Vol. 71, No. 3, March
1998
News Briefs
Notice of supreme court vacancy
On Sept. 4, 1998,
a vacancy will occur on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Gov. Thompson is seeking qualified individuals who are interested in
filling the vacancy created by Justice Janine Geske's return to private
practice. Anyone wishing to apply for this appointment must obtain an application
from the State Bar of Wisconsin, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158,
(608) 257-3838.
Deadline: Mail 20 copies of the application by noon, April 24,
1998, to: Stewart Simonson, Legal Counsel to the Governor, State Capitol,
P.O. Box 7863, Madison, WI 53707-7863.
Please note: Applications for this position are public records
and are available for public inspection.
Iowa County judge discovers historic photograph
Usually when people rummage around a basement they find broken appliances,
old clothes, and spiders. But Judge William D. Dyke finds pieces of Wisconsin
history.
Click to view a larger version complete with
detailed caption.
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As a history buff, Judge Dyke has learned the value of scouring the nooks
and crannies of the Iowa County Courthouse's basement. Several months
ago, he found Civil War memorabilia that is now the property of the Veteran's
Service office. His most recent find is a photograph dating back to 1888.
"I was prowling around and found it tucked away in a corner,"
Dyke recalls.
The photo shows a group of men standing on the steps of the Grant County
Courthouse in Lancaster. A caption identifies them as "Lawyers attending
Circuit Court, Feb. Term 1888, at Lancaster, Wis. Photograph taken Feb.
24, 1888." Wisconsin's first governor, Nelson Dewey, is in the
middle of the front row in the photo (see No. 19 in the accompanying photo).
Dyke believes that the photo is of lawyers attending a "calendar
call." "Back then, the circuit court would have what they called
a 'calendar call.' The circuit-riders, lawyers who rode from county
to county within a multi-county circuit practicing law, would gather at
the courthouse and set the court schedule for the term," he explains.
The photo probably ended up in Iowa County after a calendar call participant
brought it back with him from Lancaster, Dyke says. Dyke had the photo cleaned,
rematted, and placed back in its original frame. It now hangs in the courthouse's
law library.
While Wisconsin celebrates its sesquicentennial this year, the Wisconsin
Lawyer invites you to share bits of Wisconsin's history with readers.
Send your contributions to Joyce Hastings,
Wisconsin Lawyer, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158.
State Legislature floor debates heard over Internet
If you've ever wanted to be a fly on the wall during a floor debate
at the Wisconsin Legislature, here's your chance.
Since January, Internet users can listen to both the state Senate and Assembly
over the Legislature's
Web site. In order to access the debates, Internet users need a sound
card, a modem of 14.4 bps or faster, and RealAudio® software (download
RealAudio from the WisBar Toolbox). The
site provides a link to download the necessary Real Audio® software
only when debates are being broadcast, says the site's webmaster, Pete
Cannon.
"The concept was under study for quite some time," explains
Don Schneider, chief clerk of the Senate. "Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen
really pushed the thing forward about a year ago, since advances in technology
have made audio broadcasting over the Internet fairly inexpensive. We started
broadcasting last January with both Houses picking up the tab."
Joint Finance Committee sessions also are currently broadcast since the
committee temporarily meets in the Senate chambers due to Capitol remodeling.
These audio broadcasts will end when the Joint Finance Committee moves back
to its own room in January 1999.
"We'd like to add other committee session broadcasts to the
site, but it costs too much money to wire every hearing room," says
Charlie Sanders, chief clerk of the Assembly.
Although there are no immediate plans to add video of the sessions, it's
something that both Houses hope to do. "The cost rises significantly
when you add video," says Sanders. "As quickly as technology changes,
by the time we get there, video will be a lot more sophisticated."
According to Schneider, both Houses will evaluate the project this summer.
"If interest increases the way we think it will, we'll look into
improving the service next session."
Justice Department offers criminal law resources
The Wisconsin Department of Justice's criminal appeals unit annually
publishes summaries of criminal law decisions, handed down by the U.S. Supreme
Court and Wisconsin appellate courts.
The 1996 Term Criminal Law Decisions is available for $25, including
sales tax. This topically arranged, 576-page, paperbound volume covers the
148 criminal law decisions from July 1, 1996 to June 30, 1997.
The Justice Department also publishes the monthly Wisconsin Criminal
Law Bulletin, which summarizes each month's criminal law decisions
including a cumulative, topical locator patterned after the annual volumes.
The bulletin also contains the text of all criminal law-related legislative
acts published monthly, along with a cumulative list of the statutes affected
by those acts.
In 1996, the department produced a new publication to use with the annual
Criminal Law Decisions: a two-volume, loose-leaf compilation of the
criminal law decisions covering the 2,385 decisions digested in the first
16 books (July 1, 1977 through June 30, 1993). The compilation uses the
same topical arrangement as that found in the books.
For more information or to order the 1996 Term Criminal Law Decisions
book, write to: Statewide Prosecutor, Education and Training, Wisconsin
Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7857, Madison, WI 53707-7857. A check made
payable to the Wisconsin Department of Justice should accompany any order.
Name that judge...
Q: What appellate court judge has
published a recipe in Gourmet magazine?
In the coming months, the Wisconsin Lawyer, with the assistance
of the Litigation Section's Appellate Practice Subcommittee, will test
your knowledge of Wisconsin's appellate judges.
We'll provide the question; can you provide the answer? For the
answer to this month's question, click here!
Figuratively Speaking
Year in which the American Bar Association first banned attorney advertising:
1908
Year in which the ban was violated when two Arizona attorneys advertised
their services in a state paper, resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court decision
that a total ban on attorney advertising violated the First Amendment: 1976
Source: Suffolk University Law Review, Vol. XXX, No. 2, 1997
Year in which the Advance Project Research Agency created the Internet
as an alternate means of communication between military installations in
the case of war: 1969
Number of serious death threats sent to President Clinton since the White
House went on the Internet, according to Secret Service Agent Craig Einsel:
600
Year in which federal law enforcement officials used the first-ever court-approved
email wiretap to gather evidence in the case of a fraudulent cellular phone
gang: 1995
Source: American Criminal Law Review, Summer 1997, Vol. 34, No.
4
Percentage of first-year law students at Harvard who expressed a desire
to practice public-interest law: 70
Percentage of these students, who, in their third year of law school,
indicated their preference for public-interest law: 2
Source: Business Week, Sept. 8, 1997, Issue 3543
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