Winter2002

H I G H L I G H T S

Budget SituationRemains Unclear

Emphasizing that it remains tooearly to tell precisely how the

state’s budget deficit will affect theoperation of the courts, Director ofState Courts J. Denis Moran has pro-vided judges and court staff with thefollowing information on the cuts thatthe governor proposed in his budgetreform bill. The proposal – aimed atreducing the state’s $2.4 billion budgetgap – may undergo substantial revisionbefore it emerges from the Legislature.

The governor has called for a gen-eral (there are exceptions) cut of 10percent in the current year and 11.5percent next year. The court system’sthree sum sufficient appropriations(circuit courts, Court of Appeals,Supreme Court) are on a list of stateprograms exempt from the proposedfurther reductions. The governor pro-poses maintaining funding at the levelthat reflects the four percent reductiontaken at the beginning of the biennium.The State Public Defender’s Office(SPD) appropriation for providing rep-resentation for qualifying people is alsoexempt.

The court system’s sum certainappropriations, including the Directorof State Courts Office and theWisconsin State Law Library, are notexempt and will have the full reduc-tions imposed if the proposal passes.This is also true for the administrativebudget of the SPD.

In order to fund the exemption forthe courts and the SPD, the administra-tion proposes to increase the circuitcourt support fee, collected on mostcivil filings and forfeitures, by 30 per-cent. The $40 court support fee in civilactions will increase to $52, the $30fee in small claims will go to $39 andthe $100 fee in large claims willincrease to $130. These increases areprojected to generate $8 million, whichwill go directly into the state’s generalfund and not be distributed to the coun-ties in whole or in part as is currently

After nearly 20 years as a justice ofthe Wisconsin Supreme Court,

Justice William A. Bablitch hasannounced that he will not seek anotherterm. Bablitch plans to step down at theend of his current term in July 2003. Inretirement, he wants to pursue teaching,mediation, andconsulting.

Bablitch is aStevens Point nativewho began his careerin public service as amember of the PeaceCorps. He served fortwo years in Liberia,West Africa, as anelementary schoolteacher and soccercoach. His daughter,Bulleh, a native ofLiberia, now lives inthe United States,shares her father’spassion for cooking,and has a family ofher own.

Bablitch waselected to the Court in1983 and re-elected in1993. He served for four years asPortage County district attorney beforehis election to the Wisconsin Senate in1972. He was elected Senate majorityleader in 1976, a position he held untilhe ran for the Supreme Court in 1983.

As a senator, Bablitch played a keyrole in shepherding through courtreorganization, which was implementedin 1978 and brought many changes,including the creation of the Court ofAppeals, and the elimination of countycourts. Today, Wisconsin has a single-level trial court, the circuit court.

In his nearly 20 years on the Court,Bablitch has been unpredictable. Attimes his independence has surprisedCourt observers who try to hang“liberal” or “conservative” labels on thejustices. In one case, Woznicki v.Erickson, Bablitch wrote a majority

opinion that set up a new system for therelease of open records. The systemrequires the custodian to notify theperson whose records are being soughtand give him/her an opportunity to ask ajudge to block the release. In theopinion, Bablitch wrote that privacy and

reputation arevaluable commodities,and argued that aperson who stands tolose these things has aright to be heard.

In another case,State v. Oakley,Bablitch concurred ina decision that a manwho had not paidsupport for his ninechildren could, as acondition ofprobation, be barredfrom procreating. Theopinion in this so-called “deadbeat dad”case drew nationalattention.

While Bablitch hasgenerally favored tightcontrols on police

authority in search-and-seizure cases, hehas not been predictable. In a 1993Fourth Amendment case, State v.Richards, Bablitch wrote the majorityopinion that reaffirmed an exception tothe knock-and-announce rule for casesinvolving drug dealers. Bablitch arguedthat the danger to the officers and thepotential for destruction of evidence isso overwhelming in drug cases that theexception is good public policy. “Whenwe compare these limited privacyinterests to the substantial interest thepublic has in allowing the police tosafely and effectively execute a searchwarrant, the balance overwhelminglyfavors the public interest,” he wrote.The U.S. Supreme Court in 1997affirmed the Wisconsin Supreme Courtin this case, but the decision emphasizedthat the Fourth Amendment does not

2 Retirements4 Historic Agreement Signed at Bad River5 Security Tightened at Courthouses6 Volunteers in the Courts

9 People11 Law Library Celebrates new Beginning14 Interpreter Effort Gets Funding17 New Faces

Independent, Prominent Justice Opts for aChange

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“I am very grateful tothe citizens of Wisconsinfor allowing me to serve

them and deeplyhumbled and honored

by their support.”Justice William A. Bablitch

see Bablitch on page 17

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RETIREMENTS

Judge Henry B. BusleeFond du Lac County Circuit Court

In 23 years on the bench, Judge Henry B. Buslee has seenit all – and that, at times, has been a bit too much. To wit: theday he agreed to perform a wedding for a local couple. Thepregnant bride ran over from the bar across the street and thegroom dashed in from a nearby wrecking yard on a workbreak. Needless to say, neither was dressed for a wedding.Buslee was willing to overlook the dirty bib overalls andcrusty gloves, but he did ask the groom to remove his hat.“Then I saw his hair,” he recalled, “and I told him to put thehat back on.”

Buslee, who calls himself a dinosaur, halts court proceed-ings at least once a day to advise someone in his courtroom toremove a hat. He wistfully recalls the days when people calledfor jury duty would come to court in business attire rather thanrunning shoes. He also regrets changes in the practice of law

that have turned the profession into abusiness, even as he praises certainchanges – such as the increased use ofalternative dispute resolution to saveclients time and money.

Buslee’s ability to control his court-room and his unfailing sense of humorhave brought him the respect and admi-ration of colleagues across the state.Once, after he sentenced a drunk driver,the defendant opined in a stage whisper,“I’m going to lose my f---ing license.”Not missing a beat, Buslee correctedhim: “No, but you did lose your driver’s

license.”Buslee, who planned to step down in late February, was

one of the first judges in Wisconsin to preside in a trial thatwas televised live by Court TV. That was the 1990 escape trialof Lawrencia “Bambi” Bembenek and Dominic Gugliatto.Bembenek had escaped, after serving 10 years of a sentencefor murder, with Gugliatto’s aid. Over the years, Buslee hashandled many high-profile trials and has worked well with themedia. “It gives the public an opportunity to be here and seewhat goes on,” he said. And besides, “we’re all kind of hamsto begin with.”

Because Buslee is leaving two years before his termexpires, the governor will appoint a replacement who will haveto seek election to the post in spring 2003.

In retirement, Buslee plans to spend more time fishing onhis land in Canada with his two sons, Christopher (a lawyer inLadysmith) and Hans (a manufacturer’s representative inMinneapolis). Buslee’s daughter, Ingrid, is a teacher inMadison. He also will see more of his wife, Ruth, his high-school sweetheart to whom he has been married for more than50 years.

Judge James R. EricksonPolk County Circuit Court

Judge James R. Erickson, on the bench in Polk Countysince 1984, will step down at the end of his term in July.

Erickson became a judgeafter a lengthy career in thelaw. He served as Polk Countydistrict attorney in the early1970s after doing a brief stintas an assistant district attorneyin Dane County in 1968 whenhe was fresh out of theUniversity of Colorado LawSchool. From 1975 until hebecame a judge, Ericksonworked in private practice.

Four candidates will faceoff in the Feb. 19 primary for an opportunity to be on the April2 ballot.

Judge Dennis J. FlynnRacine County Circuit Court

Judge Dennis J. Flynn, once called the ‘James Brown ofthe Wisconsin judiciary’ by a lawyer who was referencingJames Brown’s famous “hardest working man in America”moniker, retired from the bench effective Jan. 1. Flynn’s depar-ture capped a 25-year judicial career. Court CommissionerFaye M. Flancher was appointed to the post (see separatestory, page 17) .

When he joined the benchin 1976 at age 34, Flynn’syouth raised some eyebrows.But he had established a repu-tation as a hardworking andvery bright corporationcounsel, and earned greatrespect from the bench and baras a judge. Flynn is known forhis outspokenness, his organi-zational skills, and his ability tokeep cases moving. One year,in felony court, he presided over 81 jury trials. He also wasinvolved in judicial education, serving as faculty at theWisconsin Judicial College and presenting at numerous semi-nars.

Flynn is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who wasawarded the Bronze Star for his work as an ambulance platoonleader. Upon returning from Vietnam, Flynn worked in privatepractice for a short time with his father, the late CongressmanGerald Flynn. He then served a short stint in the RacineCounty District Attorney’s Office before being appointed cor-poration counsel.

A newlywed who has six children from his previous mar-riage, Flynn begins his retirement with a two-month trip toArizona.

continued on next page

Five Retirements Cost Courts More Than 100 Years of Judging Experience

Judge Henry B. Buslee

Judge Dennis J. Flynn

Judge James R. Erickson

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Judge Robert A.P. KennedyFlorence/Forest County Circuit Court

Judge Robert A.P. Kennedy, a Rhinelander native who, as anewly minted lawyer, served a short period as Oneida Countydistrict attorney before beginning a career in Forest County

that would span 37 years, willretire in July at the end of hiscurrent term.

Kennedy has served on thebench in Florence and Forestcounties for 13 years, travelingbetween Florence andCrandon to hear cases.Florence/Forest is one of threepaired circuits in the state. Theother two are Buffalo/Pepinand Shawano/Menominee.

At 70, Kennedy still lookslike the All-American football player he was at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison in the 1950s. He played in the 1953Rose Bowl and maintains a strong interest in athletics. Inretirement, Kennedy plans to coach football when he is notwoodworking and spending time with his grandchildren.

Three attorneys will face off in the Feb. 19 primary; thetwo winners will meet again on April 2 for the general elec-tion.

Judge Robert W. RadcliffeJackson County Circuit Court

Judge Robert W. Radcliffe’s great-grandparents made theirway across Wisconsin in the mid 19th century in search of abetter life. They found it among the magnificent forests androlling hills that dot the landscape midway betweenMinneapolis and Madison in Black River Falls. Today,Radcliffe still farms the land his ancestors claimed as a home-stead. For the past 30 years (18 as a judge, 12 as JacksonCounty district attorney), he has fit farming – and fishing,hunting, raising horses, gardening, flying (a skill he learned asa jet pilot in the U.S. Navy) and woodworking – around a busycourt calendar. That will change when Radcliffe retires in Julyat the end of his third term in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Radcliffe has won therespect of colleagues aroundthe state for his quiet, no-non-sense approach to judging andfor his leadership on adminis-trative matters. The WisconsinSupreme Court recognizedRadcliffe’s abilities when itappointed him chief judge ofthe Seventh Judicial District,which encompasses 12 coun-ties in southwesternWisconsin. The state’s other

nine chief judges then elected him “chief of the chiefs” – headof the Committee of Chief Judges, which handles administra-tive issues in the circuit courts. As a judge in a single-judge

county, Radcliffe valued the opportunity to work with otherjudges. Like many judges in small counties, Radcliffe foundthe job isolating and, at times, lonely. “You don’t have anyoneto talk to about whatever problem you’re having in court thatday,” he said. “And you’re isolated within the community too.You don’t dare go to the local bar and have a beer after workbecause the guy next to you will be someone you sent toprison.”

Still, Radcliffe has enjoyed the job immensely and has beenpleased with the changes that technology – in particular, theCombined Court Automation Programs – and real-time courtreporting have brought to the courtroom.

In retirement, Radcliffe plans to spend more time wood-working – a skill he learned from his father, who was a car-penter. He also will see more of his family, including his wife,Judith, and his four grown children. Radcliffe’s oldest son,Richard, is a lawyer in Tomah; daughter Noel is a family prac-tice doctor in Minneapolis; and his twin sons, Robin andRolfe, are both veterinarians – one an expert in BlackRhinoceros reproduction, the other a surgeon who teaches inToronto.

Two lawyers seeking the seat will face off on April 2.

Judge Earl W. SchmidtMenominee/Shawano County Circuit Court

Judge Earl W. Schmidt likely holds the distinction ofdriving the highest mileage vehicle in the state judiciary. Hispick-up has 429,000 miles on it, and serves at least one valu-able purpose. “It keeps me in salvage yards, mechanicshops…keeps me in touch with the people,” Schmidt said.

Being part of the community is, Schmidt believes, animportant ingredient in judging. Born and raised in Shawano,Schmidt put in 25 years as a dairy farmer in Shawano beforebecoming a judge. His first job out of law school was as anassistant district attorney in Menominee/Shawano counties. Healso served eight years as a representative in the WisconsinAssembly.

Schmidt has served on the bench inMenominee/Shawano County CircuitCourt since 1983, and will step down inJuly at the end of his current term.Although he presides in one of the state’sthree paired circuits (the others areBuffalo/Pepin and Florence/Forest), hedoes not travel between the counties.Menominee County is a federal reserva-tion and both circuit court judges whoserve it – Schmidt and Judge Thomas G.Grover – sit in the Shawano CountyCourthouse.

Schmidt has been active in court administration, serving aschief judge of the Ninth Judicial District, which covers coun-ties in northcentral Wisconsin, and sitting on the JudicialCouncil, the Supreme Court Special Committee on GenderNeutrality, and the Legislative Committee of the JudicialConference.

Prior to attending the University of Wisconsin Law School,Schmidt spent five years as a development economist in South

RETIREMENTS (continued)

Judge Robert W. Radcliffe

Judge Earl W. Schmidt

see Retirements on page 5

Judge Robert A.P. Kennedy

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LEADERSHIP

Representatives from the four Chippewa tribes in northernWisconsin met with the judge who oversees administra-

tion of the state courts in the 10th Judicial District – whichcovers 13 northwest Wisconsin counties – to sign and offi-cially implement a new system for handling court cases inwhich the tribal and state courts share jurisdiction.

The new system, believed to be the first of its kind in thenation, will make it easier incases involving shared jurisdic-tion to determine whether thestate court or the tribal courtshould hear the case. Examplesof these cases are divorces inwhich one party is a tribalmember, or lawsuits thatinvolve a tribe. Often in suchcases, hearings are held in boththe state and tribal courts on thesame issues – resulting in con-fusion and inefficiency.

Under the new system, state court and tribal court judgeswill temporarily stop actions that are filed in both courts andhold a joint hearing to determine which court should handlethe case. If the judges cannot agree, a third judge will be sum-moned from a pool of state and tribal judges and the argu-ments will be re-heard until a decision on jurisdiction isreached.

“I am delighted that our region of the state is leading theway toward improved tribal-state relations and setting an

example for others to follow,” said 10th District Chief JudgeEdward R. Brunner. “These protocols are historically signifi-cant in Wisconsin and, as far as I am aware, a first in thenation. Our cooperation will save time and money for liti-gants and for the courts – and that’s just good government.”

Chief Judge Ervin Soulier, of the Bad River Band of theLake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, joined Brunner,who sits in Barron County Circuit Court, for the signing cere-mony in early December. A traditional Ojibwe pipe and drumceremony commemorated the occasion. Also participatingwere Chief Judges Louis Bearheart, St. Croix Chippewa;Robert Buffalo, Red Cliff Chippewa; and Sheila Corbine, LacCourte Oreilles Chippewa.

“With many Wisconsin tribal courts expanding services totheir members, litigants sometimes find themselves in a posi-tion where they would prefer the matter be heard in one courtor another, yet the opposing party in the case would prefer theopposite court forum,” Soulier said. “When both the state andtribal courts have jurisdiction over the matter, the questionarises: Which court should hear the case? The protocolsshould lead all parties to a rational solution to this dilemma.”

The new protocols were drafted by Judge Robert E. Eaton,Ashland County Circuit Court; Atty. David Siegler, Ashland;and Atty. Kevin Osterbauer, general counsel to the Bad RiverBand of Chippewa.

The new system is in effect in the state’s 10th JudicialDistrict, which includes the following counties: Ashland,Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Chippewa, Douglas, Dunn, EauClaire, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, and Washburn. !

Historic State Court-Tribal Court Agreement Signed at Bad RiverReservation

After signing an his-toric agreement onshared jurisdiction,judges and attor-neys took part in apeace pipe cere-mony. The peacepipe is from 1850,and was smoked inWashington, D.C.following the suc-cessful negotiationthat establishedIndian reservationsin Wisconsin.Pictured left to rightare: Judge Alton“Sunny” Smart andChief Judge ErvinSoulier, Bad RiverBand; Chief JudgeRobert Buffalo, RedCliff Band; ChiefJudge Edward R.Brunner, BarronCounty CircuitCourt; and TribalAtty. Kris Goodwill,Lac Courte deOreilles Band. Notshown is one othersignatory, ChiefJudge LouisBearheart, St. CroixBand.

On February 11, five months after the terrorist attack ontwo American cities, the bodies of five heroic PortAuthority police officers were pulled from the World TradeCenter rubble. They were, according to press reports,surrounding the body of a woman still strapped into arescue chair.

When I read the continuing accounts of the devastationand heroism, I am transported back to the site of the attackwhere Judge Maxine A. White and I volunteered with theAmerican Red Cross in early October. We were in NewYork City for a conference, and went to work at the RedCross Family Resource Center at Pier 94.

Prior to reporting to the center, we visited the WallStreet area. Standing on the street looking at Ground Zerowhere the World Trade Center once stood so proudly, I felta tremendous sadness and powerlessness in the presence ofsuch devastation. The people present seemed drawn to thestrangers around them to talk, touch, and commiserate. Thescene was as dramatic as all the pictures depict. I felt as if Iwas looking through a door to hell. I was frighteninglyaware that human beings have the capacity to beunspeakably cruel and evil.

Judges Make a Difference at 9/11 Siteby Judge Mel FlanaganMilwaukee County Circuit Court

Many people have asked how we could help given ourprofession. We certainly didn't try to be judges or legaladvisors. We were volunteers willing to do whatevermight be of assistance and we were assigned to assist inreception. There we greeted the victims, registered themand referred them to a worker who could assist them assoon as possible. Our job was to direct traffic as best wecould, to provide a smile or a few minutes ofconversation, to distract and amuse young children whowere way beyond exhausted and to give the victims asense of hope and courage that the future will improve.

Pier 94 holds a building more than one city blocksquare, which prior to 9/11 was an empty shell. By a fewweeks after the attack, it was a self-contained city withcafeterias, office space for all relevant social serviceagencies, organizational headquarters for rescue workers,firefighters, police and military agencies, a day care, legalservices to prepare death certificates, a treatment area formedical and psychological issues, a pharmacy, and an areafor victims to create memorials to those missing or dead.

The experience of working at the Family ResourceCenter left me with tremendous respect and admiration forthe Red Cross and the other agencies that continue towork with the victims of 9/11. Most importantly, it alsorestored for me a strong sense of the goodness andintegrity of human nature. !

District One Chief Judge Michael J. Skwierawski and Itook part in the Conference on Bioterrorism, Biological

Attack and the Courts in Oakland, Calif., on Jan. 17-19. Participants were given informa-

tion to identify higher probabilitymicrobial attack agents such assmallpox, anthrax, plague andtularemia. The illness-causing proper-ties of these agents were discussed, aswere quarantine, treatment, and theimpact that events may have on courtoperations. Scientists from LawrenceLivermore discussed detectionmethods including handheld devicesthat will soon be provided to regional“hazmat” (hazardous materials) teams across the country anda “bio smoke detector” that has the potential to be integratedinto building heating and cooling systems.

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Bioterror Experts Showcase newDetection Methodsby Steven R. Steadman, district court administrator

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, have brought changes tocourthouse security in many counties.

Courthouses are making security improvements with helpfrom a training program being presented in each of the state’s10 judicial districts. The Supreme Court and Director of StateCourts Office developed the program in conjunction with FoxValley Technical College, the Wisconsin Sheriff’s and DeputySheriff’s Association, and the U.S. Marshal’s Office (see TheThird Branch, fall 2001 for details).

Here are just a few examples of changes that are takingplace:

In Milwaukee County, people entering the courthouse arenow required to pass through security screening. The installa-tion of perimeter security followed a recommendation by thecounty executive’s new security committee whose membersinclude Chief Judge Michael J. Skwierawski. There is a sepa-rate entrance for courthouse employees.

“While the first few days were slow at some entrances, itseems to be going much more smoothly,” Skwierawski said.“Once employees and visitors actually saw the amount andtype of materials being confiscated, I think support grew forperimeter security.”

In Waukesha County, some of the 37 entrances to thecourthouse and adjoining administration building have beenlocked, and others have been made accessible only withemployee access cards. The county anticipates installingvideo cameras rather than metal detectors at the publicentrances.

In Winnebago County, magnetic screening was set up atthe public entrance and caught 86 knives, several tools,pepper spray, and bullets in a period of eight days. Thesystem has caused delays for people entering the courthouseand is expected to be replaced with a more efficient design inthe future. !

Thanks to Deputy District Court Administrator Beth Bishop Perrigo for contributing tothis story.

Security Tightened at Courthouses

America. He worked in Venezuela, the DominicanRepublic, and Brazil in a program designed to helpdeveloping nations build infrastructures. The worktaught Schmidt a lot about finding creative ways tosolve problems. “We used whatever we could get ourhands on,” he recalled.

Schmidt’s many vocations and avocations havegiven him knowledge that proves valuable in thecourtroom – especially in small claims court. “I knowhow a power saw works, how a tree falls, how tochange the oil in a car…[and] it helps you ascertainthe reliability of what a person says happened tothem,” he said.

In retirement, Schmidt plans to focus on a longtimegoal: converting an old cow pasture into a hardwoodforest. “I've always said I’m a tree farmer and a hobbyjudge,” he said, adding that the project pits him againstvarious critters. “I’ve got enough barbed wire out thereto stop the German army.”

Schmidt has been married to his wife, Judy, for 27years. The couple has three daughters, a son, and onegranddaughter. Their son is a biologist working atMayo Clinic on interspecies organ transplants. Onedaughter is an accountant in Wausau, another is amusic teacher, and the third is a credit collector inMinnesota.

Six candidates will face off in the Feb. 19 primary,including the district attorney, corporation counsel,family/judicial court commissioner, and Shawano’smunicipal court judge. The two winners will be on theApril 2 ballot. !

Retirements continued from page 3

Of particular interest to judges, evidentiary issues con-cerning bioterror cases in court were reviewed. Chain of cus-tody and comparisons with DNA evidence were discussed.Participants were encouraged to begin building networks togain expert assistance as courts confront these issues. Thiscan be achieved by enhancing understanding of the need toinvolve public health and law enforcement officials in thecontext of congruent and conflicting powers of state health

departments, law enforcement, and fed-eral anti-terrorism statutes.

The conference provided scientific,legal, and security information to 90court leaders selected from around thenation. The U.S. Department of Energy,the National Institute of EnvironmentalHealth Sciences, and the Conference ofChief Justices sponsored the confer-ence, which Judge Skwierawski and Iattended on full scholarships at no costto Wisconsin. The program was coordi-nated by EINSHAC, the Einstein

Institute for Science, Health & the Courts, in Maryland. !

Chief Judge MichaelJ. Skwierawski

District CourtAdministrator StevenR. Steadman

Milwaukee County is implementinga new CASA (Court Appointed

Special Advocates) program with fundsgiven by the Forest County PotawatomiCommunity Foundation specifically forthis purpose. Organizers are nowrecruiting and screening volunteers. Bymid February, they had a group of 20ready to participate in training.

“They are moving forward verywell,” said Marsha Varvil-Weld, executive directorof the Wisconsin CASAAssociation. As soon asenough volunteers aretrained, Varvil-Weld said,the program will begin to assignCASAs to cases.

Start-up has gone smoothly in partbecause of the assistance provided bythe Wisconsin CASA Association, astatewide organization that providesassistance and technical support to newand existing CASAs in the state. Theassociation was recently formed with a$50,000 grant from the National CASAAssociation.

Headquartered in Portage, the organ-ization offers assistance and technicalsupport to counties interested in startinga new CASA program or fine-tuning acurrent program. Wisconsin CASA willalso advise programs on policies andprocedures and provide education aboutrelevant legislation.

Varvil-Weld visits programs all overthe state to answer questions, discussconcerns, and share information.Common concerns are budget, volun-teer recruiting and policymaking.Varvil-Weld plans on regular site visitsto each program in the near future tohelp ensure their questions and concernsare addressed.

One of the association’s goals is tocreate new programs inthe state. Varvil-Weld saidthe first step is to makethe people in the systemaware of CASA and toeducate them about the

benefits of participating in the program.Even some rural counties that have rela-tively few CHIPS (child in need of pro-tection and/or services) cases and evenless funding can offer the services ofCASAs with a little creativity. Varvil-Weld said Columbia and Sauk countiescreated a dual program that has beenvery successful. She believes morecounties could do this.

The Wisconsin CASA Associationwill host its first conference September21 at the Kalahari Resort in WisconsinDells. A representative from theNational CASA Association will speakat the event.

History of CASAConcerned over making decisions

about abused and neglected children’s

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VOLUNTEERS IN THE COURTS

Volunteers in Offender Services(VIOS), which figuratively wrote thebook on mentoring, tutoring, and pro-viding other services to juvenile andadult offenders, has now literallywritten a book – a handbook for vol-unteers. The book will be provided toall VIOS volunteers and will be avail-able for purchase by other court-con-nected volunteer programs on a first-come, first-served basis. It includesjob descriptions for all volunteer posi-tions; updated information on insur-ance coverage; profiles of commonpersonality characteristics among pro-bationers and inmates; and detailedguidelines for volunteering in the jail.

VIOS began its program 30 yearsago, and continues to add components

to the services provided through itsteam of 125 volunteers. One of themore recent additions is the DadsProgram, a parenting class for fathersincarcerated at the Huber Center.VIOS, in cooperation with thecounty’s Human Services Departmentand Sheriff's Department, developed a10-week program that teaches a widerange of parenting skills in two-hourclasses held one night per week. Lastyear, 22 dads completed the program.

VIOS will celebrate its 30-yearanniversary with a banquet on April 8.Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamsonwill be the keynote speaker. !

Contact VIOS at (920) 832-5248 formore information or to order a hand-book.

Outagamie County's VIOS Program Publishes NewHandbook

Milwaukee CASA Gears up for First VolunteerTraining

Wisconsin�s Eight CASAs

Columbia-Sauk CASA ProgramLocation: Portage

Conflict Resolution Center, Inc.(CASA)Location: Fond du Lac

CASA of Brown CountyLocation: Green Bay

Dane County CASA ProgramLocation: Madison

Milwaukee CASALocation: Milwaukee

Red Cliff Tribal CASA ProjectLocation: Bayfield

Voices for Children (CASA)Location: Kenosha

YWCA CASA for KidsLocation: La Crosse

If you know of a program that exists inWisconsin and is not listed, please goto www.casa.volunteermatch.org to postthe organization.

lives without sufficient information, aSeattle judge conceived the idea ofusing trained community volunteers tospeak for the best interests of these chil-dren in court. This program’s successled judges across the country to beginusing citizen advocates. In 1990,Congress encouraged the expansion ofCASA with passage of the Victims ofChild Abuse Act. Today more than 900CASA programs are in operation, with58,000 women and men serving asCASA volunteers.

A survey taken by the NationalCASA Association using 2000 dataindicates that there was a 10.7 percentincrease in children served from 1999to 2000, resulting in an estimated229,090 children served by local CASAprograms. The survey also shows thatthe number of CASA volunteersincreased by 11.1 percent, resulting in58,620 estimated volunteers in all pro-grams. Volunteer hours increased by16.2 percent, resulting in an estimated8,354,610 hours contributed in 2000. Toview the full survey results, go towww.casanet.org. !

Those interested in learning more aboutCASA programs, starting a new pro-gram, or arranging for a speaker for agroup may contact Varvil-Weld at (608)742-5344, fax (608) 742-4087, or e-mailwicasa@wisconsincasa.org.

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VOLUNTEERS IN THE COURTS

Youth Courts Begin Year-Long Public AwarenessCampaign

Aone-year Public Awareness andService Campaign has officially

begun for 2002. The National YouthCourt Center (NYCC) has invited allyouth courts to participate in this first-time program to increase publicawareness on various topical issues.

There are at least 17 youth courts inWisconsin, operating in rural and urbancounties around the state. Youth courts,also called peer courts and teen courts,take many forms but generally theypermit teenagers to hear cases againsttheir peers and decide appropriatepunishment. The typical participant isbetween the ages of 12 and 17 and is anon-violent first offender. In most youthcourts, the offender must admit theoffense and agree to abide by the court’sdecision before being accepted into theprogram. Completion of the sentenceremoves the offense from the youthsrecord.

The NYCC is encouraging staff,youth, and adult volunteers currentlyinvolved in the more than 850 youthcourts nationwide to support thecampaign through service to theirindividual communities. Through thiscampaign, the NYCC hopes to connectyouth and adults by encouraging them tovolunteer together in their communities.

The goals are to:

" Educate youth involved in the

program on importantsocial/societal issues.

" Facilitate more meaningful andeducational community serviceoptions for youth.

" Share a common experience withother youth courts from across thecountry.

" Increase the youth court program’srecognition among other localcommunity agencies and groups.

To prepare for the campaign, themeswere selected for each month. Togenerate broad interest and to make it afair process, all active and developingyouth courts were mailed a ballot andasked to vote for one campaign permonth. The featured campaigns that wonare listed in the sidebar.

Once the campaigns were selected,each program received a PublicAwareness and Service Campaignpackage that included backgroundinformation for each monthly campaignand ideas for projects or activities. Thepackage also included materials andforms for evaluating the activities andreporting to the NYCC. !

For more information about the campaigncontact the National Youth Court Centerat (859) 244-8211, fax (859) 244-8001, ore-mail nycc@csg.org. The campaignpackage is available atwww.youthcourt.net.

Campaign Themes

JanuaryMartin Luther King Jr.

FebruaryNational Child PassengerSafety Awareness

MarchNational Inhalants and PoisonsAwareness

AprilNational Crime Victims’ Rights

MayLaw Day

JuneNational Safety Day

JulyNational Parents Day

AugustNational Kids Day

SeptemberNational Youth Court Month

OctoberMake a Difference

NovemberFamily Volunteerism

DecemberTie one on for Safety

Marinette County Circuit CourtJudge Tim A. Duket is leading an

effort to organize drunk driving victimimpact panels for Marinette County. Thefirst panel discussion will take place onthe evening of April 16 at the court-house.

As of early February, Duket andJudge David G. Miron had ordered about25 second-offense drunk drivers toattend. They were also exploring the pos-sibility of inviting judges in nearbycounties to send drunk drivers throughthe Marinette program. The judges inDoor and Kewaunee counties haveembraced this approach to victim impactpanels, joining forces because of the rel-atively small number of convicted drunkdrivers in the two counties.

Victim impact panels are designed to

give offenders an up-close look at thedevastation that can result from drunkdriving. Victims spend about an hourrelating their stories as offenders listen.According to an Outagamie Countystudy, 14.7 percent of offenders whoattended a victim impact panel com-mitted another drunk driving offense; therecidivism rate among those who did notattend was 36.4 percent.

After hearing about the program,Duket sat through a victim impact panelin Appleton with Outagamie CountyCircuit Court Judge John Des Jardins,who helped to organize that county’sprogram. “I thought it was an excellentprogram,” Duket said, “and I wonderedif we could imitate it here in Marinette.”

One challenge Duket has found isbringing the victims to Marinette. Some

have to travel a fair distance, and he islooking into whether they might be reim-bursed for their mileage.

To organize the Marinette program,Duket brought together representativesof a local alcohol counseling program,officers from the Marinette PoliceDepartment and Wisconsin State Patrol,the victim-witness coordinator, the clerkof circuit court, a probation and paroleofficer, a court reporter, an assistant dis-trict attorney and several private attor-neys. The state chair for Mothers AgainstDrunk Driving is also involved. !

The University of Wisconsin LawSchool's Resource Center on ImpairedDriving has published a referencemanual on victim impact panels. To ordera copy, call (800) 862-1048 or (608) 265-3411.

Marinette County to use Victim Impact Panels

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Interested in volunteering for serviceon a court-related board or

committee? If so, you will get to knowthe Appointment Selection Committee,a group of 12 people of diverseinterests and backgrounds who are incharge of reviewing applications andmaking recommendations to theSupreme Court. The Court created thecommittee in March 2000 to helppromote quality and diversity incandidates for service on court boardsand committees.

The Court designedthe AppointmentSelection Committee asan independent body toavoid the appearance offavoritism or patronagein the appointmentprocess and to reach outto people of variedbackgrounds andinterests who would nototherwise be aware ofopportunities to getinvolved.

The Senate andAssembly co-chairs ofthe Legislative Counciland the state EthicsBoard chair select thethree public members ofthe AppointmentSelection Committee. “This group comestogether in the most objective way,”said Madison Atty. Michelle A.Behnke, the committee’s co-chair (theother co-chair is Mona Steele of theLeague of Women Voters). “Membersare not hand-picked because of howwe’re likely to vote. There’s no way torig who is on the selection committee.”Behnke said the committee benefits thecourt system in a number of ways,particularly in that it brings legitimacyto the appointment process.“Perception is really important,” shesaid. “The public doesn’t alwaysperceive that lawyers are adequatelygoverning themselves and that doesn'tserve anyone well.”

The committee meets as often as

necessary, collecting names of lawyersand non-lawyers interested in servingon bodies such as the Board of BarExaminers and the boards andcommittees associated with the Officeof Lawyer Regulation. “We look andsee if we can’t get a good mix,”Behnke said.

One of the committee’s biggestchallenges has been publicizing openseats, especially those designated fornon-lawyers, to ensure a good pool ofcandidates. The committee seeks

publicity around thestate through pressreleases, letters tothe editor, word ofmouth, and publicserviceorganizations suchas the League ofWomen Voters,Rotary, andKiwanis. “Getting asufficient number ofnames to serve onthe committees canbe difficult –particularly publicnames,” Behnkesaid. The committeealso strives to formgeographicallydiverse committees.

Behnke said sheenjoys the diversity

of the Appointment SelectionCommittee and the group’s work ethic.“There is now an objective group ofpeople to look for nominees, whichincreases public confidence,” she said.“The public sees this work is done byhard-working people who care aboutpublic service.” !

How to ApplyLawyers and non-lawyers interested

in serving on a court-related board orcommittee should send a letter andresume to: Cornelia Clark, Clerk of theSupreme Court, P.O. Box 1688,Madison, WI 53701-1688, or fax toClark’s attention at: (608) 267-0640 ore-mail to:cornelia.clark@courts.state.wi.us.Positions are filled on a continual basisand resumes will be kept on file forconsideration for future opportunities.

VOLUNTEERS IN THE COURTS

Atty. Michelle A. BehnkeMadison

Arnold L. Brown, M.D.Madison

Atty. Elizabeth EstesMilwaukee

Atty. Thomas R. MarlierShawano

William J. Hotaling, retiredPepsiCo executive, DePere

Atty. Marjorie SchuettMadison

Atty. Grant F. LangleyMilwaukee

Atty. Barbara A. NeiderMadison

Atty. Charles G. NorsengChippewa Falls

Atty. C. Gordon PaulsonRhinelander

Mona Steele, League ofWomen Voters, Madison

Jacqueline TurkUW-Marathon Center

Members of theAppointmentSelectionCommittee

“This groupcomes together inthe most objective

way.”Atty. Michelle A. Behnke

co-chair

Appointment Committee Changes the Face of Court-Related Boards by Sarah Maguire, contributing writer

Judge Philip Kirk, Waupaca County Circuit Court,received a commendation from the state Department ofWorkforce Development for outstanding service as chair ofthe Chief Judges’ Subcommittee on Child Support. “You have

maintained open lines of commu-nication with the Department andhave devoted countless hours [tochild support and guardian adlitem issues],” the commendationsaid in part. “Your testimony onnumerous pieces of child supportlegislation has been important indeveloping an understanding inthe legislature of the potentialimpact on the judiciary of pro-posed changes in child supportlegislation.”

Judge William C. Griesbach is President George Bush’spick for the new federal court in Green Bay. He is among 24federal judicial nominees now awaiting confirmation in theU.S. Senate. The new court will serve the 21 northern countiesin the Eastern District.

The Chippewa Herald Telegram featured an article on thenew videoconferencing system that Chippewa County hasstarted using. “Videoconferencing is going to be the tech-nology of the future,” said Judge Thomas Sazama, Chippewa

County Circuit Court. The articlealso quoted Clerk of Circuit CourtKaren Hepfler and JudgeRoderick Cameron, who saidvideoconferencing will help savemoney on prisoner transport andwill allow easier scheduling formedical testimony by allowingdoctors more flexibility andreducing time constraints fortravel.

Judges Robert C. Crawford,Kevin E. Martens, and William W. Brash III, all ofMilwaukee County Circuit Court, will face opponents in thenext election, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.Milwaukee Municipal Judge Louis Butler Jr. and AttorneysCatherine A. La Fleur and Karine Moreno-Taxman are allopposing Crawford in his bid for re-election. Martens, facinghis first election, is challenged by John J. Brennan, anattorney in private practice. Brash, also running for election

after a recent appointment, faceschallenger Ramon Valdez, a crim-inal defense lawyer.

Judge Edward F. Vlack, St.Croix County Circuit Court, sayslife is never boring as a judge. Hewas featured in the Hudson Star-Observer as one of Wisconsin’snewest judges. Vlack said one ofhis most unusual cases was a civilmatter in which the plaintiff didn’tshow. His lawyer attempted to find

him, but he had walked off. A growing number of defendants demanding that their

attorneys be fired as a stall tactic has prompted Judge John J.DiMotto, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, to take action.The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interviewed DiMotto whosaid, “It’s our duty as judgesto not allow defendants touse the right to counsel toimpede justice.” He spoke onthe topic at the WisconsinJudicial Conference inDelavan in the fall. Mostjudges raised their handswhen DiMotto asked if theyhad seen more of this in theircourtrooms.

Judge Elsa C. Lamelas,Milwaukee County CircuitCourt, is one of six women chosen to receive the 2001Outstanding Women of Achievement Award by the YWCA ofGreater Milwaukee, reported the Whitefish Bay Herald. Theawards were presented at a 500-person luncheon at the HyattHotel in Milwaukee.

Interior Designer Diane Al Shihabi received a goldaward from the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Societyof Interior Designers in January. This first place award recog-nized Al Shihabi’s work on the East Wing CapitolRestoration and Renovation Project. She was among 37entrants whose work was judged on an appropriate designsolution, materials and furnishings, creative and functional useof space, color composition, scale and proportion, and innova-tion.

Judge Darryl W. Deets, Manitowoc County Circuit Court,was appointed to the Judicial Education Committee for athree-year term that commenced in January, reported theHerald Times Reporter.

Michael C. Hodkiewicz, Oconto County clerk of circuitcourt, wrote an article for the “Focus on Family” Web site(www.family.org). It discusses jurors’ needs and the impor-tance of acknowledging their critical role in the justicesystem.

Delavan Municipal Judge Leroy Himebauch wasfeatured in The Delavan Enterprise for being honoredwith the Distinguished Service Award for OutstandingContribution to School and/or Community by theAssociation of Wisconsin School Administratorsrecently. Himebauch was given the statewide award inpart for his efforts in cutting truancy in the Delavan-Darien High School by adopting a local ordinance thatput stricter penalties on truant students.

Dane County Circuit Court hosted the regionalround of the 2001 Thomas Tang Moot CourtCompetition in October. The University of Wisconsin AsianPacific American Law Student Association/South Asian LawStudent Association, in conjunction with the UW Law School,sponsored the event. Event organizers were Alvin Chou andAlia Rouf. Fourteen teams participated from Illinois,Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Judges were fromall parts of Wisconsin. The team from Loyola won theregional event. The late Judge Tang was a leader in the Asian-American community and served 18 years on the NinthCircuit Court of Appeals.

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Judge Thomas Sazama

PEOPLE

Judge ElsaLamelas

accepts theYWCA's Woman

of AchievementAward at aMilwaukeeluncheon.

Justice Diane S.Sykes gave

Lamelas'introduction.

Judge Philip Kirk

see People on page 16

Photo Credit: Bill Tennesen

Judge Darryl W. Deets

Judge Edward F. Vlack

When District One Chief JudgeMichael J. Skwierawski received

an invitation from the MexicanConsulate to visit Mexico City inSeptember 2001, he decided to lookinto what could be gained through thetrip.

He discovered that the visit was an

opportunity – funded by the Mexicangovernment – for judges to learn moreabout the Latino community, which byU.S. Census Bureau estimates grew bymore than 50 percent in Wisconsin inthe 1990s. As the number of Latinoshas steadily increased in MilwaukeeCounty, so has the Latino population in

the court system here. Judges Kitty K. Brennan and Elsa

C. Lamelas, both of MilwaukeeCounty Circuit Court, accompaniedSkwierawski on the trip. With anitinerary that kept them busy from 8a.m. until late evening, the grouplearned about the Mexican constitu-tional system, toured the MexicoSupreme Court, met with justices,and listened to lectures on topicssuch as the state of relations betweenMexico and the United States. Theyalso learned about the psychological

Milwaukee Judges Participate in MexicoConferenceby Beth Bishop Perrigo, deputy district court administratorDistrict One

Dane County Tries Strategic Approach to Jury Diversity

In Dane County, as in many communities around thecountry, minority groups are underrepresented on juries.While the problem is well known, it has proved difficultto solve. Now, Dane County has a strategic plan that callsfor a series of changes to be implemented throughout2002 and 2003. The ultimate goal: significantly increasethe number of minorities on juries by 2006.

The most current figures indicate that fully half of alljury summonses delivered to people of color (people ofAfrican, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American descent)in Dane County are returned as undeliverable. And 10percent of those delivered receive no response. In con-trast, just 17 percent of summonses mailed to non-minori-ties are returned to sender, and just two percent of thosedelivered are not answered.

Dane County began a Jury Study Committee in 1992that transformed into a Jury Implementation Committeeunder the direction of Judge Moria Krueger in 1993.Since then, ideas such as a public information campaign(run by the League of Women Voters of Dane County)were tried with limited success. In 1999, the committeedecided – with the endorsement of all Dane Countyjudges – to move forward with a grant application fortechnical assistance. Clerk of Circuit Court Judy Colemanwas awarded a $12,000 grant from the State JusticeInstitute in 2000 to hire a consultant to develop the now-

complete strategic plan.Odom & Associates, LLC

conducted the research andwrote the plan. Informationwas gathered in a variety ofways, including group inter-views held in cooperation withsocial organizations thatserve minority populations.The interviews revealed a number of obstacles to juryservice, including lack of paid work leave for juryservice, no child care, and misperceptions that unpaidfines and warrants automatically prohibit a person fromserving.

The plan recommends a mix of education/out-reach/communication activities such as public serviceannouncements and partnerships with schools, neighbor-hood associations, and faith-based organizations to getthe word out about the importance of serving. It also rec-ommends changes to administrative procedure includingsending juror lists to collection agencies bi-weekly to ob-tain updated addresses and working with the Departmentof Transportation to improve the reliability of the masterlist. !

For a copy of the plan, contact Coleman at (608) 266-4679.

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THE WORLD CONNECTS TO WISCONSIN

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judges Elsa C. Lamelas (middle,back) and Kitty K. Brennan (far right) met with federal courtjudges in Mexico during a conference in September.

Korean Attorney Stopsin Madison

Atty. Joo-Hyun Park, from Seoul,Korea, visited with Dane CountyCircuit Court Judges Angela B. Bartelland Patrick J. Fiedler, and retired Courtof Appeals Judge William Eich on Jan.17 at the state Capitol. Chief JusticeShirley S. Abrahamson led a tour andjoined the group to discuss court struc-ture, court procedure, and the role ofthe judge in the U.S. and Korea. !

and cultural characteristics of immi-grants and had an opportunity to meetinformally with Mexican officials andattend several cultural events.

The meeting, arranged through theLegal Affairs Department of theMexican Consulate in Chicago and theOffice of the Secretary of ForeignAffairs, was attended by judges fromseveral Midwestern states with largeMexican populations. !

Judge Moria Krueger

State Law Library Celebrates new Beginning

The celebration during NationalLibrary Week of the Wisconsin StateLaw Library’s move to permanentquarters is one in a series of eventsleading up to the Wisconsin SupremeCourt’s 150th anniversary as a sepa-rate court. The Supreme Court first satas a separate court in June 1853.Prior to this, circuit court judges metin Madison as an acting SupremeCourt.

In 1836, as Davy Crockett and his“Tennessee Boys” joined the battle

at the Alamo and Charles DickenspennedOliverTwist, theU.S.Congresswas hard atwork cre-ating theWisconsinTerritory.Congressappropriated$5,000 tocreate a lawlibrary forthe new ter-ritory, a nodto the notionthat a fron-tier legisla-ture probablywould need theassistance oflaw books.

Fast forward to a new century and anew millennium. Wisconsin’s firstlibrary – with its humble beginnings ina rented room – continues to meet theneeds of legislators, lawyers, judges,and members of the public around thestate. In addition to the main library in

Madison, the Wisconsin State LawLibrary operates libraries in the DaneCounty and Milwaukee County court-houses. The law library also works inclose cooperation with other public,law, and government agency librariesin addition to providing informationand documents to customers across thecountry.

In January 2002, the WisconsinState Law Library moved to its perma-nent home on the second and thirdfloors of the new Risser Justice Centeron the Capitol Square. For the firsttime in many years, the library’s entire

book collec-tion is housedin one place.

ThePhiladelphia-basedWRT/Bloom-field &Associatesarchitecturalfirms designedthe newlibrary. Theproject teamof PeterBloomfield,SusanChisholm, andGil Rosenthaldeveloped amodern designwith touchesthat echo thedesign of the

state Capitol – the library’s longtimehome. The arched ceiling over theReading Room is reminiscent of theskylight in the East Wing reading area,and the table lamps are a modern ver-sion of those once in the library’sCapitol Reading Room. The finishes

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Here’s a word of advice to fans oflegal thrillers and police novels whoare wondering what to do with thebooks and videos they have collected:donate them. The Wisconsin State LawLibrary has created theProse & Cons collection,which contains legal fic-tion that relates to courtsand the criminal justicesystem. Supported solelyby donations, the collec-tion of books, audio books,and videos has grown tonearly 100 items so far.Major donors includeCourt of Appeals JudgeDaniel P. Anderson andSupreme CourtCommissioner/authorNancy Kopp, who hasdonated signed copies ofher works.

The Prose & Cons col-lection is housed in a cozynook in the Library’sbrand new home at 120Martin Luther King Jr.Blvd. in Madison, whereanyone may browse andread. Eligible borrowersmay also check out materials. Allitems are listed in the library’s auto-mated catalog, available on the Web atwww.wsll.state.wi.us. Viewers cansearch for a favorite author or title, orbrowse the separate listing of all titles.

To donate new or gently useditems, or to make a cash contributionto the Prose & Cons collection, contactConnie Von Der Heide, reference/out-reach services librarian, at connie.von-derheide@courts.state.wi.us or (608)267-2202. !

Supreme Court Commissionerand author Nancy Kopp holds asigned copy of her legal thrillerAbsent Witness that she donatedto the Prose & Cons collection atthe Wisconsin State Law Library.Kopp will sign copies of her latestbook, Final Justice, due out inearly April, at the library on April17, 3-5 p.m. The signing is partof the library's celebration ofNational Library Week.

Law Library Unveils�Prose and Cons�Collection

The Wisconsin State Law Library will celebrate itsmove to a permanent home in the Risser Justice Center,120 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., with an open housefrom 3 - 6 p.m. on Friday, April 19 during NationalLibrary Week. The act that originally established theLibrary was dated April 20, 1836. The celebration isone in a series of events marking the 150th anniversaryof the creation of the state Supreme Court as a separatecourt. The library’s entrance is on the corner of Martin

Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Doty Street. Lawyers,legislators, court staff, and interested members of thepublic are cordially invited to join Co-State LawLibrarians Jane Colwin and Julie Tessmer, library staff,and justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for toursof the facility and demonstrations of legal researchtools. Refreshments will be served. For more informa-tion on the celebration, call Tammy Keller at (608)261-7553. !

Open House

see Library on page 15

The Wisconsin State Law Library's new home isthe Risser Justice Center, which also housesDepartment of Justice offices. The Center is acrossthe street from the Dane County Courthouse and ablock off the Capitol Square.

Abusy, noisy urban courthouse isperhaps not the first place one

would go in search of holiday spirit.But on Dec. 19, 2001, at noon, theMilwaukee County Courthouse wastransformed – albeit briefly – into aconcert hall. The usual courthouse noise– litigants and lawyers hustling to andfrom court appearances, jurors going onlunch break, judges heading to noonmeetings – was softened by the soundsof holiday music courtesy of No StringsAttached.

This was the group’s 24th annualholiday performance in the MilwaukeeCounty Courthouse Rotunda. More than150 people attended, and the carolingcould be heard throughout thecourthouse.

Breaking from tradition, the groupasked audience members to sing “GodBless America” with them as a tributeto the September 11 victims. “It wasvery inspirational,” said Judge VictorManian. The sing-along is held over thenoon hour so that employees andvisitors alike may participate. Thegroup provides lyric sheets to theaudience to encourage participation.

No Strings Attached features ChiefDeputy Clerk Sarah Blair on violin,Reserve Municipal Judge CharlesBlumenfeld on violin, Assistant DistrictAtty. John Krueger on bells/chimes,Court Reporter (to Judge Kitty K.Brennan) Linda Levengood on violin,Assistant District Atty. Kent Lovern onpiano, Manian on violin, Atty. ColleenSmith on violin, and Atty. David Wellson bass violin. !

�No Strings Attached�ShowcasesCourthouse Talent

Members of NoStrings Attached,a group ofmusical judges,lawyers, andcourt staff, enter-tain courthouseregulars, visitors,and jurors at the24th annualHoliday Sing-Along in theMilwaukeeCountyCourthouse.

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CELEBRATIONS

Angie and the AlmostSupremes, the hottestwomen-judge singing groupin Wisconsin, wowed anaudience of hundreds at theOctober Judicial Collegewith a performance thatinspired awe.

The group warmed upwith practice sessions in thehotel rooms of two fans,Chief Justice Shirley S.Abrahamson and JusticeAnn Walsh Bradley.

They took the stage withPresumed Guilty, a bandthat is a perennial favoriteat the Judicial Conference.Presumed Guilty includesJudge Robert Mawdsley,Waukesha County; Chief JudgeMichael J. Skwierawski, MilwaukeeCounty; and Judge Neal P. Nettesheim,Court of Appeals, District II.

Musical selections included “It’s myCourtroom (and I’ll Sigh if I Want to),”

and “Stop (at the Game of Crime).”Judge Kitty K. Brennan reported thatoffers from agents have poured in, andfellow jurists are clamoring to join thegroup. There is no word on the nexttour. !

�Almost Supremes� take Delavan by Storm

Taking a moment from their busy tour to pose for a publicityshot are Angie and the Almost Supremes (left to right):Circuit Court Judges Mel Flanagan, Milwaukee County;Kathryn W. Foster, Waukesha County; Angela B. Bartell,Dane County; and Kitty K. Brennan and Maxine A. White,both Milwaukee County.

“It's my Courtroom (and I'llSigh if I Want to)”

CHORUS: It's my courtroom and I'll sigh if I want to,pry if I want to, deny if I want to,You could rule too if it happens to you.

Appellate judges are one step aboveBut the gap seems to grow day by dayWhy don't they read 'tween the linesAnd know the things we can't say

(CHORUS)

Seven Supremes ponder law every dayThey try to be fair and conciseEach runs the show their own wayWe judges have to think twice

(CHORUS)

Justices seem to be friendly nowadaysThey put all that old stuff behindIt helps to have a nice placeIn Hawaii to unwind

(CHORUS)

Judges march into battle each dayNot one day is alikeLet’s put them back in our seatsAnd we critique what they say

(CHORUS)

Repeat #4 then CHORUS twice

“Stop (at the Game of Crime)”

CHORUS: STOP! At the game of crimebefore you get more time (2x)Think it over (2x)

Bill and Betty we're aware of whereyou're goin'Each time you leave the jail.We watch you walkin' down the streetKnowin' your old friends you'll meet.This time before you do the crimeJust know you'll do the time.

(Think it over) We won't be good toyou.(Think it over) We won't be sweet toyou.

(CHORUS)

You know the DA wants your tail in jailAnd that the PD got you out on bail.Don't rely on a Motion of SuppressionTo keep you out of State Correction.This time before you do the crime,Just know you'll do the time.

(Think it over) We won't be good toyou.(Think it over) We won't be sweet toyou.

(CHORUS twice)

Think it over (four times)STOP!

Photo credit: Judge Mark Mangerson

It’s a challenge just to meet the basic needs of thehundreds of individuals who enter courthouse offices

each day. Few employees have time to even think aboutasking the people they serve, “how are we doing?” or “whatcould we be doing better?” However, customer feedback iscritical to the improvement of any organization – public orprivate.

That’s why the Planning and Policy AdvisoryCommittee’s (PPAC) Planning Subcommittee has launcheda court users survey. Although some individual countieshave conducted their own user surveys from time to time,this is the first attempt in several years to coordinate thecollection of such information at the state level.

The court users survey began as a pilot project in earlyFebruary in Door, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebagocounties. The one-page survey asks court users whichcourthouse staff they interacted with and the nature of theirvisit, as well as basic demographic information. Surveyparticipants are then asked to rate the treatment and servicethey received from staff, and the courthouse facility itself.

Clerks of court in the counties are coordinating thedistribution and collection of the surveys. They are given toindividuals entering the courthouse regardless of the purposeof their visit. When enough surveys are completed to yield auseful sample, the subcommittee and clerks of court willanalyze the results and make any necessary modificationsbefore expanding the effort. There is no timetable for thisexpansion.

Local court officials will also be able to use the surveyresults to identify strengths and weaknesses and make anynecessary adjustments within their jurisdiction. !

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At their fall conferences, registers in probate and juvenilecourt clerks focused on issues such as handling non-tra-

ditional adoptions and guardianships and releasing records,and learned about an alternative high school in Door Countythat judges can order troubled juveniles to attend.

The registers in probate met in September in Hudson fora conference hosted by St. Croix County Registrar ErickaNelson and Pierce County Registrar Dee Claflin. JudgesEric J. Lundell and Scott R. Needham, both of St. CroixCounty Circuit Court, welcomed the group. Virginia Fritzchof the Wisconsin State Historical Society and Sue Watson,an archivist at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, gavea presentation on retention of probate records. Staff fromCourt Operations and the Combined Court AutomationPrograms (CCAP) also presented. U.S. Marshal DallasNeville made a timely and informative presentation oncourthouse security. The conference closed with a talk byAtty. Judith Sperling-Newton of Madison, who spoke onnon-traditional adoptions and guardianships. The registers’next conference is set for Fond du Lac in May.

The juvenile clerks gathered in Sturgeon Bay in October

for their fall conference, which was hosted by Clerk KarinHeldmann. Judge D. Todd Ehlers welcomed the clerks, whothen heard a presentation by Angela Milen of the BrownCounty Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) pro-gram. Jerry Coleman from the Crime Information Bureau(CIB) brought the clerks up to date on changes at CIB andhow information is dispensed to the public. John Tuohy,planning director in the Division of Children and FamilyServices, spoke on the American Safe Families Act. SteveSemmann from CCAP, Dave Bubier from Court Operationsand District Eight Court Administrator Kathleen M. Murphypresented information to the clerks on operations and proce-dures and fielded questions. Judge Ralph Ramirez,Waukesha County Circuit Court, made a lively presentationon release of records, which he punctuated with Wisconsintrivia. Finally, Mark Hill told the clerks about the DoorCounty Challenge Program, an alternative high school thatteens can be court-ordered to attend. The program has hadsignificant success in working with troubled youth. Thejuvenile clerks meet again in fall 2002. !

PPAC Surveys Court Users by Dan Wassink, senior policy analyst Director of State Courts Office

Registers, Juvenile Clerks Hold Conferencesby Kay Morlen, register in probateWashington County

the case. On another issue, in an effort to reduce future

costs for Corrections, the administration has pro-posed an expansion from six to nine in the numberof felony classes and a six-year sentencing com-mission to study sentencing practices and adoptadvisory sentencing guidelines. The funding – andpresumably the administration – of this projectwill be placed in the Department ofAdministration.

Finally, proposed cuts in the shared revenueprogram present a potential issue for county-funded court services. In his press release fol-lowing the governor's speech, Mark O’Connell,acting executive director of the WisconsinCounties Association, had this to say: “The deepcuts in the shared revenue program leave countieswith little choice but to begin cutting state pro-grams – not county programs. Why should localproperty tax dollars continue to go to support stateprograms when the state refuses to fund their ownprograms? State shared revenue is used in supportof state programs and cutting it means that somestate programs, such as the court system, may notbe able to be administered.”

Moran indicated that his office will monitor thebudget process, and will provide advisories to alljudges and court staff as developments warrant. !

Budget continued from front page

The Director of State Courts Officewill begin a training program this

year for court interpreters, using federalgrant funding from the Office ofRefugee Services in the Department ofWorkforce Development. A series oftwo-day orientation workshops will beoffered in five locations around thestate. The curriculum will focus onethical conduct, legal terminology, courtprocedure, and basic legal interpretingskills. It will be designed to giveparticipants an overview of the needsand expectations of the courts, and willbe appropriate for both experiencedcourt interpreters and potential courtinterpreters. Trainings are scheduled tobegin in early fall.

After the orientation workshops, theDirector’s Office plans to create aninterpreter roster showing qualificationsand contact information for those courtinterpreters who have completed thetraining. This statewide roster will beavailable to courts, lawyers, lawenforcement officers, and agencies.

The Director’s Office is working withthe Office of Judicial Education todevelop programs for judges and clerksof court in best practices for hiring andworking with interpreters.

In April, the Supreme Court willconsider a petition to adopt a code ofethics governing court interpreters. !

Over the course of the year, theDirector’s Office will add interpreterinformation to the interpreters’ page ofthe court system Web site atwww.courts.state.wi.us/circuit/CourtInterpreter.htm, including registration materialsfor upcoming trainings, relevant statutesand rules, and the roster of trainedinterpreters. The Committee to ImproveCourt Interpreting, chaired by JudgeElsa C. Lamelas, will continue to meetand pursue the goals outlined in its 2000report. For more information on the courtinterpreter program, contact Vandercook,at (608) 267-7335 ormarcia.vandercook@courts.state.wi.us.

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Changes to Wisconsin Interpreter StatutesThe court interpreter program has received strong support from refugee

service agencies, domestic violence groups, law enforcement, district attorneys,public defenders, and deaf and hard-of-hearing groups. The Legislatureapproved many of the court system’s recommendations in the 2001 budget bill,including the training and certification program, an interpreter coordinator posi-tion, and an increased reimbursement rate to the counties. Due to the budgetdownturn, the governor vetoed funding for the interpreter coordinator and thetraining and certification program. However, most of the statutory changes anda substantial increase in the county reimbursement funds were approved. Belowis a summary of the statutory changes proposed by the courts that were enacted.

" additional funding to reimburse counties for use of court interpreters: anadditional $50,000 in 2001-02 and $356,200 in 2002-03" higher rate of reimbursement from the state: $30/hour for uncertifiedinterpreters, $40/hour for certified interpreters, effective July 1" a better definition of when a person has limited English skills and thereforeneeds an interpreter" a definition of what constitutes a “qualified” interpreter" reimbursement for use of an interpreter for a person using the clerk ofcourts offices" reimbursement for use of an interpreter for a deaf juror" reimbursement for use of an interpreter for crime victims and other personsaffected by the proceeding" specific provisions regarding waiver of an interpreter, waiver of time limitsto find an interpreter, objection to an interpreter, and appointment of more thanone interpreter

Proposals made by the courts that were not adopted or were vetoed:" reimbursement for appointment of interpreters for all types of cases; status quo: interpreter services are generally eligible for reimbursement only incriminal, juvenile, CHIPS, and mental health cases" reimbursement for appointment of interpreters for non-indigent persons;status quo: interpreter services are eligible for reimbursement only if court findsthe person is indigent" an increase in the interpreter travel reimbursement " an interpreter coordinator position and sufficient funding for a program totrain and certify court interpreters, at a cost of $200,000 for the biennium

Interpreter Program toFocus on Training,Building Roster

by Marcia VandercookOffice of Court Operations

Red clay and vinegar are simple,commonly available treatments

for several maladies. Red clay wasused for generations as a poultice tosoothe and calm children’s coughs.Vinegar relieves the itch of poison ivyand reduces the likelihood of infectionfrom cuts and abrasions. But at arecent conference on issues affectingchildren, these items were used asmemory aides – to help participants bemindful that the past holds simplewisdom that should not be overlookedin work with families.

One of the keynote speakers,Naomi Haines Griffith, is a family

service spe-cialist and con-sultant on childwelfare issueswho founded abusiness calledRed Clay andVinegar. Based in Nashville, Red Clayand Vinegar provides services to sup-port families and those who work withthem.

More than 150 professionalsturned out to hear Griffith and to par-ticipate in a variety of workshopsduring the two-day conference,Through the Eyes of a Child. Experts

Through the Eyes of a Childby Cheryl Calder, directorCourt Improvement Program

Naomi Haines Griffith

see Eyes of a Child on page 18

and furnishings emphasize the library’shistory and collections while providinga warm, comfortable environment forresearch and study.

New features in the 34,000-square-foot library include the Rare BookRoom, which allows the library to dis-play law books in its collection datingback to at least the early 17th century.These books had been in storage formany years, as there was no way tosafely display them. The SeminarRoom will be used for presentations ofall sorts, but in particular, library staffwill offer public, hands-on training ses-sions in computerized legal researchand searching the Internet. Four smallstudy rooms, which can be reserved forlong-term research projects orattorney/client conferences, are avail-able on the library’s main level.Compact shelving, located on theupper level, houses earlier editions ofmajor legal treatises and other mate-rials that were previously in off-sitestorage. The new facility contains atotal of 24,000 linear feet of shelfspace, 45 percent more than what wasavailable in the Capitol.

Over its 166-year life, the StateLaw Library has had many homes. Atits first meeting in 1836 at Belmont,the Territorial Legislature began layingthe groundwork for the new lawlibrary. It established a committee toappoint a law librarian and define hisduties, and later set up another com-mittee to select and purchase books forthe library. A third committee was todraft rules for the regulation of thelibrary.

On Nov. 10, 1837, Librarian JamesClarke (who was also publisher of theBelmont Gazette and the first printer inthe Wisconsin Territory) gave a reportto the Territorial Legislature. He saidthe library consisted of 1,500 volumes,two-thirds of which were law books,housed in a rented room. All of the$5,000 library appropriation had beenspent on books and freight except asmall amount for incidentals. Clarkeclosed by noting, “It may be proper toadd that a further expenditure will soonnecessarily have to be incurred forstove, fuel, etc.”

In 1842, the Legislature passed anact requiring the law librarian to have

bound and lettered the acts and jour-nals of each session and to house thesein the library, which along with the restof the territorial government had beenrelocated to the Capitol Building inMadison a year earlier. In 1843, theLegislature passed an act to allowaccess to the law library for membersof the bar who were admitted to prac-tice before the Territorial SupremeCourt. Until then, only members of theLegislature had been given libraryprivileges.

After Wisconsin became a state in1848, the law library was placed underthe control of a board of trustees,which included the governor, secretaryof state, and superintendent of publicinstruction. The board established strictrules for use of the library. A legislatoror lawyer could take out a maximumof five books, and keep them out forjust five days and the state lawlibrarian – a personal appointee of thegovernor – was made accountable forany missing books. The librarian’s paywas to be docked one dollar for everytime a book disappeared from theshelves without proper tracking.Overdue fines were established and themoney collected was to go into thelibrary’s coffers. The state law librarianwas also required to preserve order inthe library, keep the quiet, preventsmoking, and toss out any disorderlyperson.

In 1876, the justices of the stateSupreme Court and the attorney gen-eral were made unofficial trustees ofthe library (a century later, in 1977, theSupreme Court was given fullauthority over the Wisconsin State LawLibrary and the Board of Trustees wasabolished). Also in 1876, the appoint-ment of the librarian was taken out ofthe governor’s hands and placed withthe Board of Trustees. Until this point,because the law librarian was a polit-ical appointee, the position changedhands every year or two. The first lawlibrarian appointed by the board, incontrast, held the office for 30 years.He was John R. Berryman. Subsequentappointees have also held long tenures,with only four people having servedsince Berryman. Most recently,Marcia J. Koslov was the State LawLibrarian from 1974 to 1999.

On Feb. 27, 1904, a gaslight placedtoo close to a recently varnishedceiling in the Capitol’s West Wingcaused the Capitol to burn. Residentsof downtown Madison and universitystudents arrived in groups to help fightthe fire and tossed much of thelibrary’s collection out the windowsinto snow banks. Supreme CourtJustice Roujet D. Marshall arrived andorganized the volunteers into lines topass the books hand-to-hand intonearby stores. As it turned out, the firewas contained before it reached thelaw library’s North Wing home, but theremainder of the building wasdestroyed. Upon completion of theEast Wing of the new state Capitol in1910, the Library moved into the thirdand fourth floors, where it remaineduntil 1999. During 2000-2001 thelibrary was in temporary quarters inthe 1 East Main Street office buildingon the Capitol Square. !

Thanks to retired Court Services Librarian Dennis D.Austin, whose history of the Wisconsin State LawLibrary served as the basis for this article.

The Wisconsin State Law Library isopen 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Inits new location, the law library again isoffering after-hours service to attorneyslicensed to practice in Wisconsin. Usersof this service will have access to thelibrary Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 8a.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight, andSaturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. to10 p.m. After hours users can accessthe public computer network, which pro-vides free access to the library catalog,Legal Resource Index to law review andjournal article citations, Shepard's,LOIS, and the Internet. The cost of thisservice for the 11-month period of Feb.1 - Dec. 31, 2002, is $75, whichincludes a key tag to permit entry intothe library. For more information or torequest an application, contact ConnieVon Der Heide, reference/outreachservices librarian, at (608) 267-2202 or(800) 322-9755. For more informationabout the Wisconsin State Law Library’sresources and services, visit their Website at www.wsll.state.wi.us.

Law Library continued from page 11

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Judge John J. CrosettoKenosha County Circuit Court

Judge John J. Crosetto, who served on the bench inKenosha County Circuit Court for just one year, 1973-74,but made his mark as a high-profile criminal defenseattorney, died in Torre Pellice, Italy, in September 2001. Hewas 68.

Crosetto joined the bench as an appointee of GovernorPatrick J. Lucey, but lost his bid for election to the post. Aformer assistant district attorney in Kenosha, Crosettoregrouped after losing the election and began a long andsuccessful career as a criminal defense lawyer.

In 1990, Crosetto was appointed as a hearingcommissioner for the Wisconsin Public ServiceCommission.

He and his wife, Natalie, made annual trips toMississippi, where they worked for Habitat for Humanity,the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a rural health clinic.They also recently began spending more time in Italy,leasing an apartment in the region where Crosetto's motherand paternal grandparents were born.

Atty. Robert O. UehlingWisconsin Supreme Court

Atty. Robert O. Uehling, who served as clerk of theWisconsin Supreme Court from 1973 until 1978, died Nov.29, 2001, at a Madison hospital. He was 86.

Uehling was hired under Chief Justice Horace W. Wilkieand continued to serve under Chief Justice Bruce F.Beilfuss. He retired when court reorganization made theClerk’s Office responsible for both the Supreme Court andthe newly formed Court of Appeals.

Uehling was a conservative Republican who wonelection to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1960 by defeatingDemocrat Ruth Doyle. Uehling represented Madison’s WestSide for 10 years before losing his seat to Democrat MidgeMiller, who was an assistant dean at the University ofWisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science.

A decorated war veteran who distinguished himselfduring amphibious landings in North Africa, Italy, andFrance, Uehling was awarded the Bronze Star for combat inFrance in 1944. Following the war, Uehling was active for anumber of years in the National Guard. !

OBITUARIES

PEOPLE continued from page 9

Justice on Wheels, the outreach program that takesSupreme Court oral argument on the road to communitiesaround the state, will travel to Outagamie County in April.Court Information Officer Amanda K. Todd and CourtMarshal James Jerney scouted the Outagamie CountyCourthouse and met with representatives of the OutagamieCounty Sheriff’s Department and Buildings and GroundsDivision, as well as Chief Judge Joseph M. Troy and Clerk

of Circuit Court Ruth Janssen, reported The Post-Crescent (Appleton) and The Oshkosh Northwestern.Justice David Prosser Jr. told The Post-Crescent thatsome of the court’s most significant recent cases havebeen argued outside of Madison. All 450 seats havebeen reserved for the upcoming visit. Appleton is theonly stop for Justice on Wheels this year due to budg-etary constraints.

The Wisconsin Historical Society newsletter pro-filed three members of the Board of Curators in itslatest publication. Reserve Judge Thomas H.Barland has served on the board since 1961,including a term as president from 1967-1970.

Reserve Judge Ness Flores has been a member since 1995and noted, “The preservation of historic sites and buildingsis of great interest to me, especially because of the educa-tional opportunities presented.” Reserve Judge Paul C.Gartzke has served since 1981 and is known to give histime generously. The curators represent a variety of profes-sions, allowing the Society to profit from the range ofexpertise and perspectives they provide.

The Association for Equity in Funding welcomed JusticeWilliam A. Bablitch at its annual meeting in Milwaukee in

January. Bablitch discussedWisconsin’s new educationalstandard that arose from theCourt’s decision in Vincent v.Voight.

Judge William D. Dyke,Iowa County Circuit Court,would like Iowa County to con-sider the idea of a local publictransportation assistance pro-gram to help the growingproblem of drunken driving. TheDodgeville Chronicle reportedthat Dyke introduced the idea to the City Council at a recentmeeting.

The Journal Times (Racine) reported that Judge DennisBarry, Racine County Circuit Court, attended the annualWayman AME Church’s Boy Scout ceremony designed toshow young men that there are alternatives to crime. Barryalso attended the 2001 National Association for theAdvancement of Colored People dinner and awards pro-gram.

The Shawano Leader featured a photo of ShawanoCounty’s newest municipal judge, David Winter, beingsworn in by Judge Earl W. Schmidt, Shawano CountyCircuit Court. The city of Shawano approved the formationof the municipal court last year. !

Judge William D. Dyke

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Justice David Prosser Jr.

provide for a blanket exception to theknock-and-announce requirement infelony drug cases.

In 1997, Bablitch surprised someCourt observers by siding with themajority in a decision that upheld theLegislature’s elimination of jury trials injuvenile court.

One of Bablitch’s proudest momentsas a justice came in 1995 when heoriginated and planned a conferencedesigned to encourage women to enterthe judiciary. The conference, TheJudicial Glass Ceiling, drew 250

women attendees, and inspired a numberof them to seek judicial careers. !

Candidates for this Supreme Court seatmust file their papers by January 2003.Those who are considering running andwho have made their interest public are:Court of Appeals Judges Charles P.Dykman and Patience Roggensack; andcircuit court Judges Edward R. Brunner,Barron County; David Hansher,Milwaukee County; Paul Higginbotham,Dane County; and Maxine White,Milwaukee County.

Bablitch continued from front page

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“After a lifetime of publicservice, Justice William Bablitchhas announced that he will retire in2003, at the end of his term. Uponhis retirement, Justice Bablitch willhave served the people ofWisconsin for 20 years as aSupreme Court justice and for 11years in the state Senate. His

opinions, and his contributions inthe Legislature and on the boardsand committees on which he hasserved, will have a lasting effect onour legal system. I know the entireCourt joins me in wishing Bill andhis wife, Anne, all the best inretirement.”

Statement of Chief Justice Shirley S.Abrahamson

“After twenty years as a Justiceon the Wisconsin Supreme Court Ihave decided I will retire from theCourt at the conclusion of my termin August 2003. By making thisannouncement now, those who wishto succeed me will have ample timeto put their campaigns together andfile their notice of candidacy by theJanuary 2003 deadline.

I believe strongly that the peopleof Wisconsin, not the governor,regardless of party, should choosemy successor. Accordingly, I willserve out my full term.

Following the conclusion of myterm, I intend to remain active inthe public arena. I intend to dosome writing and explore severalareas of interest to me includingteaching, mediation, consulting, andpublic policy.

I have had an extraordinarilyfulfilling and satisfying careerencompassing 34 years of publicservice including 2 years in the

Peace Corps in Liberia, WestAfrica, 4 years as Portage CountyDistrict Attorney, 11 years as aWisconsin State Senator and 20years on the Supreme Court.

My public service,encompassing all three branches ofgovernment, has spanned 7governors.

I will miss the work of thecourt. I have enormous respect forall of my colleagues, who withoutexception are completely dedicatedto the law and justice. Wisconsincan be proud of its Supreme Court,and I am proud to have been amember.

I am very grateful to the citizensof Wisconsin for allowing me toserve them and deeply humbled andhonored by their support. I havealways given them my best effortsand my best judgment. I willforever be indebted to the citizensof Wisconsin for allowing me toserve them.”

Statement of Justice William A. Bablitch

NEW FACES

Judge William W. BrashMilwaukee County CircuitCourt

Judge William W. Brash III, whowas appointed by Governor ScottMcCallum to replace the late StanleyMiller in November 2001, is running abusy misdemeanor calendar whilegearing up for the April election.

Brash started his judgeshipin a mentor program for thefirst week of January, duringwhich he spent a half-day eachwith six judges to give him anoverview of Milwaukee’s courtdivisions.

Born in Panama, Brash hasmore than 23 years of experi-ence as a lawyer, having prac-ticed in family law,financial/bankruptcy law, per-sonal injury, corporate/busi-ness law, and land acquisition.From 1984 to 1997, he served asmunicipal judge for the Village of FoxPoint. From 1997 until his appointmentto the bench, Brash served as a reservemunicipal judge for Milwaukee.

Brash is married with one son andlives in Fox Point.

He will face off against RamonValdez, a criminal defense attorney whosays he has handled more than 100 jurytrials in his 15-year career, in the Aprilelection.

Judge Faye M. FlancherRacine County Circuit Court

Deputy Family Court CommissionerFaye M. Flancher became JudgeFlancher on Feb. 6 when the governorappointed her to fill the vacancy left byJudge Dennis J. Flynn’s retirement.

Prior to becoming a court commis-sioner in 1996, Flancher was a partnerin Schwartz, Tofte, Neilsen & FlancherS.C. She also spent three years liti-gating child support matters for RacineCounty.

Flancher is president of theWisconsin Family CourtCommissioner’s Association andrecently finished a term as president ofthe Racine County Bar. She is also afrequent presenter at family law semi-nars.

Flancher is married to RacineCounty District Attorney RobertFlancher. She will have to seek electionto the post in April 2003. !

Judge William W. Brash III

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Director of State CourtsJ. Denis Moran

EditorAmanda K. Todd

Associate EditorC. Colleen Flesher

Contributing WritersCheryl CalderJudge Jean DiMottoSarah MaguireKay MorlenBeth Bishop PerrigoDan WassinkMarcia Vandercook

Editorial CommitteeHon. Michael J. RosboroughVernon County Circuit CourtGregg T. MooreDistrict Court AdministratorCarolyn OlsonIowa County Clerk of CircuitCourt

Graphic Design/LayoutC. Colleen Flesher

The Third Branch is aquarterly publication of theDirector of State CourtsOffice, providing news ofinterest to the WisconsinJudiciary.

Send questions, comments,and article ideas to: Amanda K. ToddCourt Information OfficerP.O. Box 1688Madison, WI 53701-1688phone(608) 264-6256e-mailamanda.todd@courts.state.wi.usfax(608) 261-8299

www.courts.state.wi.us

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HABEAS CODFISH: Reflections on Food and the Lawby Barry M. Levenson(Hardcover - 263 pages, 2001)The University of Wisconsin Press

The uniqueness and humor of this book aresignaled by the book jacket, which contains a

“Literary Facts” label akin to the Nutrition Factslabel on grocery items (“Serving size: 1 chapter,Servings per book: 15; Amount per serving:Pearls of Wisdom 10%, Nuggets of Delight24%....”). Chapter titles are inviting:Assault with a Breadly Weapon,Java Jurisprudence. You get the idea– a book about food and the law byWisconsin’s condiment king and“recovering lawyer” BarryLevenson.

Levenson, a former assistantstate attorney general is now curatorof the Mount Horeb MustardMuseum. He takes us on a literarytour of how food has influenced thelaw and vice versa. He covers themarketplace – from fast food(McDonald’s hot coffee case) to street vendordelicacies (regulations on hot dogs and burgers);from catering and restaurants (is it slander to panhors d’hoeuvres?) to grocery stores (banana peelslip-and-fall cases).

Readers time warp from the 13th centuryEnglish “Assize of Bread” law (one of the first

food-safety laws) to the 1990s in America for atrade secret battle between KFC and a little-known chicken skinner. We sample from mul-tiple areas of the law: First Amendment FreeSpeech Clause (Kraft and its cheese slices ads);First Amendment Establishment Clause (Kosher

food laws); contract law (butter vs.margarine),trademark law (Planters’ Mr. Peanutvs. Crown Nut Company’s littlepeanut king); negligence, includingres ipsa loquitor (the box of defec-tive chocolates); fraud (Coffee Richand the now-defunct Crandall’sRestaurant of Madison); anti-trustlaw (milk-pricing laws); to name afew.

The book is a feat and a feast.My only criticism is its tendencytoward verbosity. While not sur-

prising from a still-recovering lawyer, it is a bitshocking from a mustard maven who would neverdilute a good condiment with starchy filler. Butperhaps this criticism is no more than a reflectionof a busy trial judge who values succinctnesseven more than a good mustard. !

"Recovering Lawyer" Reflects on Food and Lawby Judge Jean DiMottoMilwaukee County Circuit Court

in law, medicine, child development, child wel-fare, and domestic violence were featured.

In addition to general sessions, attendeescould choose to participate in four workshops.Presentation topics included strengthening fami-lies through collaboration, children’s mentalhealth, social work and psychology for guardiansad litem, successful termination of parental rights,the effects of maltreatment on children’s emo-tional brain development, collaborative divorce,ethical considerations in guardian ad litem prac-tice, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, familiesand children affected by substance abuse, psycho-logical testing, domestic violence and child mal-treatment, and mental health and parenting.

This was the third annual Through the Eyes ofa Child conference targeting guardian ad litempractice issues. The program’s popularity isgrowing, as reflected by a 50 percent increase inattendance between the second and third confer-

ences. Participants earned continuing legal educa-tion, judicial education, social work, guardian adlitem, and ethics credits.

Emphasizing a multi-disciplinary philosophyon advocating for children, sponsors included theCourt Improvement Program within the Directorof State Courts Office, the State Bar’s Childrenand the Law Section, the Department of JusticeChildren’s Justice Act Program, the Departmentof Health and Family Services Division ofChildren and Family Services, the University ofWisconsin Extension Family Living Programs,and the Wisconsin Professional Society on theAbuse of Children. !

A fourth conference is planned for November. Toreceive information on this event, contact Calder at(608) 266-1557 orcheryl.calder@courts.state.wi.us.

Eyes of a Child continued from page 14