Stump the Law Librarian

Q: With the summer season coming up, I'm heading to the beach! Sometimes when unloading my boat and parking my car, I've driven my car without shoes. My buddy says that I'm breaking the law when I do that. Is it legal to drive barefoot in Wisconsin?

A: You don't have to ruin your summer vacation worrying about getting busted for driving without footwear. According to the State Patrol, it's OK to drive without shoes. Under the Miscellaneous FAQ section, it states: Is it legal to drive without shoes? Their answer: Yes. [You might also like to know that if you end up falling out of your boat and breaking your arm or leg, you can also legally drive with a cast on!]

Internet Tip 15

Welcome to the next issue of "Internet Tips"! There are three sections to this email: a beginner's tip, an advanced tip, and a useful internet link. Enjoy!

Beginner's tip: FBI Tips for Internet Use
Did you know the FBI has tips for you to safely access material on the Internet? Here are a few:

• If you encounter an unsolicited e-mail that asks you, either directly, or through a web site, for personal financial or identity information, such as Social Security number, passwords, or other identifiers, exercise extreme caution.
• If you need to update your information online, use the normal process you've used before, or open a new browser window and type in the website address of the legitimate company's account maintenance page.
• If a website address is unfamiliar, it's probably not real. Only use the address that you have used before, or start at your normal homepage.
• Read more tips...

Advanced tip: Top Ten Tips for Better Browsing

Tip #2: Use the Stop button.
When you access a website, what you are actually doing is downloading digital files. You can see how the download is progressing by looking at the status bar located in the lower left-hand corner of your web browser. If you get tired of waiting, click the Stop button to view the files that have already downloaded. Then you can decide if you want to continue. If you do, click the Reload or Refresh button. Read the other tips...from Learn the Net.com.

Useful Internet Link: AltaVista Translation will translate a word or phrase or website.

Legal Research Tip 15: Finding Forms

Welcome to the next issue of the DCLRC E-Newsletter "Legal Research Tips"! You can view back issues of these tips through other posts in this blawg. Enjoy!

Need help finding a form for some legal or court action?
Here's a guide to help you exhaust your search:

1. Is there a mandatory form on the Court System's website? Check www.wicourts.gov to make sure. Mandatory court forms are for use by all state residents. If there is a form for your purposes on the mandatory list, you must use it. Also check the statutes, as many times the language that is to go into forms is specified in the statute about the topic. For example, the summons form is in statute section 801.095.

2. No mandatory form? Is there a county-specific form that your county court wants you to use? For example, many family law forms, while soon to be available through the state court system, are currently only available on a county by county basis. Check your county's Clerk of Circuit Court's office to be sure. For Dane County, check their listing of court forms online.

3. Still not finding the form you need? Check on the State Law Library's legal and government forms page for links to forms on the Internet. These links include forms on state agency websites, law-related websites, and other courts' form websites.

4. Still nothing? Stop into a law library to check form manuals in the collection. Two good examples are the WI Civil Litigation Manual and the System Book for Family Law. Both contain many sample forms that you can use as a guide to draft your own. By "sample" form, I mean those forms that insert information in the blanks, instructing you what should be included in the form, where to file it, and the form's purposes. Many people make a copy of the form and just "white-out" the blanks and insert their own information, but it does a look a bit nicer if you can re-draft it using the sample as a guide.

5. Sometimes there are no forms for certain court or legal actions. Those are times when a letter addressing the court will usually suffice. In the letter you need to indicate the case number, the parties' names, what action you want to take, and, usually, the reasons behind your action or evidence supporting it. Signing and dating your letter in front of a notary isn't a bad idea either. This is to be used as a last resort, after you have thoroughly searched for a form through these other steps AND called a law library for help.

*If you need help locating a form, call, email or stop into a law library.

WI Law Libraries Open to the Public

A new document has been added to DCLRC website profiling those law libraries in WI that are open to the public. FYI: There are six such libraries.

Speedy Trial: Legal Q&A with Dane Co's Legal Community

This feature introduces a member of Dane County's legal community as they answer five questions posed to them by DCLRCBlawg. If you would like to participate, please email Paula Seeger for more information.

Meet Kristine Anderson, staff attorney for Dane County Circuit Court.

1. What's the favorite part of your job?

• My favorite part of my work is figuring out the puzzle of a case. My favorite part of my job is a tie between the people I work with and being in the courthouse at the center of the local universe.

2. What's the greatest challenge facing Dane Co. courts or legal professionals today?

• The greatest challenge facing courthouse personnel is all the things that result from budget cuts, such as losing funding for legal books and materials and losing staff so that those remaining have to work that much harder.

3. What's the one thing that has changed the most since you took your job?

• The thing that has changed the most since I've been in this position is me. I've become more and more disciplined in my job and life as time has gone on. I'm happy and proud of that.

4. You would describe your legal research style as:

A: Legal Research...what's that?
B: Thank Goodness for staff attorneys and office staff!
C: Mostly at home, mostly as needed
D: All research, all the time, [with a little reading and writing thrown in for good measure.]

5. What three pieces of advice would you give to someone new to your line of work?

• Three pieces of advice for new staff attorneys:
  a) Don't reinvent the wheel - seek help from your colleagues on how to approach most projects and for case discussion.
  b) Treat everyone, no matter their level of employment, with utmost respect - it's simply the right thing to do.
  c) Don't wait until the last minute to start working on an opinion. Your work will suffer. I know because I used to be the worst offender on that score.
  

Stump the Law Librarian

Q: I'm trying to find the oath of office that is taken by Madison Police Officers. I looked in the MPD Policies & Procedures Manual on their website, but didn't find anything. Help!

A: You're correct, the oath is not in the MPD Policies & Procedures Manual, nor posted anywhere online. The oath is administered by the City Clerk's office and you can find a copy of it by contacting their office in Room 103 of the City-County Building, or calling (608) 266-4601, or emailing them.

Speedy Trial: Q&A with Dane Co's Legal Community

This new feature introduces a member of Dane County's legal community as they answer five questions posed to them by DCLRCBlawg. If you would like to participate, please email Paula Seeger for more information.

First up: Deb Smith, Director- Assigned Counsel Division, Wisconsin State Public Defender

1. What's the favorite part of your job?

• Having something new to think about every day. This is also the least favorite part of my job at times.

2. What's the greatest challenge facing Dane Co. courts or legal professionals today?

• The justice system has been substantially underfunded for years at the same time as more cases pour through the doors. The people of Wisconsin deserve better.

3. What's the one thing that has changed the most since you took your job?

• The level of stress felt by people in the justice system. It seems to make us lose our sense of humor and our perspective.

4. You would describe your legal research style as:

A: Legal Research...what's that?
B: Thank Goodness for staff attorneys and office staff!
C: Mostly at home, mostly as needed
D: All research, all the time

5. What three pieces of advice would you give to someone new to your line of work?

• If you don't have a passion for the work, do something else.
• Build a support structure at work so that you don't feel that you're all alone.
• Make outside-of-work friends who are not lawyers. The more non-lawyers the better.

LDAP Update

Here's an update on the Local Decision Access Project, as reported here on May 2.

• Eleven judges are now participating.
• A decision index, listing the decisions that have been donated arranged by branch number, is now online. The index will be updated as new decisions are donated.
• 105 decisions are now available, including the recent decision on Madison's minimum wage.

Please contact us if you have any questions about LDAP.

Economic Impact of Smoking Bans

From DocuTicker:

Smoking Bans--Economics
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Center for Regional Economics
On the Economic Impact of Smoking Bans (PDF; 254 KB)
"This paper comprises two related essays that consider the economic impact of government ordinances to ban smoking in all public places, including privately owned establishments. It is hoped that this analysis will contribute to the public discourse about smoke-free laws that are being considered in many communities around the District."

Approval Ratings for Governors

From DocuTicker:

Governors--United States
Source: SurveyUSA
Approval Ratings for All 50 Governors as of 5/10/05
From press release: "North Dakota Governor John Hoeven has the highest approval rating of any Governor in the United States and Ohio Governor Bob Taft has the lowest, according to 50 separate but concurrent statewide public opinion polls conducted by SurveyUSA for its media clients across the country. 600 adults in each of the 50 states were interviewed by telephone May 6 through May 8. Approval rating questions were asked identically in all 50 states."

Where does Wisconsin's Governor land? 35th, right above Gov. Schwarzenegger

Wis Representative offers thoughts on Fed Judiciary

From BeSpacific:
Sensenbrenner Advocates Watchdog for Judiciary
Speech delivered by US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Sensenbrenner at Stanford University, May 9, 2005: The Relationship Between the Legislative and Judicial Branches (text of the speech, 6 pages, PDF)

New Resource: The World Factbook 2005

From the Central Intelligence Agency comes this handy World Factbook 2005 full of useful information, available to be downloaded and searched.

Stump the Law Librarian

Q: Is it true that adoption of a minor child in Wisconsin requires termination of the biological parents' rights?

A: According to Wisconsin Statute § 48.41, there are several criteria that allow a child present in Wisconsin to be adopted:

(1) Both of the child’s parents are deceased.

(2) The parental rights of both of the child’s parents with respect to the child have been terminated under subch. VIII or in another state or a foreign jurisdiction.

(3) The parental rights of one of the child’s parents with respect to the child have been terminated under subch. VIII or in another state or a foreign jurisdiction and the child’s other parent is deceased.

(4) The person filing the petition for adoption is the spouse of the child’s parent with whom the child and the child’s parent reside and either of the following applies:
(a) The child’s other parent is deceased.
(b) The parental rights of the child’s other parent with respect to the child have been terminated under subch. VIII or in another state or a foreign jurisdiction.

(5) Section 48.839 (3) (b) applies.

(6) The child is being readopted under s. 48.97.

Subsequent sections mention who may adopt and what the proper court procedure is for adoption. In addition, in Dane County, the Probate Court handles adoption and has several resources on their website. Still more adoption-related information can be found on the WI State Law Library’s website under Legal Topic "Adoption."

New Resources on Bad Checks Laws

UPDATE: From the Consumer Federation of America comes this report called "Overdrawn: Consumers Face Hidden Overdraft Charges From Nation’s Largest Banks." 6/10/05

From the Commercial Collection Agency Association comes this handy 10-page guide that summarizes bad checks laws for each state.

For Wisconsin, see also the State Law Library's annotated list under legal topic "Bad Checks" for more information and resources.

New Resource about Memorial & Flag Days

A new "Tap the Power," an annotated bibliography including hyperlinks on topics of current interest created by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, examines Memorial Day and Flag Day. Compiled by Marian Rogers, May 2005.

Stump the Law Librarian

Q: Two questions regarding being deployed in the military. First, how do I stop my child support payments? Second, will my apartment still be rented to me or will my landlord be able to evict me for not paying rent while I'm away?

A: Regarding your child support question, the WI Dept of Workforce Development Bureau of Child Support has developed an informational sheet to answer questions such as yours. Consulting it, I see that the question regarding payment of support is answered this way:

"Contact the child support agency where your order was established. Provide the agency with relevant information regarding your military orders. Advise the child support agency of your new mailing address. When you return from active duty, make sure to contact the child support agency and inform them of your return and provide them with updated address and employment information."

However, the sheet goes on to explain other payment information, so you will want to consult the sheet or your child support agency for more information.

Second, regarding your apartment question, according to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,

"A landlord may not evict a member on active duty or the dependents of a member on active duty from premises occupied for dwelling purposes for which the rent does not exceed $2,400 per month for 2003, which amount is adjusted for inflation for subsequent years, or subject such residence to a distress except by court order. This rule applies regardless of whether quarters were rented before or after entry onto active duty."

You will want to consult the SCRA guide for more information.


Stump the Law Librarian is a regular feature of DCLRCBlawg. If you would like a question answered, please email your question to dclrc.ref@wicourts.gov and watch for the answer in the DCLRCBlawg or DCLRC Docket newsletter.

LDAP Debuts at DCLRC

As reported in the May DCLRC newsletter, the Local Decision Access Project is up and running! The Project makes selected decisions of the Dane Co Circuit Court judges available to the public.

The decisions are arranged by court branch number in binders and are located next to the Wisconsin Reports at DCLRC. So far, the decisions are indexed by judge/branch and statute. The decisions are being indexed by subject by UW law school students and a subject index will be added this summer.

Phase II of this project will make the decisions available online and is expected to be launched later this year. This project is a cooperative venture between DCLRC, DCBA, and the Dane Co Circuit Court, with assistance from the UW Law School students and WI State Law Library. Please visit DCLRC to view the decision depository or email dclrc.ref@wicourts.gov with questions.

Sentencing Statistics

Two resources on sentencing statistics:

From the Bureau of Justice Statistics: "Presents detailed data from the nationally representative sample survey of felons convicted in State courts in 344 counties. Tables present the number of felony offenders in State courts, sentences received, demographic characteristics of convicted felons, the number of felons sentenced to probation, the number of felons convicted by trial and guilty plea, and the time required to process felony conviction cases."

From the US Sentencing Commission: "Each [statistic] set consists of the following figure and tables:
Figure A - Guideline Defendants Sentenced by Primary Offense Category
Table 1 - Distribution of Guideline Defendants Sentenced by Primary Offense Category
Table 2 - Mode of Conviction by Circuit and District
Table 3 - Mode of Conviction by Primary Offense Category
Table 4 - Type of Sentence Imposed by Primary Offense Category (national)
Table 5 - Type of Sentence Imposed by Primary Offense Category (by district/circuit)
Table 6 - Incarceration Rate of Defendants Eligible for Non-Prison Sentences by Primary Offense Category
Table 7 - Average Length of Imprisonment by Primary Offense Category
Table 8 - Guideline Departure Rate by Circuit and District
Table 9 - Guideline Departure Rate by Primary Offense Category"

You can select the court or state to view data from. WI state court data looks like this. WI federal, 7th circuit, and other courts also available.

Stump the Law Librarian

Q: We all know the three branches of government on the WI and federal levels are legislative, executive, and judicial (Editor's Note: If you didn't know that, consider taking our "Legal Research in a Nutshell" class), but what about on the local levels of government?

A: Think about the function of each branch of government and maybe you can see more clearly how they fit together on the local level:
*Legislative: Who makes the laws on the local level? Most likely the county board of supervisors or city or common council.
*Executive: Who regulates or enforces the law? The city and county agencies, such as police, sheriff, zoning, city building inspection, and other administrative agencies, including the mayor and county executive's offices.
*Judicial: This one should be easy...who interprets the law? The municipal and circuit courts.

This is a basic answer to your question. For a closer look at city and county government, feel free to stop into the Dane Co Legal Resource Center or email your specific question.

Stump the Law Librarian is a new feature of DCLRCBlawg. If you would like a question answered, please email your question to dclrc.ref@wicourts.gov and watch for the answer in the DCLRCBlawg or DCLRC Docket newsletter.