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Letters
Letters to the editor:
The Wisconsin Lawyer publishes as many letters in each issue
as space permits. Please limit letters to 500 words; letters may be edited
for length and clarity. Letters should address the issues, and not be a
personal attack on others. Letters endorsing political candidates cannot
be accepted. Please mail letters to "Letters to the Editor," Wisconsin
Lawyer, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158, fax them to (608) 257-4343,
or email them to wislawyer@wisbar.org.
DPI tool helps lawyers navigate
school discipline regulations
I appreciated the article on
school expulsions by Alison Julien and Patricia Engel in the October
Wisconsin Lawyer. Lawyers representing schools or students in disciplinary
proceedings also may be interested in using a resource developed by the
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to help school staff
and administrators navigate the maze of school discipline regulations.
The law related to school discipline of students with disabilities is
complex because the interests at stake are complex by their very nature.
The law attempts to help schools maintain safety and order while responding
appropriately to the behavioral needs of children with disabilities. The
challenge is to efficiently apply these complex provisions in the school
setting.
In response to this challenge, DPI developed an Internet-based Expert
System, the Discipline Action Advisor, which addresses legal requirements
for disciplining students both with and without disabilities. The action
advisor provides the analytical framework to help schools (and lawyers)
ensure that the required issues are considered and the necessary actions
are performed. The system uses a detailed question and answer format and
builds in multiple "decision trees." The decision trees include approximately
4,000 decision rules and narratives. Depending on the case-specific information
the user enters in response to the specific questions, the system asks
additional relevant questions. The system then analyzes the information
and presents the user with an outline of the authority for, and steps
that must be taken to proceed with, the chosen disciplinary option. The
system also contains many hypertext links that connect the user to additional
legal resources.
Access the Disciplinary Action Advisor at http://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/scripts/exsysweb.exe?KBNAME=discipline.
Or, go to DPI's homepage at www.dpi.state.wi.us/
and click on Disciplinary Action Advisor.
Sheila C. Ellefson
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Madison
2001 Bench-Bar Survey article
headline misleading
As chairman and Survey Subcommittee chairman of the Bench-Bar Committee,
respectively, we express our profound disappointment and disagreement
with the headlines for the lead
article in the November 2001 Wisconsin Lawyer relating to the
Bench-Bar Committee 2001 Bench-Bar Survey. Of particular concern is the
subheadline on page 11 which states, "The lack of local court rule standards
ranks as the top concern for the legal profession, according to the 2001
Bench-Bar Survey." This pronouncement simply has no basis in fact.
First, the survey never requested that lawyers and judges rank the "top"
concern for the legal profession nor does the survey itself purport to
do so. Second, a purview of the two previous Bench-Bar surveys, the focus
and coverage of the 2001 survey, and common sense indicates that there
are obviously several other weightier issues of greater concern to the
Bar and the Bench. For example, the 2001 survey confirms the findings
of the last two Bench-Bar surveys that incivility by a minority of lawyers
and judges remains a serious problem and that something needs to be done
about it. Indeed, 90 percent of those surveyed agreed that the rules of
civility should be enforced by judges and that the voluntary system simply
is not working. The survey also again showed overwhelming agreement that
the procedure for making claims on behalf of clients against government
entities needs to be simplified and made more user-friendly. As another
example, the survey showed a substantial degree of dissatisfaction with
the current system of judicial campaign finance. Further, the 2001 survey
attempted to identify why 91 percent of those surveyed in 1999 indicated
that practicing law or being a judge was becoming more stressful each
year. The latest survey indicates that there seems to be a variety of
reasons; among them (again) incivility in the profession, the practice
of law is not seen as economically rewarding as it used to be, and the
increasingly complex nature, breadth, and specialization of the law makes
it harder to keep up every year.
The Bench-Bar Committee surveys are an important and practical vehicle
for gauging the "temperature" of Bench-Bar relations and identifying some
of the crucial issues that need to be addressed in the administration
of justice in Wisconsin. Survey results provide a catalyst for discussion
to improve the delivery of justice, the relationship between the Bench
and the Bar, and our dealings with clients and the public. To that end,
it is better to let the survey results be judged on their own merits.
Nicholas Casper, Chair, Bench-Bar Committee
Donald Leo Bach, Chair, Survey Subcommitee
Editor's Note: Upon reflection, we agree that we should
have written a headline reflective of weightier issues. Our apologies
to the Bench-Bar Committee and our readers.
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