Articles from Loeb & Herman

One year ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced the creation of an “Attorney Retention and Recruitment Committee” to, according to the announcement, “consider the shortage of lawyers representing criminal defendants.”

Much as I would prefer any other topic for my column this month, the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan was the biggest story in local law in, well, forever.

With a lump or two in my throat, I’m going to address one of the most difficult issues in the area of law — the complicated situation of those suffering with mental health conditions who are involved in our legal system.

Permit me to fantasize for a moment. Fifteen years ago, our Supreme Court had an opportunity to rule that “truth in advertising” applied to Supreme Court elections. It failed to do so. It also failed to rule to the contrary.  Instead, the court tied 3-3, and in Wisconsin our rules do not allow a tie-breaker.

The Super Bowl is over. Days are getting longer. The best words in the English language are: “Pitchers and catchers report.” Baseball will soon return!

Happy New Year! As usual, I’ll start the new year with a review of my columns from last year – some more controversial than others.

I’m sorry to report that we’ve lost a true giant in the judiciary and legislature.

I now have some advice for Wisconsin trial courts (including court commissioners):  Serve at the convenience of the parties and lawyers, not by your own, archaic and sometimes inefficient rules.

In last month’s column, I made several very useful suggestions (if I may say so myself) to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for improvements during their new term. Shockingly, not one member of the court thanked me for the helpful advice, nor have they (so far) adopted any of my suggestions.

The 2024-2025 term for the Wisconsin Supreme Court just began, and I thought it prudent to offer them some advice as to how to improve their performance this term.