner’s request to divide Shoreland property despite a state statute that prohibits a town from enacting Shoreland zoning regulations, a state appeals court has ruled.

As the World Series heats up, attorney and technology guru Jeff Krause threw fastballs at the Wisconsin Solo and Small Firm Conference, explaining how the "Moneyball" concept can help law firms see things differently, with data.

A circuit court awarded all reasonable costs of collection to one law firm, zero to another, despite a statute that provides for division in third-party liability lawsuits. An appeals court affirmed.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld a judgment in favor of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, which denied a prison inmate’s request to marry his former prison psychologist.

A panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a former Milwaukee street gang leader was wrongly designated a “career offender” which impacted his 35-year prison sentence, but the error was harmless.

An Oneida County man was convicted of operating while intoxicated (OWI), fourth offense, after police stopped him for riding a lawn mower on a public roadway from a tavern. Recently, a state appeals court upheld the OWI conviction.

A Wisconsin attorney has filed a lawsuit against the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Supreme Court, alleging rules that require mandatory membership in the State Bar association violate a right to not associate.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that the City of West Bend is not constitutionally liable for the tragic drowning death of a six-year-old girl in a public swimming pond the city owned and operated.

At its recent meeting in Delavan, the Board of Governors also voted to oppose a pending petition that would allow law licenses to be permanently revoked with no opportunity for reinstatement, and took other actions.