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Wisconsin ranks 38th in the nation on laws related to restoring rights and opportunities after arrest or conviction.1 According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Wisconsin is the only state in the nation where judges are required to order expungement at sentencing instead of at the completion of someone’s sentence. Wisconsin also limits expungement to people under the age of 25, making it one of the only states that limits expungement to young offenders.2

Christina E. Balistreri,…
Continue Reading Expungement and Pardons in Wisconsin: A Brief Overview

A significant barrier for individuals reentering communities after incarceration is accessing health care. For many, health appointments are conditions to release and parole, and often medical care is lifesaving for those with mental health issues and substance use disorders. This article discusses the health care options under the federal Medicare program. New changes expanding access to recently incarcerated individuals took effect Jan. 1, 2025. Christine Huberty, William Mitchell 2013, is an attorney with Center for Medicare Advocacy.
Continue Reading Medicare Expands Health Care Access for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

According to CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, “about 41% of women and 26% of men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime and reported a related impact.”

And according to End Abuse Wisconsin:
Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that can include physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial, and other abuse. Domestic violence is more than physical violence. It can include threats, harassment, putting…
Continue Reading Domestic Violence Impacts Presumptions on Legal Custody in Family Law

Disclaimer: I am writing this blog under my capacity as a board member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Public Interest Law Section. This blog and the views within are my own. It no way reflects the view of the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, or the U.S. Federal Government. I am not receiving any compensation for writing this blog. My Background Before I get into the benefits of working for the government, I first want to explain…
Continue Reading Benefits of Working for the Federal Government

In my work representing tenants, my highest priority is eviction defense. Evictions are often, but not always, the culmination of a dispute regarding the tenant’s obligations under the rental agreement.

It is the obvious solution for landlords who believe that the agreement has been terminally breached. But what if a landlord fails to keep their side of the bargain? What are the tenants’ remedies? The answer is less obvious.
Repairs and Maintenance
The primary responsibility of a landlord is…
Continue Reading Tenant Rent Abatement: When Landlords Refuse to Make Necessary Repairs

Federally funded grant programs create meaningful impacts in the lives of individuals and communities. Many programs address acute local, national, or global concerns. Annually, the U.S. government funds thousands of programs with taxpayer funds.

Grant funds have historically been awarded to governmental entities, institutions of higher education, health care and research institutions, and other charitable nonprofits.

In recent years, a growing number of for-profit entities have become eligible to receive federal grant awards. For example, eligible agricultural employers were…
Continue Reading Revised Uniform Guidance Expands Access to Federal Grants

When my child, born female, entered the ninth grade in 2015, he began to experience profound feelings of gender dysphoria. This condition arises when there is a significant incongruence between an individual’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth, resulting in substantial discomfort or distress. In less than a year, he was certain he was meant to be male. Many people have asked me if I saw this coming, and the truth is, I did not. My child…
Continue Reading What Parenting a Transgender Child Taught This Lawyer

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…
Continue Reading Tackling the defense lawyer shortage, Kim Wexler style

In 1962, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a decision in
Holytz v. City of Milwaukee.1 The case, a watershed decision for Wisconsin’s highest court, held that cities and other governmental arms and agencies can be sued for damages in court pursuant to the respondeat superior doctrine.2 Shortly after the decision was issued, the Wisconsin Legislature responded in kind with the passage of Wis. Stat. section 893.80.3 Section 893.80’s most important function from the municipal perspective is…
Continue Reading Statutory Notice Requirements for Claims against Wisconsin Governmental Bodies and Employees

Hon. Jeh Charles Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and ABA Task Force for American Democracy co-chair, speaks on “The Threat to Democracy.”

July 11, 2024 – A dozen speakers recently gave sobering presentations on the threat to democracy during a nonpartisan event from the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy, in partnership with the State Bar of Wisconsin.

The program, called
Wisconsin: Elections in the 21st Century (watch now) was held in-person July…
Continue Reading American Bar Association Brings Democracy Listening Tour to Wisconsin

We all have good intentions when it comes to volunteering, but oftentimes we either do not know where to start or have limited availability.

But whether you are volunteering weekly, monthly, or even yearly, any time you dedicate your expertise to helping individuals less fortunate, you are involved in public interest volunteering.

Here are opportunities for individuals to find their volunteer journey – whether they are a newly minted volunteer or those with experience seeking to broaden their volunteer…
Continue Reading Get Involved: Public Interest Law Volunteer Opportunities

One of the tragic circumstances of our criminal justice system is the prevalence of crimes being perpetrated by children, otherwise known in legal terminology as juveniles. While it may come as a surprise given their age and natural proclivity to following instruction, juveniles make up a substantial portion of criminal offenders in the United States. That dynamic is present in Wisconsin as well, with 26,910 juveniles arrested by county, tribal, and state agencies within the state during the calendar…
Continue Reading No Place Like Home: How Placement Options Impact the Juvenile Court System

We are excited to share with you a Forensics piece by our high schooler, Carter.
P.s. – He’s going to State!

Democracy lives in the people, democracy is the people, democracy is our best hope. This is a quote of Vice President Kamala Harris, and I think her words are undeniable. Democracy, an idea entrenched in the United States. An idea that the United States has helped spread all over the world. But what truly holds a democracy together?
Continue Reading American Democracy  

In the landscape of American society, the impact of incarceration on families reverberates deeply, yet often remains overlooked.

Startling statistics reveal that, currently, an estimated 6.5 million adults have an immediate family member incarcerated, underscoring the prevalence of this issue.1 To further put it in perspective, one in seven people have had an immediate family member spend one year or longer in prison, while one in 34 people have experienced the anguish of having a loved one incarcerated…
Continue Reading How Attorneys Can Support Families Affected by Incarceration

As public interest attorneys, we often represent low-income clients at a low point in their lives, such as during an illness, injury, job loss, incarceration, eviction, divorce, etc. When clients are struggling, it can be helpful to provide resources for as many benefits as they may be eligible for to get them back on their feet. One of these benefits is assistance with their energy bills. Did You Know? According to the
2020 Energy Burden Report by the American…
Continue Reading How Energy Assistance Benefits in Wisconsin Can Help Your Clients

As attorneys, we must balance our duties and responsibilities between protecting our clients and following our own ethical obligations. The
Supreme Court Rules provide guidance but even with that direction, the practical application can be difficult. The Ethical Landscape While most communication with a client is protected by the well-known attorney-client privilege under Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 20:1.6, it does not allow for perpetuating certain conduct, including lying to the tribunal. Wisconsin attorneys are bound by a duty of…
Continue Reading An Ethical Quandary: Clients Who Lie