http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-19T14:37:18-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_courthouse_security_measures_add_estimated_30_minutes_to_entrance_time/ Following criticism by the county sheriff, a Wisconsin courthouse has amped up its security measures. And, as a result, it's taking longer for those with business to do at the Milwaukee County courthouse to get where they're going, reports the Journal Sentinel. Even before the security measures,… Judiciary, Court Security, States, Wisconsin Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:00:23 -0500 43184.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/child_kidnapped_by_mom_at_age_5_and_sent_to_japan_gets_crime_victim_compens/ An American girl who was kidnapped by her mother at age 5 and traumatized by being sent to live with her grandparents in Japan for four years is entitled to compensation as a crime victim, a Wisconsin administrative law judge has ruled. The state argued that the Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Family Law, Government Law, International Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Wisconsin Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:05:31 -0600 43103.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/district_attorneys_are_declining_to_defend_controversial_state_and_federal/ Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Legal Ethics, 7th Circuit Court, States, Illinois, Wisconsin, The National Pulse Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:40:28 -0600 42770.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/wisconsin_justice_accuses_colleague_of_denial_over_alleged_neck_grab/ Wisconsin Justice Patience Roggensack faces a contested primary election on Tuesday, less than a week after she was accused by a colleague of being in denial about court dysfunction. Justice Patience Roggensack is being challenged by Marquette University law professor Ed Fallone and lemon law attorney Vince Megna, report the… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, Wisconsin Tue, 19 Feb 2013 06:30:33 -0600 42889.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bad_coffee_leads_to_embezzlement_case_against_law_firm_worker/ A really bad cup of coffee that burned the lips of a Wisconsin law firm worker resulted in a criminal case against a co-worker who is now accused not only of tainting the beverage with a foreign substance but embezzling from her employer. Kay Lee Gysbers was released on a… Criminal Justice, Law Firms, Paralegals, States, Missouri, New Jersey, Wisconsin Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:36:36 -0600 42728.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_says_gambling_addiction/ A longtime Wisconsin attorney who is considered a leading debt-collection lawyer in Milwaukee says he is winding down his practice due to an investigation over missing client trust money and plans to give up his law license. "I'm actually a very good lawyer; this is sadly the end to a… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Legal Ethics, States, Wisconsin Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:35:44 -0600 42582.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/accused_bucky_badger_bandit_is_a_law_grad_who_told_police_he_had_250000_in_/ A 2004 law grad accused of trying to rob a credit union in Wisconsin while wearing a Bucky Badger hat revealed a purported motive in an interview with police. The alleged robber, 49-year-old Randall Hubatch, said he needed money to help pay off $250,000 in student debt, the Criminal Justice, Law Schools, Law Students, States, Wisconsin Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:19:41 -0600 42484.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/fans_backstage_chat_with_joan_rivers_included_in_doc_film_wasnt_private_7th/ Affirming a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit against Joan Rivers, a federal appeals court in Chicago on Thursday held that a fan did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning a brief backstage chat with the raunchy comedian, in the presence of others. The fan, Ann Bogie, sued… Celebrities, Civil Procedure, Media & Communications Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, 7th Circuit Court, States, Wisconsin Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:42:58 -0600 42452.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_rejects_two-year_prison_term_for_lawyer_who_embezzled_737k_from_law_f/ Former Wisconsin lawyer Brian Mularski caught a break in a sentencing hearing on Monday partly because one of his embezzlement victims has put him on the payroll. Accused of embezzling $737,000, Mularski pleaded guilty in October to theft of more than $10,000 in a business setting. On Monday, Judge David… Criminal Justice, Legal Ethics, States, Wisconsin Tue, 08 Jan 2013 07:40:54 -0600 42256.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_accused_of_inflating_billables_for_bonuses_gets_one-year_suspension/ A Wisconsin lawyer accused of inflating his billable hours to qualify for nearly $47,000 in bonuses has been suspended from practice for a year, six months less than recommended by a referee. The Wisconsin Supreme Court cited mitigating factors in imposing the lower… Law Firms, Partners, Legal Ethics, States, Wisconsin Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:15:29 -0600 42230.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/parents_who_tried_to_heal_daughter_with_prayer_seek_to_overturn_reckless_ho/ Lawyers for a Wisconsin couple asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court in oral arguments on Tuesday to overturn their convictions for an unsuccessful effort to heal their daughter with prayer. Dale and Leilani Neumann were convicted of second-degree reckless homicide in separate trials in 2009, report the Associated… Criminal Justice, Religious Law, States, Wisconsin Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:34:59 -0600 41888.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_adds_probation_condition_dad_who_owes_50k_in_child_support_may_not_pr/ A man who owes $50,000 in child support and $40,000 in interest was sentenced on Monday to three years of probation with an added condition: He may not procreate. Corey Curtis of Racine was sentenced on Monday after pleading no contest in October to jumping bail and failing to pay… Constitutional Law, Family Law, States, Wisconsin Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:49:01 -0600 41886.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/coffee_spat/ A Wisconsin law firm known for its representation of workers in cases against employers got the worst of legal dispute with its own ex-receptionist after a disagreement over an empty coffee pot. Sandy Weidner said she was fired on a trumped-up claim that she hadn't included a few breaks on… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Labor & Employment, Law Firms, Solos/Small Firms, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Wisconsin Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:24:37 -0600 41744.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/raring_for_a_jury_trial_defendant_appeals_when_prosecutors_drop_the_case/ Ernest Pagels Jr. says he has a right to a trial by jury, even if prosecutors don’t want to pursue charges against him. A Wisconsin appeals court disagreed and rejected Pagels’ pro se appeal on Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Proof & Hearsay.… Criminal Justice, States, Wisconsin Mon, 12 Nov 2012 07:15:05 -0600 41553.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/disbarred_lawyer_fighting_new_sanction_decries_treatment_barks_at_wisconsin/ A disbarred Milwaukee lawyer fighting a recommendation for additional sanctions told the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday that the ethics case is “traumatizing me and pushing me into an early grave.” Alan Eisenberg, 71, was disbarred in 2010 for filing a lawsuit in bad faith, but the ethics rules allow… Legal Ethics, States, Wisconsin Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:09:01 -0600 41525.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_sticks_to_his_assertion_tv_anchor_is_too_fat/ Updated: A Wisconsin man who wrote a TV news anchor to tell her she is too fat isn’t retracting his assertion. Kenneth Krause of LaCrosse told WKBT anchor Jennifer Livingston in an email that he briefly saw her morning show and was “surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition… Personal Lives, States, Wisconsin Thu, 04 Oct 2012 06:36:31 -0500 41010.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/wisconsin_judge_strikes_controversial_collective_bargaining_law/ In the latest development in a continuing legal battle over a controversial Wisconsin law that eliminated collective bargaining rights for most local government and school workers, a state court judge Friday declared the law null and void. However, a spokeswoman for Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the state… Constitutional Law, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Wisconsin Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:44:27 -0500 40733.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/juror_who_went_on_vacation_during_deliberations_is_happy_her_next_stop_isnt/ A Wisconsin juror who left for a Cancun vacation after deliberations had begun was spared a jail sentence in a contempt hearing on Tuesday. Ivana Samardzic, 20, will have to pay a $300 fine, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Proof & Hearsay. "I don't… Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Juries, States, Wisconsin Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:09:52 -0500 40444.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/court_clerk_charged_with_stealing_from_law_firm_allegedly_used_money_for_re/ A court clerk in Wisconsin charged with stealing from a former law firm employer says she used some of the money to pay her $120,000 restitution in a prior 1994 federal theft conviction concerning a Wausau bank, according to a criminal complaint. Susan Adams, 58, is charged with forgery and… Criminal Justice, States, Wisconsin Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:26:05 -0500 40103.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_charged_in_gun-silencer_case_makes_constitutional_argument_for_dismi/ A Wisconsin lawyer criminally charged for allegedly possessing an illegal gun silencer is fighting the case on constitutional grounds. Attorney Thomas M. Barrett, through his legal counsel, is arguing that the law under which he was charged is vague and, to the extent it is determined to be valid, will… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, States, Wisconsin Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:36:30 -0500 39831.abajournal.com