![Legal News & Trends]()
Court schedules
hearing re Office of Lawyer Regulation, seeks volunteers for
investigative committees
 |
| Keith Sellen |
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court established the new lawyer regulation
system last fall, it began accepting comments to improve the new system.
Almost a year later, the components are in place and training is
complete; however, district investigative committees are in need of
public and lawyer involvement.
"With the implementation of any new program, there is a need to
assess progress and to make necessary adjustments," said Director Keith
L. Sellen, Office of Lawyer
Regulation (OLR). "While the basic structure and procedures of the
new lawyer regulation system are sound, some adjustments are required to
update references to the new system in other rules, to clarify specific
authorities and responsibilities under the rules, and to make
improvements based on the first year of experience." The court will
consider three petitions relating to the lawyer
regulation system in September.
The court seeks comments on these petitions and on Supreme Court
Rules chapters 21 and 22. Written comments may be submitted by Aug. 31
to Cornelia Clark, Clerk of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, P.O. Box 1688,
Madison, WI 53701-1688. The court will hold a public hearing in the
Supreme Court Room in the State Capitol at 9 a.m. on Sept. 20.
District Investigative Committees. District investigative committees
are an important part of the OLR system, making the initial
investigation and recommendations in grievance matters. "The district
investigative committees are in desperate need of public applicants for
2001 in districts 4, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16," says Appointment Selection
Committee cochair Michelle Behnke. "Nominations and, hence, appointments
for these districts are not complete for terms that were to begin Jan.
1, 2001. Public members from all walks of life are eligible to apply,
but we especially need public applicants who are active in their
communities and willing to participate in public service."
"While the most pressing need is for public members in the districts
mentioned above, we need both lawyer and public applicants for all
districts for 2002," added Behnke. Lawyers must have at least five years
of practice experience and no record of public discipline.
Send a letter of interest and/or resume to: Appointment Selection
Committee, c / o Cornelia Clark at the address listed above, fax to
Clark's attention at (608) 267-0980, or email cornelia.clark@courts.state.wi.us.
For more information about the role of district investigative committees
and the OLR, visit www.wisbar.org/newscenter/disc.html.
Seminar examines how the Bill of
Rights affects our daily lives
Well beyond its 200th anniversary, the Bill of Rights remains the
cornerstone of the rights, privileges, and freedoms upon which all
citizens depend. Attend the "Private Rights, Public Good: The Bill of
Rights in Our Lives" seminar on Oct. 12 - 13 at the Midwest Express
Center in Milwaukee. This two-day forum will focus on heightening your
awareness of the Bill of Rights and how it affects our lives today.
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters with
support from the State Bar Law-related Education Committee, presenters
will examine the Bill of Rights through the use of timely, interrelated
themes including the drug war, free speech, privacy, and property
rights. Keynote speakers include U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, U.S. Rep.
James Sensenbrenner, Wall Street Journal editor John Fund, and Wisconsin
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
For more information, visit www.wisconsinacademy.org/fallforum,
call Michael Goodman, at (608) 263-1692, or email conference@wisconsinacademy.org.
U.S. Senate designates National Court Reporting
& Captioning Day
The U.S. Senate designated Aug. 3 as "National Court Reporting and
Captioning Day" in honor of the individuals who preserve our nation's
history as the true guardians of the record. By passing this resolution,
the Senate also recognizes the pressing need for more closed captioners
to fulfill the requirements of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and
provide communication access to hard-of-hearing people.
Court helps youth take responsibility for
municipal violations
By bringing the court into the community, Milwaukee Municipal Court
is giving young offenders a new opportunity to deal with outstanding
warrants and suspensions to resolve their violations and avoid
arrest.
In a pilot project designed to make the court experience less
threatening, Milwaukee municipal judges are hearing juvenile cases on a
rotating schedule on select evenings at Journey House, a social service
agency that provides youth and family programs.
Juveniles who commit municipal violations - like disorderly conduct
or loitering in schools, fights, truancy, curfew violations, and retail
thefts - usually must participate in community service or pay a civil
forfeiture.
"We have ten thousand outstanding warrants for juveniles," according
to Hon. Vincent Bobot. "These young people get tickets and respond by
throwing them away. When that happens, they are subject to arrest. We
want them to take responsibility and take care of those citations before
that point."
Bobot explained that the community sentence provides a positive way
to pay the community back for the violation and create a meaningful
experience that puts young people in touch with positive roles models,
adult and young adult volunteers.
ABA policy relieves legal barriers to pain
management for patients
Recent studies show that despite the availability of effective drugs,
doctors often do not treat pain adequately because, among other reasons,
they fear legal complications. To address this problem, the ABA adopted
a policy in 2000 to urge the removal of legal barriers to quality pain
management. Resources are available through the ABA's Division for Media
Relations and Communications Services. For information, contact Tina
Lanier at (202) 662-1792 or tlanier@staff.abanet.org.
Women in the legal profession
underrepresented
Although they account for nearly 30 percent of all lawyers and are on
the brink of becoming the majority of entering law students this fall,
women remain significantly underrepresented in positions of status,
influence, and economic rewards in the legal profession. This is the
conclusion of a report published this year by the ABA Commission on
Women in the Profession. The Unfinished Agenda: Women and the Legal
Profession examines a range of issues including the unique challenges
facing minority women lawyers, "family friendly" schedules, and
work-life balance. To view the report, visit www.abanet.org/women, or contact
JoEllen Zacks at (312) 988-6141 or zacksj@staff.abanet.org.
Need help using MS Word?
For a free Microsoft® Word® Legal User's Guide, visit http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/legal.
This legal user's guide contains step-by-step instructions to build
legal documents in Microsoft Word 97 or Microsoft Word 2000.
Chapters focus on basic formatting; legal numbering; understanding
styles; sections, section breaks, and headers-footers; complex legal
documents; tables in the legal environment; tracking changes;
troubleshooting; and document corruption.
No copyright restrictions apply; the guide can be printed and
copied.
Statute changes passport issuance for
children
Effective July 2, any person applying for a U.S. passport on behalf
of a child under age 14 must demonstrate that both parents consent to
the issuance of a passport or that the applying parent has sole
authority to obtain one. If the second parent is unable to appear when
the passport application is filed, the applying parent may provide the
absent parent's written statement of consent. The new requirement
lessens the possibility that a U.S. passport might be obtained to
further an international parental child abduction.
In 1999, as part of the FY 2000 and 2001 Foreign Relations
Authorization Act, P.L. 106-113, Congress enacted Section 236, Issuance
of Passports for Children Under Age 14. On June 4, 2001, the Department
of State published as a final rule (66 FR 29904), the regulation
implementing this program.
The statute does not provide for notification of the nonapplying
parent when a passport application is filed, nor does it apply to the
passport applications of children over age 14. Parents and their
attorneys who are concerned that a child under age 18 may become the
victim of an international parental child abduction should request that
the child's name be included in the passport name check system through
the State Department's Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program. This
program may be reached at (202) 663-2613 or fax (202) 663-2674. Send
written communications to: Office of Children's Issues, Bureau of
Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, 2401 E Street NW, Suite
L127, Washington, DC 20524.
For more information about the two-parent consent requirement,
contact Sharon Palmer-Royston, chief, Passport Legal, at (202) 663-2430,
or Consuelo Pachon, attorney adviser, at (202) 663-2431.
Wisconsin
Lawyer
