Justice Thomas' book tour

Includes Chicago on Oct. 21. Click to reserve a seat.

Judicial Activists' Twisted View of Originalism

Jordan Lorence on Jeffrey Rosen's profile of Justice John Paul Stevens in last Sundays New York Times Magazine.

We sure could use this in Wisconsin

Anticipating new limits on consumer choice in health care, two Arizona physicians, Eric Novack and Jeff Singer, have filed language for a proposed state constitutional amendment called "The Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act."

In simple language, the initiative states that "no law shall be passed that restricts a person's freedom of choice of private health care systems or private plans of any type," and forbids penalties "for choosing to obtain or decline health care coverage or for participation in any particular health care system or plan."

Board supports comity petition, opposes government attorney consolidation legislation, and more

Our State Bar's Inside the Bar newsletter reports on the Board of Governors September 14-15, 2007 meeting.

It supported interstate comity on approving Continuing Legal Education courses for credit.

It opposed the proposed consolidation of state government attorneys into the Department of Administration.

It supported proposed rule changes on appellate briefs and appendices.

It supported a proposed rule change on CLE for judges.

It supported a proposed increase in spending for a federal child support program.

It approved the President's appointments to the Nominating Committee, and approved the Exectutive Committee's appointments to the Audit committee.

Justice on the Couch

Ann Althouse, in The New York Sun, reviews The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin.

(via KausFiles)

Redistricting report submitted - Court invites written comment

The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced that

On November 25, 2003, this court appointed a committee to review legislative redistricting in Wisconsin, to review this court's decision in Jensen, et. al. v. Wisconsin Election Board, et. al., 2002 WI 13, 249 Wis. 2d 706, 639 N.W.2d 537, [19 pp. pdf] along with rules and procedures of other jurisdictions, and to propose procedural rules. On September 21, 2007, the committee submitted its proposal, [18 pp. pdf] which the court has not yet reviewed. The court invites written comment to the report during the next 40 days [from September 25, 2007]. After receipt of comments, the court will decide how to proceed further.

Political Tidbits, September 24, 2007

The latest report

Budget Progress? — An Analysis by Hamilton’s Pat Osborn

School Aid Certification

Healthy Wisconsin

Governor Calls for Budget Summit

Not Necessarily a Done Deal

Tax Revenues Increase Allows Transfer to Rainy Day Fund

Attorney General Holding Seminars on Open Meetings Law

Oral Arguments Scheduled on Open Meetings/Records Applicability to Local Economic Development Corporations

Transparency Code for Government Contracts with Private Attorneys

PSC Approves Sale of Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant with Conditions

Former Sen. Majority Leader David Helbach Retiring from Alliant Energy

Elections Board Names New Chair

from The Hamilton Consulting Group.

Appellate Opinions Released September 25, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions unrelated to attorney discipline.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, recommending publication of the following:

Clayton v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co. (necessary elements to a claim of immunity under the "Good Samaritan" statute).

State v. Rushing (sufficiency of guilty plea colloquy; reinstitution of a guilty plea that had been vacted by the court sua sponte; pre-sentencing motion to withdraw guilty plea).

Schuett v. Hanson (a complaint is amended when it is served on the parties, not when it is filed with the court).

State v. Turnpaugh (evidence insufficient to support jury verdict of prostitution when defendant simply offered money to watch an undercover officer, um, gratify herself).

Appellate Opinions Released September 20, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, recommending publication of the following:

State v. Cockrell (prosecutorial comment on defendant's post-Miranda silence during cross-examination and closing argument).

Appellate Opinions Released September 19, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, recommending publication of the following:

State v. Nommensen (neither double jeopardy nor claim preclusion bar prosecution for repeated sexual assault against the same child when the alleged periods of assault are different from the period alleged in the prior prosecution).

State v. Smalley (admissibility of evidence showing dangerousness due to mental disorder and risk of reoffense in a Chapter 980 commitment hearing).

Intrastate split on CMI

A bankruptcy decision creates a split within Wisconsin as to how to calculate an above-median-income debtor's "current monthly income."

Venue in Wisconsin upheld

The drugs need not actually arrive in Wisconsin for the prosecution to be venued here.

This Week in Liberal Judicial Activism: Week of September 24, 2007

Ed Whelan at Bench Memos.

Mr. Whelan was the featured speaker at our chapter's March 8th luncheon.

State Bar Praises Budget Proposal for Civil Legal Assistance

That is,

State Bar of Wisconsin President Tom Basting thanked Assembly Republicans for including a provision in their latest budget package allocating $1 million to fund civil legal assistance.

Paradise Lost?

An excellent discussion by Judge Posner on the degeneration of law schools since the 1960s (although the Milton allusion at the end is a bit over-the-top).

Courts Feel Effects of PACER's Growing Popularity

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reports on the changes resulting from Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER).

(via WisBlawg)

Comments on the European Court of First Instance’s Ruling in the Microsoft Case

Magdalena Bergvall in DRI's The Voice

Appellate Opinions Released September 18, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions unrelated to attorney discipline.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, but did not recommend any for publication.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers Sues God

KETV reported from Omaha, Nebraska.

He [Sen. Chambers] said on Monday that it is to prove a point about frivolous lawsuits.

(via Drudge Report)

[UW] Federalist Society Names New Officers

Catching up on news from the chapter at the University of Wisconsin Law School,

The Federalist Society of the University of Wisconsin Law School has elected officers for 2007-08. Serving as President will be Ryan X. Farrell.

Other new officers are:

Vice President: Ben Davee

Vice President for Membership: Sara Monson

Vice President for Event Planning: Jake Curtis

Vice President for Public Relations: Michael Kelly

Treasurer: Aaron Werner

Federal Court Announces Implementation of CM/ECF Case Management System and Attorney Registration

That federal court is The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

(via WisBar)

Commission makes recommendations for federal judgeship

Our State Bar reports that

Today the Federal Nominating Commission announced its recommendations for the pending vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The opening results from Judge Rudolph T. Randa’s decision to assume senior status.

The field has been narrowed to six.

Michael B. Brennan
J. Mac Davis
Timothy G. Dugan
Gerald P. Ptacek
James L. Santelle
Maxine Aldridge White

Oral Argument September 18, 2007

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals [2 pp. pdf] has scheduled oral argument in the following. at Dist. I, 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., #1400, Milwaukee.

10:30 a.m. City of Milwaukee Post No. 2874 v. Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee, 2006AP2866

Establishment Clause conflict

The recent decision by the Ninth Circuit -- that the sale of land surrounding a cross to the VFW violates the Establishment Clause -- creates a host of intercircuit conflicts with the Seventh Circuit's precedents.

Guideline sentence vacated

A sentence is invalid if the district court's comments suggest that it employed a presumption in favor of a sentence within the applicable guideline range.

September 17, 2007 Paul Clement "Supreme Court Review"

Paul Clement, Solicitor General (and acting Attorney General - or is he?) of the United States, will present a "2006 Supreme Court Review" at this year's Consitution Day celebration luncheon in Milwaukee.

Update: "Acting attorney general weighs in on high court", in Regional News Briefs in the September 18, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This Week in Liberal Judicial Activism: Week of September 17, 2007

Ed Whelan at Bench Memos.

Mr. Whelan was the featured speaker at our chapter's March 8th luncheon.

Administrative Register effective September 15, 2007

The Revisor of Statutes Bureau has issued the first half half of Administrative Register No. 621 [20 pp. pdf].

Appellate Opinions Released September 13, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, recommending the following for publication:

Stone v. Board of Regents of the UW System (for purposes of the Open Records law, a copy of a record is not itself a record, and so the custodian may destroy the copy without violating the prohibition against destroying public records).

When the Going Gets Nasty, ...

Our State Bar's executive director George C. Brown, in Wisconsin Lawyer magazine on State Rep. Frank Lasee's (R-Bellevue) push to eliminate state funding for the University of Wisconsin Law School.

... But raising an issue is one thing and launching misleading attacks on thousands of dedicated Wisconsin lawyers who are doing precisely what society asks of them is another. ...

He's seconding our State Bar's President, Thomas J. Basting, who calls on bar members to Stand Up and Be Counted.

And remember to be kind to each other. Civility does pay dividends.

Because even the bar can say things in advocating policy that it might later decide ought to have been said differently.

Appellate Opinions Released September 12, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, but did not recommend any for publication.

Appellate Opinions Released September 11, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, but did not recommend any for publication.

Enforcement of the Clean Water Act

Audio of this September 6, 2007 panel discussion

In the 2006 plurality decision in Rapanos v. United States, the Supreme Court limited the scope of the Clean Water Act's protection of "navigable waters" to only include those bodies of water that are "permanent, standing or continuously flowing," and thus did not apply to channels through which water flows only some of the time. In the wake of the Rapanos decision, Rep. James Oberstar (MN) has sponsored the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 that would "fix the Clean Water Act," according to the Congressman's website. This legislation would allow the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to enforce the Clean Water Act on wetlands, streams and ponds that are not part of a major "navigable" waterway.

Panelists include:
Prof. Jonathan H. Adler, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Mr. M. Reed Hopper, Pacific Legal Foundation
Prof. Patrick A. Parenteau, Vermont Law School
Prof. Robert V. Percival, University of Maryland School of Law
Prof. Steven J. Eagle, George Mason University School of Law -- Moderator

Oral argument September 12, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the following.

09:45 a.m. Kevin Summers v. Touchpoint Health Plan, Inc., 05AP2643

10:45 State v. Michelle R. Popenhagen, 06AP1114-CR

01:30 p.m. Hjalmer Heikkinen, et al. v. United Services Automobile Assn., et al., 05AP1638

Synopses of the above and live audio of arguments are available. WisconsinEye has live video and audio of arguments.

Oral argument September 11, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the following.

9:45 a.m. James Gumz, et al. v. Northern States Power Company, 05AP1424

10:45 a.m. Ralph Schmidt, et al. v. Northern States Power Company, et al., 05AP1677

1:30 p.m. State v. Scott M. Hambly. 05AP3087-CR

Synopses of the above and live audio of arguments are available. WisconsinEye has live video and audio of arguments.

This Week in Liberal Judicial Activism: Week of September 10, 2007

Ed Whelan at Bench Memos.

Mr. Whelan was the featured speaker at our chapter's March 8th luncheon.

Sixth Annual FightingBobFest

Looks more like FightingBoredom and no Fest on the poster.

Giuliani courts Federalist Society

Chicago Tribune article on Mayor Giuliani.

Latin Phrases Law Students Should Know, But Likely Don't

Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy,

... I have in mind things like e.g., i.e., viz., prima facie, sui generis, inter alia, in camera, et al., and such -- common phrases that arise in many areas of the law, yet ones that many incoming law students may not know, and that they won't learn in any of their other classes. ...

Please pass along your suggestions in the comments.

157 Comments and counting.

Using Blogs to Promote Your Law Practice

A class to be

held at the Wisconsin State Law Library, 120 MLK Jr. Blvd., 2nd floor, in downtown Madison. ...

Fee: $66.00. 2 CLE credits applied for. Registration limited to 8. ...

(via WisBlawg)

In re videoconferencing use in the courts (07-12)

Petition [74 pp. pdf] for rule

filed 09/04/2007 by A. John Voelker, Director of State Courts

The Bloggable Life of Professor Ann Althouse

By Nicole Resnick, Gargoyle, Winter 2007, page 28 [44 pp. pdf]

Focus on budget, not on raising campaign cash

This Janesville Gazette editorial mentions in passing that

Wisconsin is by far the smallest state employing a full-time legislature.

(via Right On)

Appellate Opinions Released September 5, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court did not release any opinions unrelated to attorney discipline today.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals released these opinions, recommending the following for publication:

Roy v. St. Luke Medical Center (computer animations allowed into evidence in medical malpractice claim).

Issue Spotting in Daubert Motion Practice:

Two Reasons Every Litigator Who Opposes or Uses an Expert Witness Wants Specialized Daubert Counsel on Their Litigation Team, by Stephen Mahle in DRI's Daubert Online, Spring 2007

Racial bias in sentencing is real, and demands response

Our State Bar's President Tom Basting's has what's labeled a "letter to the editor" in The Capital Times.

If the content seems familiar, it previously appeared on our State Bar's web site.

(via WisOpinion)

Oral Argument September 5, 2007

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in the following.

9:45 a.m. Robert Stuart, et al. v. Weisflog's Showroom Gallery, Inc., et al., 05AP886 and 05AP1287

1:30 p.m. State v. Ronald Schaefer,06AP1826-CRAC

Synopses of the above and live audio of arguments are available.

Update: WisconsinEye to Cover Supreme Court Oral Arguments [pdf]

WisconsinEye today announced it will begin gavel-to-gavel broadcast coverage of oral arguments in the State Supreme Court beginning tomorrow with three scheduled cases.

(via WisPolitics)

This Week in Liberal Judicial Activism: Week of September 3, 2007

Ed Whelan at Bench Memos.

Mr. Whelan was the featured speaker at our chapter's March 8th luncheon.