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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    May 01, 2003

    Legal News and Trends

    Wisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 76, No. 5, May 2003

    Legal   News & Trends

    OLR Oversight Board seeks member feedback on district committees

    The Wisconsin Supreme Court Board of Administrative Oversight (BAO) invites the legal community to its June 6 meeting in Madison, for feedback on the Office of Lawyer Regulation's district committees.

    Supreme Court Order No. 99-03, dated Sept. 25, 2000, amending Chapters 12, 21, and 22 mandates that the BAO review the function and operation of the district committees and file a written report with the court. The report will recommend whether to retain the district committees and amendments, if any, to improve their operation.

    The BAO will meet at 9 a.m. on June 6, at the American Family National Headquarters, American Parkway, Room A2141, Madison. Submit written comments to the Board of Administrative Oversight, c/o Director, Office of Lawyer Regulation, 110 E. Main St., Suite 315, Madison, WI 53703.

    Interested in Wisconsin's legal history?

    Celebrating Wisconsin's Rich Legal History, a new feature on WisBar, commemorates the important role the legal profession, the organized Bar, and Wisconsin courts have played in the state's development. Peruse a collection of legal history-related materials written over time, plus new materials prepared in celebration of the State Bar's 125th and the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 150th anniversaries in 2003. Topics span civil rights, biographies of Wisconsin judges and lawyers, the development of the state's constitution, and other significant court cases and legislation that shaped Wisconsin's legal history.

    Madison attorney and legal historian Joseph A. Ranney has worked to revive an interest in Wisconsin's legal history, authoring many of the articles in the collection. Ranney, a member of the Wisconsin Legal History Committee, cochaired by Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and State Bar President Pat Ballman, was recognized at the Annual Convention in Milwaukee this month when he received the President's Award for contributions to Wisconsin's legal history.

    Visit www.wisbar.org/bar/history today to learn more about yesterday.

    CCAP has a new look and location

    In February, the state court-sponsored online Consolidated Court Automation Program (CCAP) computer system changed the way it looks and its url address. The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) system, now located at http://wcca.wicourts.gov/, presents the information in a new easy-to-use format that allows users to access Wisconsin Circuit Court records via Simple Case Search.

    WCCA lists criminal, citation, small claims, and civil case filings and dispositions, and allows users to check schedules of pending court cases and perform background checks. The WCCA site was created in 1999 to efficiently deliver information to police, attorneys, and others needing access to court records. Since going online in April 1999, the site processes more than 511,000 million individual queries per day.

    Governor seeks applicants for Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge

    Gov. Doyle is seeking applicants for appointment as judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in District IV. The new appointment will fill the vacancy created by Patience D. Roggensack's election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The new judge will begin serving upon appointment. The term expires July 2005.

    Applicants must be a State Bar member in good standing and must reside in District IV of the Court of Appeals at the time the appointment becomes effective. District IV includes Adams, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marquette, Monroe, Portage, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood counties.

    Interested parties may obtain an application from Alyssa Whitney at (608) 266-1212. Applications are due June 2.

    Guardian ad litem training deadline approaching; June seminars available in statewide locations

    Effective July 1, 2003, to be eligible to accept a guardian ad litem (GAL) appointment in actions affecting the family, attorneys must have at least three hours of family court training, or request the court find that they are otherwise qualified to accept the GAL appointment.

    Attend one or two days of the State Bar CLE Seminars' video replay of its GAL Training 2003: Child Custody and Family Law program to fulfill the new SCR 35.015 requirements, as amended in 2001. The Basic Course, June 3, prepares attorneys to take on a GAL appointment or helps existing GALs with limited experience better understand their role. The Advanced Course, June 4, addresses specific areas GALs encounter and helps to increase the skills of experienced GALs whose practices require a thorough understanding of the myriad issues that arise in cases involving a minor

    Both programs are offered at statewide locations. The Basic program, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., is approved for up to 7.0 CLE/GAL credits. The Advanced program,

    8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., is approved for up to 7.5 CLE/GAL credits. Both programs are approved for 1.0 EPR credit and will be submitted for Minnesota CLE credits. Tuition is $360 for both days and $199 for day one or day two. To register, contact the State Bar at (800) 728-7788, (608) 257-3838.

    Wisconsin court briefs available on the Web

    Visit www.wisbar.org

    Scanned images of selected Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals briefs now are available on the Internet. The Wisconsin Briefs collection contains briefs for all Wisconsin Supreme Court and published Court of Appeals cases and all unpublished Court of Appeals cases beginning with 173 Wis. 2d (Nov. 1992).

    The Wisconsin Briefs collection was developed by the Wisconsin State Law Library and the U.W. Law Library.

    For assistance with searching or viewing the briefs, contact the U.W. Law Library at (608) 262-3394 or asklawref@law.wisc.edu. For questions on the contents of the Wisconsin Briefs collection or for assistance locating older briefs, contact the Wisconsin State Law Library at (800) 322-9755 or wsll.ref@courts.state.wi.us.


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