Blogs

A hemp processor’s products alleged with as much as 40 times the legal limit for delta-9 THC resulted in a controlled substances criminal charge – not a hemp grower regulatory violation requiring administrative referral for criminal prosecution.

The Brown County Circuit Court grappled with unsettled Wisconsin law and reached an unconstitutional conclusion, the Court of Appeals held, because separate allegations of abandonment require jury instructions and verdict forms for each one.

One word rendered unconstitutional three parts of a statute governing the ability to recommit an individual found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect because due process requires a finding of dangerousness.

A defendant's claim of constitutional violation from two criminal statutes covering similar facts, one of which set a mandatory minimum sentence, failed because no case limits prosecutorial discretion even if it could create a penalty for going to trial.

The defendant granted access to his apartment because police said they needed to search for a missing child, but once police entered, they began digging in drawers and a duffle bag for evidence of drug distribution, justifying suppression of the evidence.

The University of Wisconsin's policy for removing comments "off-topic" from Facebook and Instagram posts violated a frequent commenter's First Amendment rights in a government's limited public forum.

A “Denny witness,” on the witness list and after cross-examination began, resulted in a mistrial lacking “manifest necessity” – making a retrial unconstitutional double jeopardy.

Relentless delays prevented Luis A. Ramirez from trial for 46 months – but only 14 months after his first speedy trial request. Most causes for delay the Wisconsin Supreme Court determined, were “neutral.”

A domestic violence victim had enough fear for her safety that her intoxicated driving started under the coercion defense, but after she left her home, she could not reasonably believe no other safe options existed, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held.

Two opinions with different analyses affirmed the Court of Appeals, which denied a challenge to a restricted controlled substance (RCS) conviction that was reinstated after the defendant succeeded in reversing an OWI conviction from the same trial.

Even with corroborating DNA and video evidence, the administrator’s reversal of revocation survived certiorari review without testimony from the sexual assault victim.

A 4-3 majority found that multiple statutory enactments wiped out Wisconsin’s abortion law from 1849, but one dissent challenged the majority’s legal analysis and dissenting justices consistently described the majority as usurping the Legislature’s role.

Wisconsin's bipartisan Federal Nominating Commission, which recommends individuals for federal judicial appointments to the U.S. Senators from Wisconsin, recently submitted a list of five lawyers and judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

A 4-3 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority concluded that five statutes giving the Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules power to stop administrative rules violated bicameralism and presentment constitutional limits.

Although all seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices agreed that Act 10 ended collective bargaining requirements for the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, concurrences sparred about how to interpret statutes.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court concluded that Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) statements naming PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Spills Law were guidance documents, not unpromulgated regulations.

In a unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Gov. Tony Evers exceeded his veto authority by using partial vetoes for a bill that didn’t appropriate funds.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed that the Court of Appeals erroneously reversed a class certification based on arguments of substantive merit, which are not a part of certification.

A unanimous Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals in holding that a statute requiring Joint Committee on Finance approval on settlement agreements in civil cases undertaken by the Attorney General unconstitutionally violated separation of powers.

A unanimous Wisconsin Supreme Court held that expert testimony on the statistical likelihood of false reporting of child sexual abuse did not violate State v. Haseltine's prohibition against vouching for witness credibility.

Although three justices thought the circuit court should have offered confidential communications between the defendant and his lawyer during a Zoom hearing, a 6-1 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority concluded that the circuit court did not violate due process.

The bifurcated nature of the termination of parental rights (TPR) process means that the circuit court's discretion governs finding the best interest of the child without a specific burden of proof, the Wisconsin Supreme Court explained.

Although the physician wasn't in the room where it happened, her patient who lost her ovaries without consent during a colon surgery raised a claim that could proceed past a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

Although the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decided with sufficient evidence that a natural gas-fired power plant permit did not need storage batteries to best control air pollution, a DNR protocol is a rule the agency failed to promulgate, requiring remand.

In a violent hostage scene, Neenah police acted reasonably when using handcuffs and police transport on hostages – although plaintiffs’ scanty pleading and lack of a reply brief limited the reviewing court’s criticism.

While a 4-3 majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Gov. Tony Evers' partial vetoes as constitutional after reviewing the constitutional amendment and 90 years of precedent, the dissent said the court's decisions have increasingly defied the constitution for the past half-century.

The Oconomowoc Area School District’s reliance on a law enforcement investigation after its suspicions that employees had stolen money meant the subsequent terminations violated protections in the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA).

A referee's rulings on the mat in the last wrestling match before the 2019 regional tournament resulted in a lawsuit that ended with the Wisconsin Supreme Court finding the penalty reasonable, thus stripping Hayden Halter of his second state championship.

A Wisconsin petitioner’s request for habeas corpus based on incompetency at trial failed because, despite any limitations the individual had, he understood the proceedings, testified clearly, and acted strategically.

The Attorney General’s attempt to obtain an injunction to stop Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaways planned at a campaign rally last Sunday as alleged violations of Wisconsin election law failed ultimately at the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Wisconsin election law prohibited rejection of three ballots that lacked initials from two election officials, although the absence of initials violated another election statute.

The pandemic could not justify eliminating a mother's right to a jury trial for a claim of medical malpractice arising from childbirth and the death of her newborn son in 2020, making a statute granting broad immunity to health care providers unconstitutional.

A 40-year-old Wisconsin grant program for specified minority groups unconstitutionally discriminated against everyone else, according to a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 holding on race-based college admissions.

A 4-3 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority declined to decide a voter's complaint of five alleged violations of election law because it concluded those complaints to the Wisconsin Election Commission did not personally affect him.

Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Chief Administrator Meagan Wolfe remains a lawful holdover appointee after her term ended July 1, 2023, the case reopened disagreement over the Prehn case that decided this result.

A post-divorce order without a finality label remained the final order because it resolved the movant's issues – and a subsequent motion by the other side would address an issue mentioned in the order but was not yet briefed.

A public records request appeal turned into a Wisconsin Supreme Court discussion about how the state’s appellate courts should work after the District II Wisconsin Court of Appeals failed to follow a prior District IV decision.

An involuntarily committed person’s due process right to receive both mental health examiners’ reports within 48 hours before the final hearing caused the circuit court to lose competency.

Dec. 30, 2024 – Attorney General Josh Kaul violated two provisions of controversial 2017 Act 369, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II decided 2-1 in another case implicating separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.

Restitution that the defendant could pay for without touching monthly Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) did not violate a federal statute prohibiting diversion of Social Security payments, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decided.

Legislation that required Joint Finance Committee (JFC) approval on settlements in cases prosecuted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) did not violate constitutional separation of powers between legislative and executive branches, an appeals court has concluded.

A party seeking health insurance coverage for autism-related medical treatment has lost an appeal at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Midthun-Hensen v. Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin.

A county zoning ordinance requiring cellphone towers to be at least one-half mile apart is preempted by state law, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District IV) has ruled in Savich v. Columbia County Board of Adjustment.

A plaintiff’s failure to honestly and meaningfully address a question of appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. section 2107 rendered his appeal frivolous, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled..

Whether the right to counsel had attached at a probable cause hearing wasn’t a settled matter of law, meaning an attorney wasn’t deficient when he failed to object to a lineup identification that occurred without counsel present, the Wisconsin Court ofAppeals (District I) has ruled.

The FBI was not required to seek a warrant before obtaining cell phone data on an armed man heading toward the site of civil unrest because of exigent circumstances, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held in U.S. v. Karmo.

In a case of first impression, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District III) has applied the other-acts evidence statute to a sexual assault case.

A company that twice promptly re-assigned an employee after he’d complained about racial harassment by his supervisors did not create a hostile work environment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Statements from a juvenile who was subjected to psychological pressure by police in three interviews conducted over 26 hours must be suppressed, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled

A district court did not err by denying a motion for sanctions against attorneys for plaintiffs who sued a company with an inaccurate timekeeping system, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission properly applied a substantial compliance standard when accepting nomination papers that were blurred and omitted some words, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Wisconsin’s “right to farm” law does not bar a lawsuit over the alleged failure to repair an agricultural drainage tile system, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Evidence of new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder is a new and highly relevant sentencing factor for a defendant convicted of homicide, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

Absentee ballots must be witnessed in Wisconsin, and the witness must provide an “address” on the witness certification. Recently, a state appeals court upheld a circuit court’s definition of “address” but clarified the standard for applying it.

In a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has overruled a 2022 decision that held ballot drop boxes were illegal.

A statute authorizing the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to temporarily block the Department of Natural Resources’ spending of legislatively appropriated funds violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s separation of powers provision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Recommitment and involuntary medication hearing notices must be served on the subject of the hearings, not only his or her attorney, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A federal district court did not err when it declined to credit a defendant’s acceptance of responsibility after he spent most of his allocution shifting blame and complaining about the prosecution, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

A mediation term sheet created as a prelude to a final settlement agreement is unenforceable because several of its material terms are indefinite, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled in an unpublished opinion.

A circuit court did not err by relying in part on an adoptive parent’s promise when deciding to terminate the parental rights of a birth parent, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A circuit court improperly entered an injunction against an anti-abortion protestor who repeatedly made intimidating statements to a nurse who worked at a clinic, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A woman who reported payments, but not gross income, from self-employment when applying for unemployment benefits was overpaid, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A circuit court must wait at least two days before adjudicating the dispositional phase of a termination-of-parental-rights trial when the parent has failed to appear, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A special verdict did not err by precluding a jury from considering a plaintiff’s post-accident conduct when apportioning liability, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A police officer who saw no signs of drowsiness or intoxication in a driver he stopped was not justified in extending the traffic stop and ordering the driver out of the car, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Statutes that bar municipalities from condemning land for pedestrian walkways do not apply to sidewalks, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A motion for relief from two default judgments was not timely when it was filed seven months after entry of the judgment, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled in an unpublished opinion.

A criminal defendant was prejudiced by an expert witness’s testimony that only 1% of the evidence in child sexual abuse reports is false, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held in an unpublished opinion.

It was not prosecutorial misconduct for a prosecutor to ask a probation agent to stall a criminal defendant on the day of trial while the prosecutor attempted to locate a witness, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has a ruled in an unpublished opinion.

An agency order prohibiting certain energy market bids that was issued without following rulemaking procedures was an invalid rule because it had the effect of law and implemented state statutes, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A man convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor is prohibited from buying a gun under federal law even though a state court had expunged the conviction, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler has appointed a committee to address the continuing shortage of attorneys across Wisconsin.

The statute that limits punitive damages to twice recovered damages applies to the total amount of compensatory damages, not only the amount attributable to a single defendant, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a man convicted of homicide but held without any meaningful appeal for 28 years must be released unless the State of Wisconsin grants him a new trial within two months.

Racine’s mayor did not violate the First Amendment when he denied COVID-19 relief funds to a businessman because the businessman attended a rally protesting Gov. Evers’ “Safer at Home” order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has allowed a lawsuit to proceed against two Wisconsin Department of Corrections officials who failed to correct an erroneous probation sentence.

A complaint stating the existence of a dispute over the appraisal of an insured loss and that one party refused to abide by the insurance contract’s appraisal clause was sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A federal district court was correct to dismiss a takings lawsuit that was parallel to a previously filed state lawsuit challenging a taking related to the aborted Foxconn development, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

A Costco in the Green Bay area did not violate the Wisconsin Unfair Sales Act by lowering its gas prices to the non-posted prices offered by stations under a customer rewards program, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A village acted rationally when requiring a developer to commit to building an access road and perform other actions before granting a proposed land division, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held

A DNA profile developed from saliva on an envelope that a suspect willingly gave to a police officer was lawfully obtained, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s dismissal of another case – because review was improvidently granted – has sparked a new round of debate between the justices about whether such dismissals should be accompanied by an explanation.

The fact that a criminal defendant’s lawyer previously presided over his preliminary hearing does not entitle the defendant to habeas corpus relief, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A landlord violated the Wisconsin Consumers Act by serving an eviction notice on a tenant during a 60-day moratorium on evictions for failure to pay rent, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A criminal defendant’s request for judicial substitution was timely even though it was made before the case was bound over, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously turned down a challenge to the state adoption law filed by a man who argued that the law’s requirement that an adoptive parent be married to the child’s parent violates the state and feder

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected the due process claims of a Milwaukee police officer whose employment was terminated after he posted offensive Facebook posts about then-Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Sterling Brown.

The estate of a man who took his own life in a county jail failed to show that correctional officers were objectively unreasonable when they failed to enforce a rule that prohibits coverings that obscure views into cells, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Damage caused by a company’s intentional failure to repair a condominium complex can constitute an accidental “occurrence” that is covered by a commercial general liability insurance policy, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A circuit court’s dismissal of an OWI charge after conviction on a different charge under Wis. Stat. section 346.63(1)(c) can be reversed, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The exclusive remedy provision of the state workers’ compensation law bars a tort lawsuit against a third-party claims administrator, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A circuit court did not err in returning a poodle to its original owner in a replevin action, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A federal law prohibits a divorce court from dividing miliary disability pay that a veteran opts to receive instead of retirement pay, the Wisconsin Count of Appeals has ruled.

A lawsuit alleging a breach of contract warranties was barred because it was filed beyond the survival date for the warranties specified in the contract, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

An insurance policy’s exception to an exclusion of liability was ambiguous because it lacked terms of geographic limitation while related exceptions contained such terms, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A driver’s red eyes, slow speech, and freshly lit cigarette gave a police officer reasonable suspicion to expand a traffic stop to field sobriety tests, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Resort to affidavits by a legislative fiscal analyst was appropriate to interpret an ambiguous property tax statute, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A village transportation utility fee that is based in part on the proportional share of road use estimated for each property subject to the fee is an illegal tax, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District II) has ruled.

Parents who sued a school district over the district’s gender identity support policy lacked standing because they didn’t allege any concrete injury related to the policy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

A Catholic high school failed to show that a city discriminated against it by denying a request to install lights at an athletic field, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

The fact that a physician who was sued for violating the state’s informed consent law didn’t perform the surgery that led to the plaintiff’s injuries does not entitle the physician to summary judgment, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A decision by the state Department of Natural Resources to regulate polyfluoroalkyl substances as hazardous substances is unenforceable because it wasn’t promulgated as a rule, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

An interlocutory appeal or an appeal from a final judgment or order is the preferable way to challenge a denial of a request to substitute a judge, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in an employment case involving Amazon has renewed a debate among the justices about the wisdom of dismissing petitions as improvidently granted without an explanation.

Four sub-entities of the charitable arm of the Roman Catholic Church don’t qualify for an unemployment tax exemption because their activities are secular, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A creditor who waited until after a debtor’s discharge to argue that the debtor’s interest in a company was not worthless waited too long under the bankruptcy rules, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association arbitrarily applied its own rules by disqualifying a high school wrestler from competing in a regional meet after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct calls at the prior meet, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

Dismissal of a petition for judicial review is warranted where a party failed to physically place the petition in the hands of an agency employee authorized to accept service before the filing deadline ran, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

Any injuries that resulted from a company’s majority shareholder creating an employee stock plan and a nonprofit foundation to handle marketing fell on the company and not minority shareholders, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The proper remedy for a prisoner’s failure to timely submit all the documents required to file a writ of certiorari is dismissal of the writ, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A proposed judgment that included the word “contempt” in its title was not a motion for contempt when it was filed to enforce the terms of an injunction, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

An injured worker who sues under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act need not show that the specific chain of events that led to his or her injury was reasonably foreseeable, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled.

Joining a case management order was not enough to bind a group of plaintiffs to summary judgment decisions against other plaintiffs who’d joined the order where no privity between them existed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

Evidence that a driver had been drinking earlier in the day, had parked illegally, and was drunk when he was arrested was sufficient to sustain a conviction for operating while intoxicated, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A police dog’s warrantless search of the interior of a vehicle did not qualify for an instinct exception to the Fourth Amendment, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A provision in a constitutional amendment that entitles crime victims to “full restitution” does not entitle victims to restitution in the full amount of their damages, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District IV) has ruled.

A Social Security claimant failed to meet his burden to prove that he was disabled without interruption before he turned 22 because he provided no corroborating evidence for gaps in treatment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

Wisconsin law did not allow a defendant to withdraw a plea when the difference between the actual maximum penalty and the maximum penalty that was miscommunicated to her was only six years, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered that the Wisconsin Elections Commission place former U.S. Representative Dean Phillips’ name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot.

Iranian nationals who had their visa applications denied because of their service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards failed to show that consular officials acted in bad faith.

A circuit court erred by ruling that whether a party had waived its right to arbitration by its litigation conduct was a decision for the arbitrator rather than the court, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A police dog’s warrantless search of the interior of a vehicle did not qualify for an instinct exception to the Fourth Amendment, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act's prohibition against discriminating against an employee based on an arrest record does not apply to information related to civil charges, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District II) has held.

A state court's decision that a judge’s ex parte message to a jury containing unchallenged factual information was harmless error is not a violation of clearly established federal law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals did not misapply U.S. Supreme Court precedent by ruling against a defendant who argued that he’d invoked his right to remain silent when he said he had nothing to say about a homicide, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A man who applied for asylum in the U.S. and showed he suffered physical attacks in India, based on his politics, still failed to show he’d be persecuted if he were returned, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A statute that criminalizes driving with any amount of cocaine metabolites – including non-active ones – in one’s blood is constitutional because it bears a rational relationship to road safety, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A corporation is entitled to voting eligibility forms created in guardianship proceedings because the forms are public records whose disclosure is not outweighed by public policy concerns, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

The word “shall” in a statute setting a 60-day time limit for circuit court review of family law judgments is not mandatory, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Jan. 3, 2024 – A veteran’s conviction of disorderly conduct for his speech and behavior at a Veterans Affairs clinic did not violate the First Amendment because the clinic is a non-public forum, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court (4-3) has struck down the state’s legislative maps, concluding they violate the contiguity requirement established by Sections 4 and 5 of Article IV of the Wisconsin Constitution.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by an administrative law judge that reversed the Department of Natural Resources’ decision to grant a wetland permit for a golf course development.

State law bars claims by landowners who filed a lawsuit within three years of discovering flooding on their property but 15 years after the culvert that allegedly caused the flooding was installed, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A Waukesha County Circuit Court erred by retaining jurisdiction over a bitter and long-running lawsuit about four siblings’ inheritance, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled in a per curiam decision.

Statements an eight-year-old girl made to a nurse and a doctor in the presence of a police officer were made to seek medical care and were thus non-testimonial for Confrontation Clause purposes, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held

Sections of Wisconsin’s hunter harassment law that prohibit approaching or video-recording hunters are unconstitutionally overbroad and vague, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has named Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Audrey Skwierawski as the Director of State Courts.

De novo review, rather than certiorari review, is the proper form of review for a circuit court hearing a challenge to a municipality’s disallowance of a property tax exemption, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A corporation is not entitled to voting eligibility forms created as part of guardianship proceedings because the forms are pertinent to guardianship proceedings and are closed under a state statute, the Wisconsin Court of Appeal has ruled.

A building owner who failed to challenge a city’s determination that the cost to repair the building was more than half its value and had no right to repair the building, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A credit card company disclosed information about a debtor to a mail vendor, but that action did not give the debtor standing to sue the credit card company in federal court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A federal district court considered a defendant’s mitigation argument when it sentenced her to 18 months in prison, including the potential risk of violence against her as a transgender woman, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

An assistant district attorney may not appeal an order finding him in contempt for inviting a victim to a trial despite a trial court’s order sequestering the victims until they testified, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A credit union violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing by adding a retroactive arbitration clause and class action waiver provision into its membership agreement, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District III has ruled .

The five-day limit established in state law for executing a search warrant does not apply to the time it takes to analyze evidence seized under the warrant, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV has ruled.

A city zoning ordinance that requires treating building glass is not subject to a state law that preempts municipalities from enacting building provisions stricter than the state building code, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Statements made by a decedent two years after he created joint bank accounts with one of his daughters are admissible to help determine his intent in creating the accounts, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has added two cases to its docket. Cases involve whether Amazon delivery drivers qualify as “employees” for purposes of unemployment insurance benefits and the condemnation powers of municipal governments.

A criminal defendant failed to show that a detective and a prosecutor violated a clearly established constitutional right by excluding from the complaint details that implicated the victim’s credibility, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled on public policy grounds that a hospital cannot be liable for a nurse’s alleged administration of medication to a patient before the patient gave informed consent.

The 60-day deadline for ruling on a defendant’s answer to a forfeiture complaint begins to run only after the defendant has been convicted of a charge that was the basis for the forfeiture, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Plaintiffs whose driver’s license numbers were disclosed by an insurance company’s website lacked standing to bring a lawsuit under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

State law authorizes a city to charge municipalities a monthly license fee for sewage treatment services, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A town ordinance that prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 1.25 miles of locations where children gather does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s Ex Post Facto clause, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

An inmate’s claim that a prison security official violated the inmate’s due process rights by improperly influencing the official adjudicating charges against him should have survived summary judgment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit hasruled.

An airplane insurance policy authorized an insurer to deny coverage because the pilot didn’t have a medical certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration when he crashed, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The applicable statute of limitations bars a claim for negligent road maintenance that a bicyclist filed against the Town of Cedarburg, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A circuit court properly entered a default judgment against a county zoning board of appeals that failed to respond to a complaint seeking an order granting a writ of certiorari, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

An insurer for a company that allegedly damaged a dairy herd by substituting a feed mix component is not entitled to summary judgment because the substitution was not accidental, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a statute that prohibits misleading advertising is not limited to advertisements made to Wisconsin residents.

A man who died unloading a trailer was operating a motor vehicle, and the two-year statute of limitations applied to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his estate, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

An attorney who wrote a book about a 2005 murder that his client was convicted of committing has successfully defended a defamation claim brought by the client’s husband, under a decision issued by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

A suspect who said “So, y’all can get a public pretender now?” during a police interrogation did not unequivocally invoke his Fifth Amendment right to counsel and is not entitled to habeas corpus relief, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The warrantless seizure of a man on his front porch on suspicion that he’d been involved in a hit-and-run collision violated the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV has ruled.

An invasion of privacy claim brought by a union member against his employer in state court is preempted by federal law, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A police officer’s complaints about his new chief, aired before a city’s police and fire commission, were made in his public capacity and as such were not protected by the First Amendment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A felon who found himself mistakenly in possession of a firearm was not entitled to present an innocent possession defense because he didn’t immediately seek to return the firearm to the police, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A non-profit organization founded to support the DNR in its activities related to a state park has both capacity and standing the sue the agency, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A trial court did not err by declaring a mistrial when defense counsel introduced third-party perpetrator evidence without first notifying the state, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A 2022 decision that held a request for a jury trial in a commitment proceeding is timely if made at least 48 hours before the date of the actual, rather than the scheduled proceeding, applies retroactively, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A transportation utility fee (TUF) charged to property owners by a town is a property tax subject to the state’s municipal levy limit, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled.

A circuit court told a parent the wrong evidentiary standard it would use in deciding whether to terminate his parental rights, but that was not grounds for allowing the parent to withdraw his no contest plea, a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A property owner seeking to appeal a special assessment failed to properly serve a notice of appeal on the village because it failed to serve the village clerk, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Police officers who detected an odor of marijuana coming from a vehicle but not specifically from its driver had probable cause to arrest and search the driver.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a circuit court did not err by denying a motion for a mistrial where, after a ruling that a defendant’s prior conviction was inadmissible, a witness stated that he’d “looked at CCAP.”

Answering whether an accident caused damage to another’s property is not appropriate in determining whether the damage is covered by a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A second prosecution for alleged acts that were the subject of a previous trial that ended in a mistrial did not place a defendant in double jeopardy, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled, because several charges in the second prosecution involved differ

A court may terminate the parental rights of a person convicted of neglect of a child resulting in death, as a party to the crime, if the person directly committed the crime, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A criminal defendant is entitled to a sentence credit for time served on a related charge that is dismissed but read in at his or her sentencing, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in State v. Fermanich.

A circuit court must clarify whether an order imposing a probation condition is consistent with state law that authorizes a circuit court to modify such a condition, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A circuit court did not err by admitting evidence that the plaintiffs had previously settled with two other defendants in a legal malpractice case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A person opposing an application for re-zoning has no right to an impartial decision maker, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled.

The admission of hearsay evidence that the defendant had participated in a drug buy was harmless error given the overwhelming quantity of the rest of the state’s evidence, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled (7-0) in State v. Barnes.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reversed a Wisconsin Court of Appeals opinion affirming an involuntary medication order issued based on a psychologist’s testimony.

A criminal defendant is not entitled to withdraw his plea solely because multiple penalty enhancers were improperly applied to the charges against him, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I has ruled in State v. Hailes.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has overruled a 30-year-old Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision that granted criminal defendants the right to seek in camera review of a victim’s medical records.

U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have agreed to recommend to the White House two candidates for consideration to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

A statute that requires repeat sex offenders to comply with sex offender registration requirements for life does not apply to an offender convicted of multiple convictions in the same court proceeding, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in State v. Rec

A law that extends the statute of limitations for actions seeking redress for injuries caused by sexual assault does not apply to a claim of negligent supervision of an employee who committed sexual assault, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A ballot question for a constitutional amendment complies with Section XII, Article 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution if it fairly describes the actual question and is not counterfactual to the amendment itself, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices used a recent per curiam decision to engage in a debate over the supreme court’s practice of dismissing petitions as improvidently granted.

Drivers who delivered packages for Amazon in their own vehicles while using an Amazon smartphone app are employees for purposes of Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) scheme, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A circuit court that orally dismissed a criminal case only to minutes later re-instate the case did not lose subject matter jurisdiction, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A nuisance lawsuit filed against the operators of a wind farm in Brown County is barred by the statute of limitations, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A circuit court erred by issuing an injunction ordering a hospital to credential a physician who would administer ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient because it did not cite a legal basis for the injunction, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A Green Bay police detective failed to demonstrate that an arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law when he upheld the detective’s demotion, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A lawsuit challenging a decision by the state to close a driveway failed because the statute under which the lawsuit was filed is limited to the scope of the state’s eminent domain offer, which didn’t mention the driveway, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A prosecutor who repeatedly used the term “uncontroverted” to refer to evidence in a case in which the defendant neither testified nor presented any witnesses did not violate the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The reducing clause in an underinsured motorist insurance policy applied to the per person liability limit and not the per accident limit, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

On April 26, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case out of Minnesota concerning the government’s right to a windfall when taking private property – under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause – to satisfy a debt owed to the government.

Wisconsin law does not authorize a party to charge a patient for his or her electronic medical records, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A member of two LLCs failed to state a claim for relief when he sued over an allegedly fraudulent real estate transaction to which he was not a party, the Wisconsin Supreme has held

Defense counsel’s decision to rely on a reasonable doubt defense and not mount a third-party perpetrator defense did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

An insurer may not reduce its underinsured motorist coverage by the amount the insured was required to reimburse to a workers’ compensation insurer, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A prosecutor who breached a plea agreement by making a specific recommendation for prison time cured the breach by withdrawing the recommendation, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously held.

Certain Milwaukee firefighters receiving disability benefits are entitled to have a 5.8% pension offset payment included in the salary amount used to calculate their benefits, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A man who was fired one day after informing his employer about an allegedly racist remark made by his supervisor is entitled to take his retaliation claims to a jury, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion by certifying a class that included parties who were charged for medical records during a time when Wisconsin Court of Appeals case law allowed such charges, the court of appeals has held.

Qualified immunity protects two police officers from a lawsuit filed by a woman arrested for carrying a rifle and bayonet in a public park filled with parents and children, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Some Wisconsin court system computer network users, including the general public, may have temporarily experienced intermittent service or slower than usual response times to some online services early this week.

A statute bars judicial review of an immigration agency’s denial of a Ukrainian citizen’s adjustment-of-status application, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Claims by residents of a senior living facility for entrance fee refunds are subordinate to a perfected security interest in the property of the company that operates the facility, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled.

A gravel path that a sanitary district proposed to lay to allow it to repair its pipes qualified for an exemption from a county’s shoreland zoning ordinance, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The State Assembly misapplied the public interest balancing test when declining to disclose records related to a sexual harassment complaint filed against one of its members, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Owners of property along navigable waterways in Wisconsin do not have a right to a certain water level along the property, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Statutory provisions that bar municipalities from condemning land for pedestrian walkways apply to acquisitions for sidewalks, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A promise not to prosecute a couple for child abuse became binding once the couple detrimentally relied upon the promise by consenting to the termination of their parental rights, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Testimony from a neighbor who heard a woman scream “Stop, stop, I love you, I love you,” corroborated a fact revealed by a criminal defendant in his confession, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A sales tax exemption for aircraft parts and repairs does not apply to portions of lease payments attributable to the purchase of parts and repairs, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued an order and a revised interim rule (Order 19-02C and 20-07C) that will create a phased transition to mandatory e-filing in the Supreme Court over the next several months.

A party that objected to a property tax assessment and requested that a hearing on the objection be postponed failed to comply with a state law that required it to present evidence before making a claim, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A woman who filed a lawsuit under the federal Stored Communications Act 23 months after she was demoted for sending Facebook messages critical of her boss failed to meet the act’s statute of limitation, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit hasruled.

A circuit court erred by staying a prison sentence for a person convicted of her fifth operating while intoxicated offense, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimoulsy upheld a city’s property tax assessment of a big-box store, rejecting the retailer’s argument that the assessment was excessive because the list of comparable properties did not include vacant big-box stores.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has added two cases to its docket. In one case, State v. Killian, the supreme court will consider the scope of the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause.

A criminal information electronically submitted within 30 days of the defendant’s preliminary hearing was timely filed, even though the clerk didn’t accept the information until 30 days after the hearing, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

State law required a transgender teen to show that publication of his name change petition could expose him to physical danger in order for the petition to remain confidential, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A city’s ban on digital billboards meets the test established by the U.S. Supreme Court for First Amendment challenges to the regulation of commercial signs, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Venue was proper in Dane County for a defendant insurance company that had 559 policies in the county and received $859,145 in revenue from those policies, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A man’s conviction for second degree reckless homicide for causing a death in his home does not preclude his action for indemnification under his homeowner’s insurance policy, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A county jail inmate sexually assaulted by a guard who was disciplined but not fired for previous fraternization with inmates failed to show that the county’s conduct was the moving force behind the assault, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A defendant whose attorney failed to contact two alibi witnesses is entitled to a hearing on his claim for ineffective assistance of counsel, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari to an appeal of a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that upheld the State Bar of Wisconsin’s mandatory status.

Withholding of a child abuse report from a defendant did not violate the constitutional rule established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland, because the report contained the same information as a sheriff’s report that was turned over to the defendant, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A worker's compensation settlement agreement that required $400,000 to be paid to a law firm’s trust account created an express trust for the claimant’s medical creditors, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has for the first time interpreted a key provision of the 2011 state products liability statute.

The state Livestock Facility Siting Board properly affirmed a town’s denial of a farm’s application based on credibility grounds, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held

A group of Catholic charities do not qualify for an exemption to the state’s unemployment compensation act because their activities are not primarily religious, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin public records law compels a school district to disclose a list of parent email addresses used to communicate about administrative matters and community issues, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Wisconsin law requires that a person subject to a petition for guardianship and protective placement be physically present for the final hearing absent a valid waiver, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A police officer who stopped a motorcyclist on a Harley five minutes after another officer reported a Harley driving erratically in the same area lacked reasonable suspicion for the stop, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A district court properly dismissed a claim for the recovery of unlawful taxes because the party making the claim failed to first pay the taxes, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Police who arrived at an address where an erratic driver was reported to have gone but waited to gather information before entering the property were not engaged in hot pursuit and their warrantless search was illegal, the Wisconsin Supreme Court hasunanimously ruled.

A truck driver claiming that a company violated federal law by paying him less than the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour stated sufficient facts to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Se

A former employee who sued a company in negligence for damages related to a data breach stated a legally sufficient claim, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

When making an affidavit for a search warrant, a police officer satisfies the oath and affirmation requirements of the U.S. and Wisconsin constitutions as long as the wording of the affidavit impresses upon the officer a sense ofobligation to tell the truth, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has declined to revisit its holding in a 2020 case that resolved a sentencing guideline issue which is the subject of a circuit split.

An insurance policy exclusion for injuries suffered by fireworks display workers barred claims by two volunteers injured by prematurely exploding fireworks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A complaint alleging that a company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by authorizing the payment of excessive recordkeeping and investment

A state court’s denial of a motion to amend the standard jury instruction regarding self-defense did not entitle a defendant to habeas corpus relief, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Corroboration from multiple witnesses that a chief financial officer was aware of misleading entries in his corporation’s financial statements was sufficient to sustain a guilty verdict, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A man who was jailed for four-and-a-half days after being mistaken for his brother failed to demonstrate that corrections officials violated his due process rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled

The 30-day deadline for removing a case to federal court begins to run only once a plaintiff specifies a damages figure, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its first decision of the 2022-23 term on Nov. 4, a per curiam ruling in which the court dismissed as improvidently granted the review of a per curiam Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision.

A man's conviction for operating while intoxicated means that his minor daughter, who was a passenger in the car when he was arrested, was a victim under the state’s criminal restitution statute, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion by allowing the testimony of an engineer and spinal surgeon in a products liability case.

The admission of statements made by an accomplice in police bodycam footage did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him because the statements described an ongoing criminal situation, the U.S. Court of Appeals f

Two statutes that create homicide liability for aiding and abetting the acquisition of drugs that cause a fatal overdose are not unconstitutionally vague, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a prosecutor who said both parties agreed that a 25-year sentence was appropriate breached a plea deal that limited the defendant’s sentence to 20 years.

A worker injured when a co-worker drove a telehandler over his foot and leg has no right to recovery outside the state workers’ compensation scheme, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled

A person opposing an application for re-zoning has no right to an impartial decision maker, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A company that offered light-duty assignments to workers injured on the job but not to pregnant workers did not violate a federal law prohibiting discrimination against pregnant workers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin public records law does not entitle an employer to seek judicial review of the disclosure of video footage that depicts one of its employees, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled that declaratory relief is a form of equitable relief that is available under the Family Medical Leave Act, and an award of attorney fees was proper.

Constitutional claims made by parents against state and county officials who took custody of one of their daughters and facilitated the placement of another daughter in a foster home failed because the parents failed to state legally sufficient claims, th

The owners of a café that sued a local health agency over citations issued for violations of a mask mandate failed to show the agency engaged in a pattern of constitutional violations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

Cases involve the administration of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, product liability in a medical case, prosecutor comments during closing argument, involuntary administration of medication, and involuntary commitment.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a statute that extends the statute of limitations for actions seeking damages for child sexual assault applies to a negligent hiring and supervision action.

A strip search of a Muslim inmate by a transgender corrections guard violated the inmate’s rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the U.S. Court of Ap

State law grants a school district the authority to ban a former teacher from school district property, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A trial court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to enforce a non-compete agreement was improper, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that parcels of reservation land owned by American Indians are not subject to state taxation, even though they were subject to state taxation when previously owned by non-Indians.

A man arrested for operating while intoxicated (OWI) failed to show that a blood draw ordered by the police while he was unconscious was unconstitutional, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A police officer did not violate the Fourth Amendment when he opened a small canister taken from the purse of a woman who had been detained for shoplifting, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A property management company that had knowledge of the property owner’s precarious financial state had a duty to disclose that condition to prospective residents, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The trial court in a homicide trial properly excluded prior bad acts evidence and expert witnesses whose testimony was unreliable or would have been confusing, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A liability release that covered chairlift loading and unloading did not apply to a claim that ski hill employees were negligent in failing to rescue a woman from a chairlift, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A trustee who sued a newspaper for defamation over an article that contained both a hyperlink to a story about elder abuse and a summary of charges made against him failed to state a claim, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A plat map that reserved three lake access lots for the use of other lot owners created an easement and did not convey title, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

An anti-assignment clause did not prevent the assignment of insurance rights from the company that purchased an insurance policy to a successor company, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a circuit court erred by granting an injunction to a man seeking to force a hospital to administer ivermectin to his uncle.

A judge’s statement that prison time for an Amish man convicted of sexual assault was necessary to send a message to the Amish community does not entitle the man to a resentencing, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

Inculpatory recordings made secretly by a defendant’s cellmate and introduced at the defendant’s homicide trial did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A circuit court erred by denying a prosecutor’s request to waive a juvenile who allegedly committed a mass shooting into adult court, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Public health orders issued during the pandemic by Dane County’s health officer complied with state law and the state constitution, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A state law that prohibits a transgender sex offender from legally changing her name does not violate the First and Eighth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The “zone-of-interests” inquiry historically conducted by Wisconsin courts to help decide whether a party has standing under Wis. Stat. ch. 227 has no statutory basis, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Dane County Circuit court erred by denying a motion to quash two subpoenas of a former member of the Public Service Commission, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The collateral consequences of an expired involuntary commitment order render an appeal of the order not moot, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A stop of man who was the only person seen by police in the area where gun shots had been reported by Shotspotter technology was constitutional, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A letter from the state Department of Natural Resources informing a company that the agency could not issue the company a permit for existing equipment was not subject to judicial review, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Dane County Circuit Court did not erroneously exercise its discretion by requiring parents who sued a school district over its transgender student policy to disclose their identities to defense counsel, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

To recover attorney fees under Wisconsin’s public records law, a records requester “must obtain a judicially sanctioned change” in the relationship between the requester and the custodian of the records, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Wisconsin law does not authorize the use of ballot drop boxes, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in a 4-3 decision.

The affirmative defense available to victims of sex trafficking for crimes committed as a direct result of the trafficking is a complete defense to first-degree intentional homicide, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

By crossing out the words “to Date” and writing the word “Partial,” a subcontractor transformed a complete waiver of a construction lien into a partial one, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A member of the Wisconsin Board of Natural Resources is entitled to remain on the board although his term ended on May 1, 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in a 4-3 decision.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a sexual abuse verdict was supported by reasonable jury inferences, even though the state failed to ask victims specifically whether the statutorily-defined sexual contact occurred during the time periods

The admission of testimony by a victim about her lack of sexual activity in the period preceding an alleged sexual assault did not warrant reversing a defendant’s sexual assault conviction, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A search warrant affidavit stated sufficient facts to find probable cause although it listed the driveway of the driver’s home address as the location of the drunk driving offense, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued order, effective June 29, 2022 extending the five-year-old Commercial Docket Pilot Project.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s penalty scheme for operating while intoxicated (OWI) convictions is unconstitutional because it allows a penalty enhancement for a refusal to consent to a warrantless blood draw.

The proper remedy for a circuit court’s failure to specify the grounds for extending a mental health commitment that has since expired is reversal, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A lawsuit filed to block the release of a list of all Wisconsin businesses with over 25 employees that had at least two employees test positive for COVID-19 is barred by the state public records law, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

An insurance policy that covered physical damage to property and losses caused by a suspension of operations did not cover losses caused when a coffee shop closed because of the pandemic, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will not hear the appeal of a criminal defendant who sat in jail for 113 days before his preliminary hearing.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) erred by revoking a concealed weapons permit issued to a man who was convicted of disorderly conduct after threatening his wife, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A defendant must present more than conclusory allegations to be entitled to an evidentiary hearing on a motion claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled

The judicially created rule that grants an automatic stay to a defendant appealing an involuntary medication order does not apply to pretrial proceedings, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A video recording of an interview of a minor victim was not rendered inadmissible by the fact a separate audio recording of the interview was merged with the video, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A policy exclusion designed to cut off liability for property damage caused by the insured’s own work applied to interior damages caused by raising a house.

The statutory scheme that governs medical malpractice lawsuits does not apply to bar a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a community-based residential facility, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Keller v. State Bar of Cal., 496 U.S. 1 (1990), in which the Court upheld a challenge to a mandatory state bar association, remains good law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a defense lawyer did not provide ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to object to testimony about the truthfulness of a confidential informant.

A company that fired an employee who admitted to felony charges that were the subject of deferred prosecution agreements did not violate the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A statute extending the time to file lawsuits by mentally ill persons didn’t toll the statute of limitations for a lawsuit against a long-term care provider brought by the estate of a mentally ill person, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The City of Brookfield committed an unconstitutional taking by conditioning its approval of a land split on the completion of a through street across a parcel located between two subdivisions, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

A trial judge’s modification of a special verdict question confused a jury considering whether to extend a woman’s involuntary commitment, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a defendant collaterally attacking a prior conviction based on a claimed violation of her right to counsel bears the burden of proving that violation, even where no transcript of the prior trial exists.

In a unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the results of a recount that resulted in a five-vote margin of victory for a schools referendum in Racine in 2020.

Redistricting maps drawn by the Wisconsin Legislature but vetoed by Governor Tony Evers will govern state legislative elections beginning this November, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled last week.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a subpoena for the results of a diagnostic blood draw did not violate a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights, even though the subpoena came after the results of a warrantless investigative blood draw on the suspect were made known to the police.

The Board of Review for the City of Kenosha properly determined that a nine-acre parcel of raw, unimproved land was correctly assessed as residential, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

State law did not authorize the Department of Corrections to deduct 50% of an inmate’s wages to pay restitution because a judgment of conviction specified that 25% of the inmate’s wages were to go toward restitution.

Exigent circumstances did not justify the warrantless search of a hotel room occupied by a man who allegedly stole a pistol and was reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and drug problems, a state appeals court has ruled.

A federal district court properly denied a plaintiff’s motion to remand her class-action lawsuit over medical records to state court after it had been removed to federal court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has affirmed a Dane County Circuit Court’s decision to vacate an arbitration award because the arbitrator fell asleep during testimony by the plaintiff’s expert witness.

A public sector nurse whose salary was broken down as an hourly amount and who was paid extra hourly compensation was an exempt employee under the Fair Labor and Standards Act, the Wisconsin Court of Appeal has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a defense lawyer’s failure to request a copy of a child protective services report constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.

A circuit court properly entered an injunction against an anti-abortion protestor who repeatedly made intimidating statements to a nurse who worked at clinic, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The City of Milwaukee used the wrong measure in determining that three commercial buildings should be razed because the cost of repairing them exceeded half their value, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

In a per curiam decision, the U.S. Supreme Court this week reversed a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that chose legislative and congressional redistricting maps submitted by Governor Tony Evers.

A sales tax imposed by Brown County to fund capital projects complies with a statute that says sales taxes may be imposed only to directly reduce the property tax levy, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A Dane County couple did not forfeit their right to object to an arbitrator’s conduct by waiting until after the evidentiary hearing to make the objection, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A company that refused to hire a man for a lighting specialist position after it learned he’d been convicted of domestic abuse did not engage in employment discrimination, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held that statutes of repose and limitation bar a lawsuit filed by homeowners over the installation and repairs to stone cladding on their house.

But the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature has already asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision.

The bankruptcy code does not allow a lawyer to discharge more than $12,000 in sanctions imposed by the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A police stop of a man riding his lighted bicycle at a normal pace across a school playground at night violated the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable search and seizures, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has held.

A company that obtained a written easement in 1980 to install a gas line beneath a homeowner’s property obtained a prescriptive right to continue using the gas line in 1990, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A circuit court did not rely on improper factors by discussing a defendant’s gun ownership when sentencing the man for second-degree intentional homicide, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A circuit court properly imposed consecutive commitment periods on a criminal defendant who pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered that a circuit court ruling against ballot box guidance issued by the Wisconsin Elections Commission be stayed only through the February 15 primary election.

The Business Court Advisory Committee has petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to extend the Commercial Docket Pilot Project for an additional two years

State law does not prohibit an insurer from limiting underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) to persons insured under the insurer’s policy, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

The Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination does not prevent an insurance company from denying coverage to a homeowner who was unwilling to provide information essential to his claim, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has denied a petition filed by gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Kleefisch, who asked the court to review Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) guidance as an original action.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that an Illinois company’s failure to timely file a form with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) after purchasing a Wisconsin company prevented the Illinois company from succeeding the unemployment insuranc

An appeal from a circuit court’s decision in a lawsuit over ballot drop boxes will go directly to the Wisconsin Supreme Court under an order issued by the supreme court on Jan. 28, 2022.

A contract for legal services related to redistricting that was authorized by a legislative committee and signed by a state senator is valid, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

A judgment entered by a Mexican court against a Wisconsin couple who defaulted on a loan is enforceable in state court, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in a lawsuit over charges for medical records renders moot a circuit court’s class certification in a similar lawsuit, the supreme court has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has added eight cases to its docket. In one case, State v. Thomas, the court will consider the standard for determining whether the admission of DNA evidence against a criminal defendant in violation of his Sixth Amend

The state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) impermissibly inquired into religious doctrine in determining that two private schools in Washington County were affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, a U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.

A Wisconsin appellate court has ruled that a prosecutor who repeatedly argued that a victim’s testimony was “uncorroborated” violated the constitutional right of a criminal defendant who did not testify during the trial.

A presumption against granting custody to an abusive parent can only be overcome with proof that the parent has completed treatment for batterers from a certified program or from a certified provider, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a lawsuit filed over the decennial re-drawing of the state's congressional and legislative districts at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19.

A company that repossessed a car from an apartment building garage violated the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA), the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Two retired Milwaukee police officers who were rehired by the city lost the right to begin receiving retirement benefits at age 57, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

Video gaming machines that allow players to preview the outcome of particular games are illegal gambling machines, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I has ruled.

Dec. 28, 2021 – A state appeals court has ruled that a trace amount of heroin found on a defendant provides a basis for the offense of narcotics possession, because a jury could have reasonably inferred from compelling circumstantial evidence of recent dr

Dec. 28, 2021 – The decision of an administrative law judge (ALJ) that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) failed to comply with state law in issuing permits for a frac sand facility was supported by substantial evidence, the Wisconsin Cou

Dec. 28, 2021 – The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has certified an appeal over a victims’ rights ballot measure adopted last year to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Dec 28, 2021 – State law does not grant a municipality the right to file a writ of certiorari challenging a board of review’s property tax assessment, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Dec. 23, 2021 – A man with a history of filing frivolous lawsuits gave up his right to sue in forma pauperis by violating the terms of a litigation bar order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

Placing visible restraints on a criminal defendant absent a determination that specific circumstances related to courtroom security or escape warrant it violates the Fourteenth Amendment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit has r

Dec. 21, 2021 – Sovereign immunity does not bar a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against the Wisconsin Public Services Commission (PSC) and two of its commissioners, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A medical records software company is not subject to statutory limits on fees for reproducing medical records, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Rescheduling a final hearing on an involuntary commitment resets the 48-hour deadline for filing a jury demand, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A man convicted on four counts of fleeing or eluding an officer after leading police on a high-speed chase is not entitled to have three of the convictions vacated on grounds of ineffective counsel, because the three convictions were not multiplicitous

A statute that exempts aircraft repair services from the state’s sales tax does not allow a company to deduct from the amount of sales tax it collects on an aircraft lease the portion attributable to repairs

Prosecution misstatements about the elements of operating while intoxicated (OWI) and the omission of a paragraph from a standard jury instruction violated a criminal defendant’s due process rights.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will redraw the existing voter redistricting maps, enacted in 2011 and litigated all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, only where necessary to fix malapportionment between districts caused by population changes reflected in the 2020 census.

A man who served nearly 12 years in prison out-of-state after being sentenced in Wisconsin is not entitled to have that time credited against his Wisconsin sentences because it was not connected to the conduct underlying the Wisconsin sentences, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

Wisconsin law does not restrict a circuit court’s award of restitution for reasonable repair cost to the value of the property.

State law does not allow the Town of Mentor to intervene as a matter of right in a case concerning the placement of a sexually violent person inside its boundaries, the Court of Appeals District IV has ruled.

The Fourth Amendment did not bar the admission of evidence discovered by a police officer who saw a dead body inside a garage after the garage owner called 911 to report a possible homicide.

An action to compel a school district to turn over applications for a vacant school board position and applicants’ personal information will go forward under an opinion issued by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District II last week.

A man who spent three years in jail awaiting trial and sentencing on armed robbery charges after his probation was revoked is entitled to 1,258 days’ credit against the armed robbery sentences, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District III has ruled.

A trial judge committed legal error when she sentenced a man to a five-year prison term for attempted robbery with threat of force without considering the gravity of the offense.

A man’s conviction on a charge of second-degree reckless homicide means that his homeowner’s insurance policy did not cover the death of his victim, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District III has ruled.

A man convicted on four felonies, two dismissed post-conviction on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, can now pursue legal malpractice claims against his former defense lawyer for negligence as to two of the charges.

The impeachment exception to the hearsay rule does not allow the state to use a defendant’s voluntary statement, obtained in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, during its case-in-chief, under a recent state supreme court decision.

The Court of Appeals District IV has reversed a circuit court ruling that a police officer illegally extended a traffic stop to administer field sobriety tests because he didn’t observe the driver driving, behaving or talking suspiciously.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued another extension of a temporary order that allows court reporters to take depositions remotely.

A state appeals court has ruled that a restrictive covenant prohibits Door County landowners from converting their parcel into three, single-family units, concluding that the condominium declaration was an improper land division.

The First Amendment does not prohibit Congress from excluding businesses that offer live adult entertainment from the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled.

A series of digital data discoveries implicated Steven Burch in a murder case. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected Burch’s claim that police obtained the digital data in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently held (4-2) that the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) erroneously interpreted the law in concluding that it had no authority to consider the environmental impacts of high-capacity wells.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that statements made during a post-polygraph interview with a suspect were admissible as evidence, concluding the defendant voluntarily made the statements without police coercion.

In another pandemic-related decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court (4-3) recently ruled that the Dane County Health Department exceeded its authority when it ordered all schools, including private schools, to cease in-person instruction.

A Milwaukee man challenged a property tax assessment, arguing the assessed value should be zero since contamination rendered the property unmarketable. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court (4-3) disagreed.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently issued pandemic-related orders, including one that “no longer requires that personal masking, social distancing, and sanitizing court facilities be part of any plan for circuit court and municipal court proceedings.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that an employee who attempted suicide cannot file a tort action for negligence against his employer’s insurer because the state worker’s compensation law provides the exclusive remedy.

A man who was patronizing the Saukville tavern where he worked does not have immunity from liability after he physically ejected a drunk patron and caused severe injuries, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has concluded that proposed procedures for anticipated redistricting litigation ”are unlikely to materially aid this court’s consideration of an as yet undefined future redistricting challenge.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently upheld a conviction for operating or going armed with a firearm while intoxicated despite the defendant’s argument that the statute was unconstitutionally applied to him.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals also rules that “equitable indemnification” not an appropriate remedy for spoliation under decades of Wisconsin case law.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court (7-0) ruled that the circuit court did not err when it set an exercise price that was higher than an expert's appraised value.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously approved Rule Petition 20-07, introducing a comprehensive system of electronic filing for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Ruling on a moot issue that will only guide future action, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has confirmed, once again, that a statewide emergency order limiting capacity at restaurants, bars, and other indoor facilities was invalid and unenforceable.

Reporters from the MacIver Institute for Public Policy sued Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, alleging they were denied access to a press event because of their organization’s viewpoint. Recently, a federal appeals court rejected that claim.

The state election laws require municipal clerks or municipal election commissions to change the registration status of electors who may have moved, not the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC), the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled (5-2).

The Wisconsin Supreme Court today, in a 4-3 decision, concluded that Gov. Tony Evers exceeded his authority when declaring a public health emergency due to COVID-19, extending previous orders, without the legislature’s consent.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that city of Madison and U.W. police officers are entitled to qualified immunity for excessive force claims brought by a man arrested after a U.W.-Madison Badger Football game.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a previous decision established the “law of the case” and the wife's pre-death statements were inadmissible under the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled (4-3) that a defendant may seek discovery of Wisconsin-specific data in a Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) database to challenge his status as a sexually violent person.

The North woods getaway called “Bibs Resort” and its red “bibs” logo was the subject of a recent 4-3 decision by the state supreme court, which ruled that ownership of the tradename and trademark in dispute transferred to a new owner upon sale of the resort.

A state appeals court has clarified a circuit court’s authority to order the use of bail money to pay restitution if the bail-related charges are later dismissed but a defendant enters a global plea deal to resolve other outstanding criminal charges.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a jury must decide whether a Wisconsin police officer’s actions were objectively reasonable when he fired four shots into a vehicle, killing one of the vehicle’s occupants.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously upheld an operating while intoxicated (OWI) conviction, eighth offense, despite the defendant’s argument that the state did not meet its burden to prove a prior OWI conviction from 30 years ago.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that a jail inmate who admitted stealing another inmate’s property in a telephone call with police was not “in custody,” which would have required the officer to give a Miranda warning before questioning him.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled (5-2) that the Town of Newbold had authority to prohibit a property owner from dividing his lakefront lot into two parcels, rejecting the claim that the town’s ordinance was preempted.

A state appeals court concluded the circuit court lost personal jurisdiction but rejected the argument that circuit courts must appoint a lawyer, at county expense, if an SPD appointment is delayed.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled (5-1) that an aggrieved party’s right to certiorari review of a zoning board’s decision was triggered when a written copy of the decision was filed in the board’s office, not when an oral decision was rendered.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court (4-3) recently denied an original action petition challenging a Dane County order that placed restrictions on business and indoor sports activities and prohibited indoor gatherings of extended family and friends.

Adult children can bring wrongful death claims, on their own behalf, if a parent’s death is allegedly caused by a party’s negligence. When claims involve medical malpractice against health care providers, however, adult children have no standing.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has clarified that a “stay-at-home” order amid a pandemic is not a basis, on its own, for voters to declare “indefinitely confined” status and vote by absentee ballot without showing photo identification.

An employer unlawfully discriminated against a job applicant based on the applicant’s conviction record, a state appeals court has ruled.

A state appeals court has ruled that the City of Monroe is immune from tort claims by a resident who slipped and fell on a city street outside his office, concluding the state’s “discretionary immunity statute” applied to bar the suit.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court today denied (4-3) an original action petition challenging absentee ballots counts in Milwaukee and Dane counties, concluding the petitioner must file presidential election grievances in circuit court.

An Alford plea allows defendants to maintain their innocence but accept a conviction, so long as a sufficient factual basis exists for each element of the crime. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court clarified the Alford plea requirements.

A state appeals court has ruled that a man convicted for a seventh offense operating while intoxicated (OWI) charge is not entitled to early release from prison even though he successfully completed a substance abuse program.

The U.S. Supreme Court (5-3) has declined to extend Wisconsin election deadlines to give voters more time to submit their absentee ballots. The decision ends a months-long conflict between the Republican and Democratic parties.

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled (4-3) that the Wisconsin Legislature has authority to represent the state’s interests in the validity of state laws, a win for Republicans seeking to block election deadline extensions granted amidst COVID-19.