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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    December 01, 2001

    Wisconsin Lawyer December 2001: Letters to the Editor

    Letters


    Letters to the editor: The Wisconsin Lawyer publishes as many letters in each issue as space permits. Please limit letters to 500 words; letters may be edited for length and clarity. Letters should address the issues, and not be a personal attack on others. Letters endorsing political candidates cannot be accepted. Please mail letters to "Letters to the Editor," Wisconsin Lawyer, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158, fax them to (608) 257-4343, or email them to wislawyer@wisbar.org.


    DPI tool helps lawyers navigate school discipline regulations

    I appreciated the article on school expulsions by Alison Julien and Patricia Engel in the October Wisconsin Lawyer. Lawyers representing schools or students in disciplinary proceedings also may be interested in using a resource developed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to help school staff and administrators navigate the maze of school discipline regulations.

    The law related to school discipline of students with disabilities is complex because the interests at stake are complex by their very nature. The law attempts to help schools maintain safety and order while responding appropriately to the behavioral needs of children with disabilities. The challenge is to efficiently apply these complex provisions in the school setting.

    In response to this challenge, DPI developed an Internet-based Expert System, the Discipline Action Advisor, which addresses legal requirements for disciplining students both with and without disabilities. The action advisor provides the analytical framework to help schools (and lawyers) ensure that the required issues are considered and the necessary actions are performed. The system uses a detailed question and answer format and builds in multiple "decision trees." The decision trees include approximately 4,000 decision rules and narratives. Depending on the case-specific information the user enters in response to the specific questions, the system asks additional relevant questions. The system then analyzes the information and presents the user with an outline of the authority for, and steps that must be taken to proceed with, the chosen disciplinary option. The system also contains many hypertext links that connect the user to additional legal resources.

    Access the Disciplinary Action Advisor at http://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/scripts/exsysweb.exe?KBNAME=discipline.
    Or, go to DPI's homepage at www.dpi.state.wi.us/ and click on Disciplinary Action Advisor.

    Sheila C. Ellefson
    Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
    Madison


    2001 Bench-Bar Survey article headline misleading

    As chairman and Survey Subcommittee chairman of the Bench-Bar Committee, respectively, we express our profound disappointment and disagreement with the headlines for the lead article in the November 2001 Wisconsin Lawyer relating to the Bench-Bar Committee 2001 Bench-Bar Survey. Of particular concern is the subheadline on page 11 which states, "The lack of local court rule standards ranks as the top concern for the legal profession, according to the 2001 Bench-Bar Survey." This pronouncement simply has no basis in fact.

    First, the survey never requested that lawyers and judges rank the "top" concern for the legal profession nor does the survey itself purport to do so. Second, a purview of the two previous Bench-Bar surveys, the focus and coverage of the 2001 survey, and common sense indicates that there are obviously several other weightier issues of greater concern to the Bar and the Bench. For example, the 2001 survey confirms the findings of the last two Bench-Bar surveys that incivility by a minority of lawyers and judges remains a serious problem and that something needs to be done about it. Indeed, 90 percent of those surveyed agreed that the rules of civility should be enforced by judges and that the voluntary system simply is not working. The survey also again showed overwhelming agreement that the procedure for making claims on behalf of clients against government entities needs to be simplified and made more user-friendly. As another example, the survey showed a substantial degree of dissatisfaction with the current system of judicial campaign finance. Further, the 2001 survey attempted to identify why 91 percent of those surveyed in 1999 indicated that practicing law or being a judge was becoming more stressful each year. The latest survey indicates that there seems to be a variety of reasons; among them (again) incivility in the profession, the practice of law is not seen as economically rewarding as it used to be, and the increasingly complex nature, breadth, and specialization of the law makes it harder to keep up every year.

    The Bench-Bar Committee surveys are an important and practical vehicle for gauging the "temperature" of Bench-Bar relations and identifying some of the crucial issues that need to be addressed in the administration of justice in Wisconsin. Survey results provide a catalyst for discussion to improve the delivery of justice, the relationship between the Bench and the Bar, and our dealings with clients and the public. To that end, it is better to let the survey results be judged on their own merits.

    Nicholas Casper, Chair, Bench-Bar Committee

    Donald Leo Bach, Chair, Survey Subcommitee

    Editor's Note: Upon reflection, we agree that we should have written a headline reflective of weightier issues. Our apologies to the Bench-Bar Committee and our readers.

    Wisconsin Lawyer


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