Attorney Jeff Mandell Receives Wisconsin and Nationwide Attention on Redistricting and Wisconsin Legislative Maps
Stafford Rosenbaum Partner Jeff Mandell made an appearance on the November 19, 2023 edition of UpFront, a Wisconsin TV broadcast produced by ABC on Sunday mornings. He is part of the counsel team leading oral arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on November 21 to argue that the state’s legislative maps violate state constitutional standards and to request redistricting in time for the 2024 elections.
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Keeping Recipients in Poverty: Problems with Supplemental Security Income Asset Limits
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). This program was created as a way to provide monthly cash assistance for need-based individuals.
To get SSI, a person must be disabled or at least 65 years old and have very limited income and resources – otherwise known as assets. In fact, the SSI program has the strictest asset limits of any federal program. Right now, SSI recipients cannot have more than $2,000
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Attorney Derek Punches Authors ATV and UTV Regulation Article for The Municipality Magazine
Stafford Rosenbaum Government and Municipal Law Attorney Derek Punches Authors “Exploring Municipal Regulation of ATVs and UTVs” for The Municipality Magazine
Attorney Derek Punches wrote an article for The Municipality magazine’s November 2023 issue, focusing on the regulation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). “Exploring Municipal Regulation of ATVs and UTVs” is aimed at helping municipalities consider the potential economic benefits and enhanced recreational opportunities that ATVs and UTVs may bring while also helping
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Update: October 2023
The October oral argument calendar lists a measly two cases, both of which will be argued on October 9. That’s eight fewer cases than the court heard last October. In this month’s column, take a look at the sole civil case on the court’s October calendar and take a peek at a case recently granted for review.
Cases Decided
No decisions were issued in the last month.
Up for Review
Andrade v. City of Milwaukee Board of Fire and
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The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Adverse Actions
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law provides that a grantor cannot “terminate, cancel, fail to renew, or substantially change the competitive circumstances” of a protected dealership without providing good cause, proper notice, and an opportunity to cure. Wis. Stat. §§ 135.03-.04. Most adverse actions are easy to identify: a phone call terminating the relationship, a letter stating that a certain product line would no longer be offered to the dealer, or a notice that the dealership will not
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Making a Record for Success in Litigation
How to make a proper record in the trial court, whether during a motion hearing or in a trial, is not something that is taught in law school. Yet, meticulous preparation in making a strong record is one of the most effective tools for successful litigators. When attempting to make the best record you can […]
The post Making a Record for Success in Litigation appeared first on Kramer, Elkins & Watt, LLC.
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Wisconsin’s Proposed Alcohol Regulations: Major Reforms Impacting the Industry
Recently, in June 2023, the Wisconsin Assembly passed Assembly Bill 304 (the bill is numbered SB 332 in the Wisconsin Senate). That bill makes several significant changes to how the state regulates its storied and substantial alcohol industry. The proposed law affects nearly every level of the Wisconsin alcohol industry from the licensing, producing, selling, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. For instance, bartenders will now have to be licensed by the state instead of by their local municipality.
Navigating
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Seventh Circuit Reiterates the Low Bar for Intervention in Voting-rights Litigation
The Democratic Party of Illinois may not intervene in a suit relating to mail-in voting, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The case, Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, arose when Congressman Michael Bost and two voters challenged an Illinois law that permits completed mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are sent on or before election day and are received within two weeks after election day. ___ F.4th ____, 2023
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Update: July/August 2023
Wisconsin Supreme Court Update: July & August 2023
The Wisconsin Supreme Court finished up its 2023–24 term in June, issuing a slew of new decisions and granting review in one new case for next term. In this update, we take a closer look at the civil cases the court decided to round out the term.
Cases Decided
Allsop Venture Partners III v. Murphy Desmond SC, No. 2020AP806
Evidence
Decision Filed: June 2, 2023
Public Citation: 2023 WI 43
Practice
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Letter to Governor Evers
For the unemployment bills — AB147, AB149, AB150, and AB152 — recently passed by the legislature, I am urging Governor Evers to veto these bills in this letter.
I understand you are busy with the budget bills recently passed by the legislature.
But, the above-referenced unemployment bills recently passed by the legislature are also on your desk, and I urge you to veto them for the reasons indicated in my analysis of the bills at
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Ride on the Magic School Bus: Navigating Student Needs with Staff Shortages
It is every student’s favorite time of the school year: Field trip season! However, for school districts across Wisconsin grappling with staffing challenges, field trips are additional areas of risk where student needs can go unmet. Such emerging needs might include accommodations for diabetes, the fastest growing chronic disease in children in the United States. On a national scale, from 2001 to 2017, the number of people under age 20 living with Type 1 diabetes increased by 45 percent.
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The McKinney-Vento Act: Maximizing School Stability for Homeless Youth
In the 2021-22 school year, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recorded 16,454 (nearly 2%) of students as being homeless. This is an increase from the 2020-21 school year, which recorded 13,431 (1.6%) of Wisconsin students as homeless. This already too-high number is likely an undercount, as “for a variety of reasons, some young people don’t report that they are homeless.”1 Homelessness for youth correlates to poorer outcomes for emotional and physical health, lower school achievement, and increased dropout
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Keeping Construction Workers Safe in the Face of Climate Change and Extreme Heat
It’s May 1st, which means it’s the beginning of construction safety week. It’s also the day those of us living in Wisconsin can begin to believe we won’t see snow again for at least a few months. And while we’re all looking forward to warmer days ahead, we also have to prepare for days that are too hot – and too many of those “too hot” days. Climate models indicate that Wisconsin is going to face many more days
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Thinking of Practicing Outside Wisconsin? Here is Every State’s Requirements for Admission by Motion
If you have been practicing law in Wisconsin, you may have thought about what it would require to practice law in a neighboring or other state as well.
Each state requires its own admission process set forth by supreme court or board of admission rules in that state. Most states allow for admission by motion, sometimes called reciprocity or comity, for practicing lawyers who have already been licensed for a certain number of years.
Kate Cook, Indiana 2012, is
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The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: What Is a Dealership?
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law is a robust trade law that prohibits “grantors” from terminating, failing to renew, cancelling, or substantially changing “dealerships” without good cause, proper notice, and an opportunity to cure. With a few select exceptions, the WFDL applies generally, and a wide range of businesses have successfully claimed protection under the statute, including beauty product wholesalers, lawn and farm implement distributors, and even municipal golf professionals. To be considered a protected “dealership,” a business must demonstrate
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The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: An Introduction
On April 5, 1974, Governor Patrick Lucey signed the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law into law, hailing it as the Magna Carta for small businesses. In his words, the WFDL was enacted to “protect the thousands of small businessmen in Wisconsin” who operate “filling stations, building materials and supply houses, lumber yards, sports equipment stores” and a variety of other businesses. The statutory text expressly identifies the promotion of fair business relations and protection from oppressive conduct among its principal
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