Year: 2009

Are restaurants in Wisconsin required to put cheese on apple pie?

I’ve seen this posted on a number of dumb laws websites and have always been a little skeptical. Connie Von Der Heide at the Wisconsin State Law Library took the time to check it out. Her answer appears in the Wisconsin State Journal. “It certainly sounds plausible since after all this is the Dairy State, …

Pamphlet Highlights Wisconsin Facts and Figures

The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau has produced a nice 2-sided color pamphlet summarizing facts and figures about Wisconsin.

Credit Card Act To Bring Changes – Good and Bad

Channel 3000.com has a good summary of the changes consumers can expect under the new Credit Card Act of 2009. The Good: “It’s not going to be quite as easy to get into trouble as it has been in the past,” says Michael Johnson, finance instructor at Madison Area Technical College. The Bad: “Those low, …

2009 Unsung Heroes Nominees

Congratulations to this year’s nominees for the Unsung Heroes award presented by the Wisconsin Law Journal. The award seeks to recognize the legal professionals whose efforts are essential to helping law firms and courts run efficiently. Categories include Secretary, Paralegal, Law Librarian, Administrator, Human Resources, IT Specialists, Marketers, and Court Staff. I’d like to give …

Chat Sessions Admitted as Evidence

From Federal Evidence Review: Internet chatroom conversations about having sex with minors was admissible to show the defendant’s knowledge of the age of his victim and absence of mistake under FRE 404(b); a sufficient showing was made that he made the other chats and not other family members who had access to the computer, in …

WI Court of Appeals Sanctions Attorney for Sloppy Citation

In an unpublished opinion by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the court imposed a $100 sanction on counsel for a seriously messed up citation. The case is Espitia v. Fouche 314 Wis.2d 507, 758 N.W.2d 224 (Table), 2008 WL 4058057 (Wis.App.), 2008 WI App 160. FN5. Counsel for Espitia cites to an unpublished case assertedly …

West Releases More Law Books on Kindle

Last week, West announced that a selection of its most popular law book titles are now available for the Kindle eBook reader. For a full list, see the press release. To purchase the West titles for the Kindle, search for them on Amazon. Source: Due Process: The Georgetown Law Library Blog

Petition Filed with WI Supreme Court Aims to Extend Diploma Privilege to Out-of-State Law School Grads

From the latest edition of WisBar InsideTrack: Sept. 29, 2009 – A petition filed on Sept. 25 with the Wisconsin Supreme Court aims to extend the “diploma privilege” to graduates of all ABA-approved law schools or abolish it entirely. Petitioner Steven Levine, a past State Bar of Wisconsin president, and 70 other State Bar members …

Judge Olly Neal Shares How a Stolen Book and a School Librarian Changed His Life

The other day on my drive in to work I listened to a really touching StoryCorps interview on NPR. Judge Olly Neal shared the story of how a stolen book and a school librarian changed his life. Olly Neal grew up in Arkansas during the 1950s. He didn’t care much for high school. One day …

Bridge and Dykman to Leave WI's Court of Appeals

JSOnline reports that two judges have announced they will leave the state’s Court of Appeals in Madison next year: Burnie Bridge and Charles P. Dykman. See the article for more information. Governor Doyle has announced that he is seeking applicants for appointment as District IV Court of Appeals Judge. Source: The Wheeler Report