Neenah attorney Kathleen Brost is sworn in as State Bar president by Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack. The ceremony took place at the State Bar Center in Madison in August and was recorded for the celebration event on Sept. 16 – a departure from tradition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sept. 17, 2020 – In a year like no other and in a ceremony like none before, Neenah attorney Kathleen Brost was sworn in as the State Bar of Wisconsin’s​ 65th president. Brost took up the post on July 1, 2020. She was sworn in via a virtual…

Aug. 18, 2020 – A state appeals court has rejected a claim that adult court jurisdiction was improper in the case against Morgan Geyser, who participated in the attempted murder of a 12-year-old classmate in 2014 when Geyser was also 12 years old. The case drew national attention when Geyser and accomplice Anissa Weier repeatedly stabbed their friend in the woods of a nearby park. The victim survived the attack.  Weier, in interviews with police, said they could become “proxies” of and appease Slenderman, a fictional internet character, if they killed their classmate. Geyser told police the two had plotted…

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July 20, 2020 – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled in favor of healthcare providers who challenged a Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ (DHS) Medicaid recoupment policy, restricting DHS’s ability to recoup payments for imperfect records. Medicaid provides free or low-cost healthcare for vulnerable populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and pregnant women. The federal government provides financial assistance to Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. DHS must reimburse providers “for medically necessary and appropriate health care services … when provided to currently eligible medical assistance recipients.” Under federal law, DHS must audit provider records, if necessary, to ensure proper payments. DHS…

July 16, 2020 –The same day the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down three of Gov. Tony Evers’ partial vetoes to the 2019-2021 budget bill, a majority ruled that a separate challenge to partial vetoes in Gov. Scott Walker’s 2017-19 budget bill is barred. In Wisconsin Small Business United, Inc. v. Brennan, 2020 69 (July 10, 2020), the majority ruled that the respondents – including Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan – met the required elements to obtain equitable relief. “We agree that laches should be applied here,” wrote Justice Brian Hagedorn, joined by Chief Justice Roggensack and Justices…

July 14, 2020 – In a per curiam opinion with four separate writings, a Wisconsin Supreme Court majority has ruled that Gov. Tony Evers violated his constitutional veto power when he partially vetoed provisions in the 2019-21 biennial budget bill. In Bartlett v. Evers, 2020 WI 68 (July 10, 2020), a majority could not agree on a rationale but a majority struck down partial vetoes relating to a school bus modernization fund (5-2), a local roads improvement fund (5-2), and a vapor products tax (4-3). Those vetoes are now invalid. On a fourth challenged veto, relating to a truck registration fee…