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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    March 01, 1998

    Wisconsin Lawyer March 1998: News Briefs

    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.

    Historic Photo
    Click to view a larger version complete with detailed caption.

    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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