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June 5, 2026 – A City of Milwaukee election official wanted to show it’s easy to fraudulently obtain absentee military ballots.

In succeeding, she committed election fraud, the District I Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed in State v. Zapata, No. 2025AP425-CR (May 12, 2026).

“We conclude that Wis. Stat. § 12.13(3)(i) prohibits making false statements for the purpose of actually or constructively obtaining an absentee ballot, and [Kimberly D.] Zapata constructively obtained the ballots she requested,” wrote…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Court of Appeals: Intent Didn’t Prevent Election Fraud

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission’s recent report on 2025 Milwaukee police vehicle pursuits confirms that chases, crashes, and fatalities all increased from 2024 numbers.

FPC Executive Director Leon Todd presented the annual vehicle pursuit report at a meeting in late May.

Total pursuits by the Milwaukee Police Department, up from 957 in 2024 to 970 in 2025, were described as “a slight increase” by Todd.

The number of police pursuits culminating in a dangerous outcome rose. In 2024,

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Continue Reading The Numbers Don’t Lie – Police Pursuits Are Getting More Dangerous

In 2025, the FBI received more than 12,000 complaints of real estate fraud, resulting in over $275 million in losses. Wisconsin property owners are not immune, as industry professionals have reported a sharp increase in seller impersonation fraud. The consequences of deed theft are dire and can take months or years to unravel.

While deed theft has existed for decades, advances in technology, remote closings, online public records, and identity theft have made these schemes easier to execute and…
Continue Reading Deed Theft in Wisconsin: What Property Owners Need to Know

Posted on May 31, 2026 in Civil Rights
In 2026, both federal and Wisconsin state law restrict firearm possession for people with certain convictions. Losing your gun rights after a criminal conviction for a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence charge is usually permanent. For many people, it’s one of the most frustrating consequences of a criminal record.

But depending on your situation, there may be a legal path to restoring those rights. At the very least, it’s worth understanding…
Continue Reading Can You Get Your Gun Rights Back if You’ve Been Convicted of a Felony or Domestic Violence?

Section 973.195 of the Wisconsin Statutes allows for the early conversion of prison time into supervision once a convicted individual has served 75% to 85% of their confinement. Mays Law (serving Middleton and Madison) seeks judicial release for its clients in Dane County, even when the district attorney (DA) objects under the Stenklyft precedent.

Individuals who are serving prison time for qualifying felonies are eligible to seek sentencing adjustments under Section 973.195 of the Wisconsin Statutes. While the Wisconsin…
Continue Reading Second Chances in 2026: Navigating Sentence Adjustments Under Wisconsin Statute § 973.195

Understanding the Exclusionary Rule
 Posted on May 10, 2026 in Criminal Defense
If you have been charged with a crime in Wisconsin, you may have heard the term “exclusionary rule” and wondered what it actually means and whether it could help your case. The exclusionary rule is one of the most powerful defenses in criminal cases, and one of the most important ways attorneys can hold police and the prosecution responsible for misbehavior.

In 2026, any good Wisconsin…
Continue Reading Understanding the Exclusionary Rule

​By Alexandria Staubach

A recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report highlights problems in Wisconsin’s criminal justice system ranging from the state’s continued place as a national leader in the disproportionate incarceration of people of color to expected increases in costs associated with the state’s prison population.

The April report, entitled Cross Examination: A comprehensive view of Wisconsin’s criminal justice system, shows persistent troubling trends and hopes to be a “baseline assessment of Wisconsin’s criminal justice landscape.”

Much in the

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Continue Reading New report assesses Wisconsin’s criminal justice system, finds persistent troubling trends

April 28, 2026 – The asbestos dust that a steamfitter breathed, causing mesothelioma, resulted in safe-place statute liability for Pabst Brewing Co., a 5-2 majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided recently in

Estate of Carol Lorbiecki v. Pabst Brewing Co., 2026 WI 12.

“As the owner of the brewery, Pabst owed a non-delegable duty under the safe-place statute to frequenters on the premises, a category that includes employees of independent contractors like Lorbiecki,” Justice Rebecca Frank…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Asbestos Created Safe-Place Statute Liability

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April 22, 2026 – A statute immunizing health care professionals during the COVID-19 state of emergency did not violate the constitutional right to a jury trial, a unanimous Wisconsin Supreme Court recently ruled in
Wren v. Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Milwaukee, Inc. (2026 WI 11), barring a medical malpractice lawsuit from a stillborn childbirth. Because the Wisconsin Constitution “empowers the [L]egislature to alter or suspend particular common law causes of action,” the immunity statute suspended Savannah Wren’s

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Pandemic Doctor Immunity Statute Constitutional

Among the nearly three dozen new laws Gov. Tony Evers signed recently is one generating hope within the prison reentry community because it allows expansion of Medicaid coverage for those nearing the end of incarceration and returning home.

While the impact of the new law, Act 233, will not be felt immediately, there is nevertheless cause for excitement for those involved in reentry services.

“We don’t know how this is going to pan out,” said The Community’s Shannon

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Continue Reading Promising New Law Allows Medicaid Expansion to Those Leaving Prison

A second OWI offense within 10 years in Madison, Wisconsin, carries a mandatory minimum of 5 days to 6 months in jail and a 12- to 18-month driver’s license revocation. In 2026, judges have zero discretion to waive the ignition interlock device (IID) requirement, which must stay for at least one year.

If you are facing a second OWI charge in Wisconsin, you are facing steep penalties. The penalties that are on the table are even steeper if your

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Second Offense OWI: 2026 Mandatory Minimums and Ignition Interlock Rules

Understanding Wisconsin’s Sentence Adjustment Law
Wisconsin’s sentence adjustment statute (§ 973.195) offers a narrow but meaningful opportunity for certain incarcerated individuals to request a reduction in the confinement portion of their sentence after serving a significant amount of time.

Despite often being described as “early release,” that label isn’t quite accurate. A sentence adjustment usually does not shorten the total sentence. Instead, it allows a judge to convert remaining prison time into extended supervision, meaning the individual serves part

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Continue Reading Second Chances Under Wisconsin Law – How Mays Law Used Sentence Adjustment To Open the Door to Early Release

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently clarified student questioning conducted by school resource officers in schools may constitute “custodial interrogation” requiring Miranda warnings, even when no arrest occurs. In State v. K.R.C., the Court held that a 12-year-old student was in custody for Miranda purposes when the student was questioned by two police officers in the SRO office. One officer was the school resource officer, and the other officer was not affiliated with the school.

The K.R.C. decision provides important…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Addresses Miranda Protections in School Settings

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April 7, 2026 – A 12-year-old student deserved
Miranda protection for questioning in the tiny school resource officer’s (SRO) office and at an in-school suspension desk, a 4-3 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority held in

State v. K.R.C., 2026 WI 10. But everyone on the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s finding of delinquency. The majority said it was harmless error. Other testimony sufficiently supported delinquency for fourth-degree sexual assault. “In sum, the [SRO’s] testimony about Kevin’s statements was

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Student in Custody at School, but Error Harmless

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When AI Provides Courtroom Expertise
Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic in every field, but, too often, when it comes to the legal system, it is lawyers’ and judges’ struggles with AI that make news, time after time. But while everyone is talking about “hallucinated” case citations, some are focusing on the other ways AI is entering the courtroom. For decades, expert evidence has required a human witness—a physician, engineer, accountant, or other specialist applying…
Continue Reading When the ‘Expert’ Is an Algorithm