The title is a lyric from a 1965 song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach. This song has popped up in films since then (My Best Friend’s Wedding, Austin Powers, and in last year’s Joker movie), so even you readers out there who weren’t born when it was popular are likely familiar with it. (This is just one of a few musical allusions I’m going to make in this
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Perfect and not-so-perfect justice
The recent conviction of Maxwell Anderson for the murder and dismemberment of Sade Robinson is causing me to do something quite rare: write a column praising our legal system. It almost hurts to write this!
To be sure, the jury verdict doesn’t comprise perfect justice. Perfect justice would entail Superman spinning the world backwards to reverse time so that Sade Robinson never met this man. Sadly, the resources of our legal system don’t have the ability to do that;
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Tackling the defense lawyer shortage (A non-update)
One year ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court announced the creation of an “Attorney Retention and Recruitment Committee” to, according to the announcement, “consider the shortage of lawyers representing criminal defendants.”
The announcement quoted Kenosha County Judge Jason Rossell, the chair of the Committee of Chief Judges, as saying, “The delays caused by the [lawyer] shortage cause problems throughout the system, including delays in trials, lengthy pretrial incarceration, losing treatment options, and delayed closure for victims and witnesses.”
Judge Rossell
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Weighing the consequences of Judge Dugan’s arrest
May 20, 2025
Much as I would prefer any other topic for my column this month, the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan was the biggest story in local law in, well, forever.
In the event you’ve been living under a rock, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested April 25 at the courthouse on charges of helping a defendant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who had a case in her courtroom, evade immigration authorities who had a warrant for his
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Mental health and the law
With a lump or two in my throat, I’m going to address one of the most difficult issues in the area of law — the complicated situation of those suffering with mental health conditions who are involved in our legal system. I am certainly not going to solve any problems or, unusual for me, even propose a solution. This article is simply my observations regarding a terrible problem, not as a mental health therapist or provider, but as a
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High court shuns truth in advertising
First, let’s look at what happened in 2010. In an election between Justice Louis Butler and challenger Michael Gableman (yes, him), an ad ran showing the mug shot of a convicted rapist next to a photo of Butler. As it happened, both were African-American, and the implication, reminiscent of the Willie Horton ad run against Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign, was that Butler was responsible for getting the rapist out of prison and thus allowing him to rape another victim. In fact,
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Swing and a miss!
The Super Bowl is over. Days are getting longer. The best words in the English language are: “Pitchers and catchers report.” Baseball will soon return!
With America’s pastime in mind, I have to ask the Wisconsin Supreme Court what they were thinking when they recently issued their (gulp, 28-page) opinion in Morway v. Morway? I mean, it’s one thing to swing and miss at a 100 mile per hour fastball. It’s quite another to swing and miss
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Never a dull legal moment in 2024
Happy New Year! As usual, I’ll start the new year with a review of my columns from last year – some more controversial than others.
By far, the most scandalous was my column that juries are an unreliable means of getting to the truth in a contested trial. In the column, I quoted my felony team captain from my (initial) days as an assistant district attorney, Jon Peter Gennrich: “If a decision has to be made whether
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Remembering Judge Frederick P. Kessler
December 2, 2024
Frederick P. Kessler died on November 12, 2024. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Judge Joan Kessler, two daughters and grandchildren. He was first elected to the Wisconsin Assembly before his 21st birthday and served as a Milwaukee County judge from 1972 to 1978, 1978 to 1981 and 1986 to 1988. In 2004, he was reelected to the Wisconsin Assembly and served until 2018.
My favorite Judge Kessler story (although not
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Advice to Wisconsin Trial Courts
My last two columns have advised the Wisconsin Supreme Court. I’m sure they appreciated it and simply forgot to thank me.
So, to be fair, I now have some advice for Wisconsin trial courts (including court commissioners): Serve at the convenience of the parties and lawyers, not by your own, archaic and sometimes inefficient rules.
Specifically, one positive manifestation of the pandemic (my dear late mother used to say that it takes an awfully ill wind not to
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Finality at last. Maybe.
In last month’s column, I made several very useful suggestions (if I may say so myself) to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for improvements during their new term. Shockingly, not one member of the court thanked me for the helpful advice, nor have they (so far) adopted any of my suggestions.
Since I’m sure this was simply an oversight and that the court welcomes my commentary, I would like to weigh in on a present case where the court
Continue Reading Finality at last. Maybe.
Advice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court
The 2024-2025 term for the Wisconsin Supreme Court just began, and I thought it prudent to offer them some advice as to how to improve their performance this term.
No, they didn’t ask my opinion, and they’ve ignored my advice in the past.
But I’m sure that’s merely an oversight.
So here, as a public service, are five ways (there could be more, but my column has a word limit) for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to improve.
First
As
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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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Damned if you do, or don’t
A recent Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion illustrates the tough position police are in when deciding, in a miniscule period of time, whether to stop a vehicle or detain a suspect. It seems to me that the court made this position even more difficult.
In State v. Wiskoski, 2024 WI 23, a driver fell asleep behind the wheel of his truck at a restaurant drive-thru. The police were called when a restaurant employee knocked on the truck window and
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WLJ not invited to the party: State Bar closes doors to media
Remember when your kid wanted to throw a birthday party, and they had to invite the whole class? You know, because it was the right thing to do? Yes, even that kid that no one liked got an invite, and the party went off without a hitch.
The Wisconsin State Bar Association is throwing a party soon—and Wisconsin Law Journal isn’t invited.
The bar association’s annual meeting is June 19-21, 2024 in Green Bay. One would
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Life Means Life, or Not
Before April 24, 2024, Roger G. Merry was a licensed lawyer in the State of Wisconsin despite numerous disciplinary actions. On that date, the Supreme Court finally decided enough is enough and revoked his license, overriding the recommendation of the referee who (amazingly) recommended a one year suspension. Disciplinary Proceedings Against Roger G. Merry, 2024 WI 16. In a concurring opinion, authored by Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, five justices (a majority of the court) agreed with the decision
Continue Reading Life Means Life, or Not