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Aug. 12, 2025 – A mistrial based on a misunderstanding of Wisconsin’s
State v. Denny led to unconstitutional double jeopardy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held recently in

Mitchell D. Green v. Milwaukee County Circuit Court, No. 24-2980 (Aug. 1, 2025). The reversal of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin resulted in Green receiving the requested writ of habeas corpus, freeing him from retrial. “By relying on a mistake

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Continue Reading Seventh Circuit: No ‘Manifest Necessity’ for Mistrial Requires Reversal

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July 29, 2025 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed that Luis A. Ramirez’s constitutional claim for a speedy trial violation failed, with five justices joining most of the majority opinion in

State v. Ramirez, 2025 WI 28 (June 27, 2025). “At  most, we could assign the State responsibility for 958 days of delay, caused by neutral reasons weighed against the State, but not heavily,” wrote Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley for the 5-2 majority opinion. “Ramirez waited 32 months

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Continue Reading Supreme Court: Speedy Trial Not Violated After 46 months

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July 29, 2025 – Flight from domestic violence excused driving with a prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC) but not long enough as a defense when police stopped the victim, six Wisconsin Supreme Court justices agreed in State v. Stetzer, 2025 WI 34 (July 3, 2025).

“[T]he circuit court correctly required that all elements of the coercion defense be met for the entire duration of [Joan L.] Stetzer’s ongoing, otherwise-criminal act and considered Stetzer’s personal history when evaluating the reasonableness

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Coercion Defense Didn’t Last

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July 29, 2025 – The circuit court’s dismissal of a second conviction, which it reinstated after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals reversed on the remaining guilty verdict, did not violate the defendants’ rights, the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed in State v. Carl Lee McAdory, 2025 WI 30.

Five justices had one justification for upholding the conviction reinstatement while two others proposed to reverse precedent they said was inconsistent with the statute’s plain meaning.

“[W]e hold that the circuit

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Continue Reading State Supreme Court Upholds Reinstatement of Conviction in OWI Case

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July 29, 2025 – Although an administrative law judge (ALJ) found sufficient evidence of probation violations, a reversal satisfied the low bar of certiorari review, a 6-1 majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court concluded in

State ex rel. Department of Corrections, Division of Community Corrections (DOC) v. Brian Hayes, 2025 WI 35 (July 3, 2025). “In sum, we conclude that under the certiorari standard of review, the administrator’s decision must be upheld because it is supported by substantial

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Continue Reading Supreme Court: Substantial Evidence Supports Reversal of Parole Revocation

In U.S. ex rel. Cooley v. ERMI, LLC, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (the “Court”) denied the employer’s motion for summary judgment after the employer provided unclear and inconsistent explanations for the employee’s termination. The Court explained that the reasons provided by the employer may serve as pretext rather than a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for termination, thus creating a genuine issue of material fact.
Background
The plaintiff was hired in November 2018 as…
Continue Reading Employer’s “Unclear and/or Inconsistent Explanations for Plaintiff’s Termination” Leads Court to Denial of Summary Judgment

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According to a recent decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Court”), providers cannot use private lawsuits to compel health plans to pay amounts awarded through the federal No Surprises Act’s (“NSA”) out-of-network independent dispute resolution (“IDR”) process. In its June 12, 2025, ruling in Guardian Flight, L.L.C. et al. v. Health Care Service Corp., the court held that NSA does not create a private right of action for providers to enforce IDR awards issued in their…
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Holds There Is No Private Right of Action Under the No Surprises Act 

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July 25, 2025 – In the past 50 years, the Wisconsin Legislature effectively wrote out of existence an 1849 abortion law, a 4-3 majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court concluded this month in holding the original law impliedly repealed in Kaul v. Urmanski, 2025 WI 32.

“We conclude that comprehensive legislation enacted over the last 50 years regulating in detail the ‘who, what, where, when, and how’ of abortion so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that

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Continue Reading Supreme Court: Legislature Impliedly Repealed Abortion Law

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July 22, 2025 – The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission’s recommendations for appointment as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently landed at the White House for potential nomination by President Donald Trump.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who re-established the bipartisan commission in April, approved the Federal Nominating Commission’s list of potential candidates to fill Chief Judge Sykes’ seat. She will take senior status in October.

The six-member

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Continue Reading Federal Nominating Commission Submits Judicial Recommendations

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled in favor of the NCAA in Nyzier Fourqurean’s eligibility lawsuit. The NCAA’s appeal came after a preliminary injunction was granted to Fourqurean by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Fourqurean, a member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s football team, brought antitrust claims in challenge of the NCAA’s Five-Year Rule, which limits college athletes to four seasons of eligibility in five years. Fourqurean has competed…
Continue Reading 7th Circuit Reverses District Court Injunction in Fourqurean NCAA Eligibility Case

State ex rel. Wis. Dep’t of Corrs., Div. of Cmty. Corrs. v. Hayes, 2023AP1140, affirming a per curiam court of appeals decision, case activity (including briefs)

The Division of Hearings and Appeals decided not to revoke Sellers’s probation. DOC, on writ of certiorari to the circuit court, prevailed, and DHA appealed. On appeal, DHA and Sellers asked the COA to affirm DHA’s original decision not to revoke Sellers’s probation. The COA agreed with DHA and Sellers, reversing the…
Continue Reading SCOW affirms defense win in revocation case on deferential standard of review

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July 15, 2025 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently held (4-3) that five statutes giving the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) “the power to pause, object to, or suspend administrative rules for varying lengths of time” are facially unconstitutional. “The challenged statutes … empower JCRAR to take action that alters legal rights and duties outside of the legislative branch,” wrote Chief Justice Jill J. Karofsky in

Evers v. Marklein, 2025 WI 36 (July

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Legislative Holds on Rules Unconstitutional

Oneida County v. J.B., 2025AP213, 7/1/25, District III (one judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity

J.B. (“Joseph”) appeals the disposition terminating his parental rights to his son, “Isaac,” arguing that the circuit court failed to explicitly consider whether Isaac had substantial relationships with Joseph and members of his family. COA rejects Joseph’s arguments and affirms.

Isaac was five years old at the time of the jury trial on grounds and dispositional hearing. He was removed from Joseph’s…
Continue Reading COA affirms TPR disposition, holds circuit court properly exercised discretion as to substantial relationship factor

Jackson County Dept. of Health & Human Services v. A.M.N., 2024AP1166, 7/10/25, District IV (ineligible for publication); case activity

COA finds counsel’s performance deficient for failing to timely file affidavits opposing Jackson County’s motion for partial summary judgment regarding its petition to terminate A.M.N.’s parental rights.  But A.M.N. was not prejudiced because there is no reasonable probability that the affidavits would have created a genuine issue of material fact whether she had good cause for failing to contact…
Continue Reading COA: In TPR case, trial counsel’s performance was deficient for not timely filing affidavits opposing summary judgment, but respondent not prejudiced.

Water droplets with PFAS text -- Forever chemical water contamination concept
Water droplets with PFAS text -- Forever chemical water contamination concept

Wisconsin Supreme Court holds that DNR has authority to address PFAS contamination without first promulgating rules identifying each contaminant as a “hazardous substance”
Introduction
On June 24, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a landmark environmental decision in Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Inc. v. DNR. The Court concluded that the Department of Natural Resources (“DNR”) has the authority to require the cleanup of “emerging contaminants,” like PFAS, without first promulgating rules identifying each substance qualifying as a “hazardous substance”…
Continue Reading DNR Authorized to Address PFAS Contamination without First Identifying ‘Hazardous Substances’ per Wisconsin Supreme Court

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More than three years after the case was originally filed in Dane County Circuit Court, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, held that Wis. Stat. § 940.04(1) does not prohibit abortion in Wisconsin. The statute, the majority held, had been impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation that permitted, but regulated, abortion in certain circumstances. The majority decision in Kaul v. Urmanski, authored by Justice Dallet, held that the statutes enacted subsequent to Wis. Stat. § 940.04(1) could not…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Legislature Effectively Repealed Abortion Ban with Subsequent Legislation