Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: America’s Amoral Constitution as Product of Self-contradictions; Rights Jurisprudence from Minority Protection to Minority Power Sharing; Constitutional Change in 2020; Popular Constitution-Making in South America; and U.S. Law School Mission Statements

Posted on

Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN. “America’s Constitutional Contradictions” 71 American University Law Review Forum 1 (2021) by FRANCISKA COLEMAN, UW Law School In this Response, Coleman suggests that America’s amoral Constitution is not a free-standing original choice but rather …

How to Request Public Records in Wisconsin

Posted on

Thinking of filing a public records request but aren’t sure where to start? Wisconsin Watch has compiled a helpful primer.  Here’s a selection: First, determine what you want to know and who has that record. The person in charge of keeping and managing these documents at an agency or department is known as the “custodian” …

New Book Recounts Distinctive Approach to Teaching & Research at UW Law School

Posted on

Just released, Legal Realism to Law in Action documents the University of Wisconsin Law School’s distinctive approach to teaching and research.  The book, edited by William H. Clune, Voss-Bascom Professor of Law Emeritus, is a collection of papers and interviews describing the innovative law school courses developed by UW Law School faculty from 1950 to …

UW Law’s State Democracy Research Initiative Newsletter Showcases Resdistricting & State Constitutional Law Expertise, State Supreme Courts Research

Posted on

Interested in UW Law School’s new State Democracy Research Initiative?  Sign up for their free newsletter for news on the latest research, happenings, and events.  Issues will be published at the end of each semester.  Here are some highlights from the inaugural issue: REDISTRICTING EXPERTISE With a decennial redistricting cycle in full swing, we have …

WI Law In Action Podcast: David Trubek & Richard Abel on the Short Happy Life of the Yale Program in Law and Modernization

Posted on

On the latest episode of the WI Law in Action podcast from the UW Law Library, host Kris Turner interviews UW Law’s David M. Trubek, Voss-Bascom Professor of Law and Dean of International Studies Emeritus and Richard Abel, Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus at UCLA Law.  Profs. Trubek and Abel discuss their …

Bill to Make PACER Free Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee

Posted on

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to make U.S. court documents free to the general public.  The bipartisan legislation would require the federal judiciary to create a new PACER system that would be free for public use.  PACER, which stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records, is run by the Judicial Conference …

Lumen Compiles Cease & Desist Letters for Online Content

Posted on

Developed by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Lumen tracks cease and desist letters concerning online content.  The project documents the notice-and-takedown process and ecology by reporting that a notice or request was sent and received, by and to whom, and regarding what online content. The Lumen database collects and …

UW Law Faculty Provide Context on Criminal Law During Rittenhouse Trial

Posted on

The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the armed Illinois teenager who killed two people and wounded another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has captured the nation’s attention and garnered extensive media coverage. Experts from the University of Wisconsin Law School have provided in-depth commentary and insights as the trial develops. The Law School has compiled a …

Vel Phillips Statue Planned for Wisconsin State Capitol

Posted on

Earlier this week, plans were announced for a statue in honor of civil rights activist Vel Phillips on the Wisconsin State Capitol square at the corner of West Main and South Carroll streets.  Phillips was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School and to be elected to a …

Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: Meaning of the Constitution’s Preamble, Authority of the Constitutional Committee of Style, Territory as a Victim of Armed Conflict, & Plea Bargaining’s Innocence Problem

Posted on

Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN. Reconsidering the Constitution’s Preamble: the Words that Made Us U.S. by David S. Schwartz, UW Law SchoolThe Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is wrongly dismissed by conventional doctrine as a purely symbolic or stylistic flourish …