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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    August 30, 2006

    Book Reviews

    Wisconsin       LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 79, No. 9  September 2006

    Book Reviews


    Wisconsin Wages & Hours Handbook

    Wisconsin Wages & Hours Handbook

    By Daniel T. Dennehy (Madison, WI: State Bar of Wisconsin CLE Books, 2005). 300 pgs. Includes November 2005 supplement. $45 State Bar members, $60 nonmembers. Order, (800) 728-7788 or www.wisbar.org.

    Reviewed by Scott B. Franklin

    The main volume of the Wisconsin Wages & Hours Handbook was released in early 2005 and contained nine chapters on subjects such as minimum wage and overtime laws, record keeping requirements, child labor regulations, migrant and seasonal workers, and enforcement of the various Wisconsin labor laws. Throughout the materials, the author compares, contrasts, and expands on the federal labor laws that are either effective in Wisconsin or superseded by stricter Wisconsin provisions.

    The discussion of each topic is easy to read and well footnoted to the applicable federal or state rule. The book provides many appendices, including references to pertinent federal labor laws and a comprehensive selection of Wisconsin statutes and administrative code regulations covering wages and hours issues. Although the various appendices comprise more than one-half of the handbook, it is a good compilation that blends federal and Wisconsin guidelines into one convenient reference source. A supplement was issued in late 2005 to reflect several law changes.

    In the October 2004 Wisconsin Lawyer, this reviewer discussed the 2004 U.S. Master Wage-Hour Guide by CCH Inc. The Wisconsin Wages & Hours Handbook is the perfect companion to the federal only CCH title and should be in the library of every labor attorney and human resources professional.

    Scott B. Franklin, Marquette 1995, is a C.P.A. and tax manager with the Milwaukee accounting firm of Kohler and Franklin, C.P.A.s.

    A Practical Guide to Document Authentication: Legalization of Notarized and Certified Documents

    By John P. Sinnott (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 2005). 716 pgs. $175. Order, (800) 831-0758.

    Reviewed by Thomas H. Barland

    This reference book contains the how, where, when, and cost of authenticating documents in each of the 50 states, the two U.S. protectorates, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 214 nations, territories, or national departments. The book opens with an informative and concisely written "How to Use It" chapter. It closes with eight brief and easily read appendices setting forth the full text of the Hague Convention relating to the legalization of documents, the U.S. State Department certification process, and other helpful information.

    Without the Hague Convention, authenticating a document for use in another country is a complicated, time consuming, and expensive process. The process incorporates four steps. The Hague Convention eliminates two of those steps through the device of an "Apostille" (French legal term for a notation on a document). The Apostille is issued by the secretary of state of the state in which the document is executed and contains a special seal or certification recognized by countries that are parties to the Hague Convention.

    This thorough book contains the addresses, fee charges, phone numbers, fax numbers, and hours of operation for all U.S. secretaries of state and foreign embassies and consulates involved in the process.

    In short, this reference book is an up-to-date compendium of virtually all one needs to know to certify and authenticate documents to be used in other states and foreign countries. Does this book have a place in the average law office? It does, if the practice of that office includes any foreign legal matters, including not only commercial and corporate activities, but foreign adoptions, marriages, or international study issues.

    For any lawyer involved in international or interstate work, this book can be a great time saver.

    Thomas H. Barland, U.W. 1956, is a reserve judge in Eau Claire. He served in the Wisconsin Legislature for six years and as an active judge for 33 years.

    Maritime Security Handbook: Implementing the New U.S. Initiatives and Regulations

    By Jonathan K. Waldron & Andrew W. Dyer Jr. (Pittsburgh, PA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2005). 160 pgs. $79. Order, (800) 462-6420.

    Reviewed by Guy Charlton

    The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) and the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2004 (CGMTA) are major pieces of post-9/11 security legislation. Maritime Security Handbook: Implementing the New U.S. Initiatives and Regulations is a recent attempt to explain this complex legislation. Written for lawyers and other persons who need to comply with the new requirements, this book provides a section-by-section explanation of the statutes and regulations. The legislation and regulations also are provided.

    The handbook concentrates on the security related provisions of the MTSA. These include such things as U.S. and foreign port vulnerability assessments; national, area vessel, and port facility security plans; terrorist incident response requirements; security cards; and cargo identification systems. The legislation attempts to create an integrated layered security apparatus and identification system to deter a "transportation security incident" and provide for a comprehensive response to security threats and emergencies.

    Implementing this legislation will prove no easy task. It requires port and ship authorities to create vulnerability assessments and security plans, intensive cargo screening, and new visa and identification requirements for sailors and port personnel. The authors discuss this difficulty mainly in the context of how the designated federal agencies have implemented the legislation through rule-making. The reader would have benefited if the authors had better illustrated the specific actions that facilities, owners, and operators need to take in order to comply. Moreover, the authors do not provide adequate background and context. More discussion on international efforts to improve maritime security and particular problems and issues confronting facility and vessel security in complying with the law would have been useful.

    This book leaves the impression that Congress is attempting to do too much with this legislation. The identified threats are too diffuse, the requirements are too onerous and bureaucratic, and there is a greater need for international cooperation than is allowed by the legislation.

    Guy Charlton, U.W. 1994, is a member of Charlton & Morgan Ltd., Milwaukee, and an International Doctrinal Scholar in Law at the University of Auckland.

    The Persuasive Edge, 2d ed.

    By Richard J. Crawford & Charlotte A. Morris (Tucson, AZ: Lawyers & Judges Publishing Co., 2005). 300 pgs. $65. Order, (800) 209-7109.

    Reviewed by Kirk L. Deheck

    The Persuasive Edge is a revision of the 1988 original text. Richard Crawford is joined by Charlotte Morris to provide updated insights into the use of persuasion in legal practice.

    The text includes an extensive table of contents and an index, which collectively allow a novice practitioner to expeditiously find and review the pertinent sections of the text. The table of contents includes several of the key points that are addressed in the given chapters. Having read the text, a cursory review of the table of contents provides a convenient means of refreshing the topics discussed therein.

    The authors have extensive experience as trial consultants. The persuasive opportunities addressed are related to those that present themselves before judge and jury. However, the art of incorporating and maximizing persuasion in written work is only marginally addressed.

    The organization of the text follows a jury trial from voir dire to closing and outlines the persuasive opportunities that abound therein. Additionally, the lessons of persuasion can be extrapolated beyond the referenced legal framework.

    The theme of the text is "purposeful persuasion." This principle is expressly stated and indicates the straightforward nature of the text. Whether you are a seasoned trial advocate or simply desire to be more persuasive, the text is understandable and has limited chaff included with the persuasive wheat. The directness of the text allows the reader to quickly harvest and digest the persuasive elements.

    In addition to encouraging practitioners to be more cognizant of persuasive opportunities, the text provides dos and dont's as well as their consequences. The text also recognizes the dynamic nature of legal practice and does not suggest or propose that every situation should be similarly handled. The text outlines a collection of useful persuasive tools and encourages the practitioner's discretionary use of those tools.

    Kirk L. Deheck, Marquette 2003, practices intellectual property law with Boyle, Fredrickson, Newholm, Stein & Gratz in Milwaukee.

    Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty

    By Randy E. Barnett (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 2005). 384 pgs. $18.95. Order, (609) 258-7879.

    Reviewed by Eric G. Barber

    Even if you do not know Randy Barnett's name, you might be familiar with one of his recent appellate arguments: representing California medicinal-marijuana users before the U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Raich, 125 S. Ct. 2195 (2005). In Raich, Barnett argued that enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act by the DEA would violate several constitutional provisions, including the Commerce Clause.

    In Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty, Barnett argues compellingly that the Constitution embodies a "presumption of liberty." The framers believed the totality of natural rights and liberty interests were incapable of complete enumeration in any written document, and therefore, the Ninth Amendment, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Privileges and Immunities Clause were all crafted as procedural safeguards against government encroachment of individuals' rights. The founders' goal: "Islands of government in a sea of liberty."

    Judges, according to Barnett, have thwarted the founders' goal. From an incorrect definition of "commerce" (far too broad) to Caroline Products' famed footnote four (elevating enumerated rights to "fundamental" status and later Casey's footnote four plus (better but still wrong)), judges have impermissibly contributed to the erosion of the "rights retained by the People" by allowing Congress to enact legislation that far outstrips the power of the federal government that the framers envisioned (and as set forth in the Constitution). Rather, courts should be using judicial review to "[p]rotect all the rights retained by the people equally whether enumerated or unenumerated."

    What does a "presumption of liberty" mean for you and me? First, the practical implications are so staggering to give all but the most ardent libertarians pause (for example, "Congress [would lack] the power it now claims to regulate the legal relationship between employers and employees"; forget most possessory crimes as well). Second, congressional enactments would, on a whole, be subject to much more exacting scrutiny, because all government enactments would have to overcome the presumption of liberty.

    However unlikely it is that Barnett's interpretation will prevail, Restoring the Lost Constitution is convincing. But should you read the book? Maybe. If you are a curious law student, constitutional law professor, an attorney with a soft spot for theoretical discussions of the Constitution, or just do not like the government messing with you and want to be able to point to the Constitution to support your libertarian position, then yes, you should read this book.

    Eric G. Barber, U.W. 2004 magna cum laude, is a law clerk for the U.S. Second Circuit in New York.

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    To Review a Book...

    The following books are available for review. Please request the book and writing guidelines from Karlé Lester at the State Bar of Wisconsin, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158, (608) 250-6127, klester@wisbar.org.

    Publications and videos available for review

    • Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law, by Lauren Stiller Rikleen (New York, NY: Thomsonlegalworks, 2006). 408 pgs.
    • Religion and the Constitution: Free Exercise and Fairness, by Kent Greenawalt (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 2006). 480 pgs.

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