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.
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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
Wisconsin Lawyer
