The 2018 Farm Bill made a significant change to the definition of “marijuana” by introducing a THC threshold. Specifically, it now requires a concentration of at least 0.3% Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis for something to be considered marijuana. In simpler terms, if a plant—or any product derived from it—contains 0.3% Delta-9 THC or less, it’s not classified as marijuana and therefore, not illegal to possess.
What Does “Dry Weight Basis” Mean?
“Dry weight basis” might sound
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Is it Possible to Overturn a Wrongful Conviction in Wisconsin?
Is it Possible to Overturn a Wrongful Conviction in Wisconsin?
Posted on September 16,2024 in Criminal Defense
If you have been convicted of a crime in Milwaukee, you may wonder if there is a way to challenge the court’s decision. The appeals process allows you to ask a higher court to review the case for legal errors that may have affected the outcome. It is important to know that an appeal is not a new trial. Instead, it focuses
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Seventh Circuit Upholds Decision Denying Coverage for Autism-related Treatment
Sept. 10, 2024 – A party seeking health insurance coverage for autism-related medical treatment has lost an appeal at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Midthun-Hensen v. Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, No. 23-2100 (Aug. 5, 2024). Beginning in 2017, Angela Midthun-Hensen and Tony Hensen asked their insurer, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Inc., (Group Health) to cover speech therapy and sensory integration therapy for their autistic son. Group Health decided that neither therapy
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Cellphone Tower Separation Ordinance Preempted by State Law
Sept. 9, 2024 – A county zoning ordinance requiring cellphone towers to be at least one-half mile apart is preempted by state law, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District IV) has ruled in
Savich v. Columbia County Board of Adjustment, 2023AP78 (July 18, 2024). In August 2020, Tillman Infrastructure, LLC (Tillman) and AT&T Mobility (AT&T) applied to the Columbia County Planning and Zoning Department for a permit to build a cellphone tower at a specific site on farmland
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Failure to Address Jurisdictional Issue Rendered Appeal Frivolous
Sept. 6, 2024 – A plaintiff’s failure to honestly and meaningfully address a question of appellate jurisdiction under
28 U.S.C. section 2107 rendered his appeal frivolous, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled in
Upchurch v. O’Brien, 22-2541 (Aug. 6, 2024). As a result, the Seventh Circuit held, sanctions under
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 38 were appropriate. The Great Outdoors Timothy O’Brien and his wife Margaret owned a resort on Catfish
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Will I Go to Jail for Accidentally Starting a Wildfire?
Posted on September 04,2024 in Criminal Defense
Wildfire season in Wisconsin is drawing to a close. The season started off with more fires than usual after a particularly warm winter and, as of today, nearly 900 wildfires have burned throughout the state.
Some fires are inevitable and can even be used to manage growth in a way that helps mitigate more serious wildfires in the future. But when fires are caused by humans – whether intentionally or not –
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Failure to Object to Post-hearing Lineup Identification Not Deficient
Aug. 29, 2024 – Whether the right to counsel had attached at a probable cause hearing wasn’t a settled matter of law, meaning an attorney wasn’t deficient when he failed to object to a lineup identification that occurred without counsel present, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District I) has ruled in
State v. Robinson, 2020AP1728 (Aug. 6, 2024). On Dec. 18, 2017, a man walked into a U.S. Bank branch on West Capitol Drive in Milwaukee and slipped
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No Warrant Required for Cell Phone Data of Armed Man Heading Toward Unrest
Aug. 29, 2024 – The FBI was not required to seek a warrant before obtaining cell phone data on an armed man heading toward the site of civil unrest because of exigent circumstances, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held in
U.S. v. Karmo, No. 23-1082 (July 31, 2024). Civil unrest broke out in Kenosha on Aug. 23, 2020, after the police shot a Black man while attempting to arrest him. Michael Karmo and
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Sullivan Test Inapplicable to Prior Conviction Evidence in Sexual Assault Cases
Aug. 29, 2024 – In a case of first impression, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District III) has applied the other-acts evidence statute to a sexual assault case. In State v. Hill, 2022AP1718 (Aug. 6, 2024), the Court of Appeals held that the analysis for admitting other-acts evidence under State v. Sullivan, 216 Wis. 2d 768, 576 N.W. 2d 30 (1998), doesn’t apply to prior conviction evidence sought to be admitted under section 904.04(2)(b). In August 2022, the Douglas
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Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship
Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.
- Interrupting Gun Violence 104 Boston L. Rev. 769 (2024) by CHRISTOPHER LAU, UW Law School
Against the backdrop of declining crime rates, gun violence and gun-related homicides have only risen over the last three years. Just as it historically has, the brunt of that violence has been borne by poor Black and brown communities. These communities
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Tackling the defense lawyer shortage, Kim Wexler style
In Better Call Saul, Jimmy McGill, the (ethically challenged but charming) main character, can’t get hired at his brother’s fancy law firm. So when he’s left with no other options, he does criminal defense work. It’s pretty far from the work he wanted. Art mirrors life. It seems that a lot of lawyers aren’t inclined to do this work.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler recently announced the creation of an Attorney Retention and Recruitment Committee to consider
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Prompt Re-assignment Defeats Claims of Hostile Workplace
Aug. 13, 2024 – A company that twice promptly re-assigned an employee after he’d complained about racial harassment by his supervisors did not create a hostile work environment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled in Clacks v. Kwik Trip, Inc., No. 23-1983 (July 24, 2024).In June 2018, Kwik Trip, Inc. (Kwik Trip) hired Stanford Clacks, a Black man, as a truck driver at its distribution center in La Crosse.Clacks second trainer, Tom Roerkohl,
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Police Pressure on Juvenile Requires Suppression of Statements
Aug. 13, 2024 – Statements from a juvenile who was subjected to psychological pressure by police in three interviews conducted over 26 hours must be suppressed, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District IV) has ruled in State v. Kruckenberg, 2023AP396 (July 25, 2024).
At 2 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2021, the police went to a residence in Albany to check out a report of a missing newborn.
The police learned that C.D., age 14, had four days earlier
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Plaintiffs’ Memories of Labor Violations Sufficient to Avoid Rule 11 Sanctions
Aug. 13, 2024 – A district court did not err by denying a motion for sanctions against attorneys for plaintiffs who sued a company with an inaccurate timekeeping system, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled in Mazurek v. Metalcraft of Mayville, Inc., No. 22-1743 (Aug. 2, 2024).Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi wrote the majority opinion, joined by Judge Michael Scudder. Judge Thomas Kirsch dissented.In October 2017, Richard Mazurek filed a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
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Blurry Nomination Papers Complied With Statutory Requirements
Aug. 13, 2024 – The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) properly applied a substantial compliance standard when accepting nomination papers that were blurred and omitted some words, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District I) has ruled in Hess v. WEC, 2023AP1350 (July 30, 2024).In the spring of 2023, Paul Melotik began circulating nomination papers after Gov. Tony Evers called a special election to fill a vacancy in State Assembly District 24.On May 23, 2023, Melotik submitted the nomination papers,
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Right-to-Farm Law Doesn’t Bar Lawsuit Over Private Drain Tile
August 5, 2024 – Wisconsin’s “right to farm” law does not bar a lawsuit over the alleged failure to repair an agricultural drainage tile system, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (District IV) has ruled in
Buchholz v. Schmidt, 2023AP1400 (July 18, 2024)Ben Buchholz and Steven Schmidt owned farmland in Dodge County.A road separated the Buchholz and Schmidt properties. A culvert running beneath the road carried stormwater from Buchholz’s property over Smith’s property and into a drainage way.Buchholz and
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