Sneak Peek: Wisconsin’s Treatment of False Political Speech Tops May Wisconsin Lawyer
May 9, 2012 – Political speech is a highly charged issue these days. In the cover story of the May Wisconsin Lawyer, now available online and in mailboxes soon, author David Pritchard explains how Wisconsin regulates false political speech.
In his article, “Prosecuting False Political Speech,” Pritchard, a journalism professor who teaches communication law at U.W.-Milwaukee, notes that three specific Wisconsin statutes can be used against people who make intentionally false statements in political campaigns.
Those statutes relate to false representations affecting elections, criminal defamation, and giving false information for publication.
However, “statutes that can be used to punish political expression tread on sensitive constitutional ground,” writes Pritchard, who has scoured case filings to deliver a comprehensive picture of how these statutes are used in Wisconsin.
Pritchard highlights political speech prosecutions, including the case stemming from Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s election, to show “how campaign organizations have used the statutes to try to suppress expression by political opponents.”
As political campaigns, political action committees, and political activists settle in for a month of heavy activity, don’t miss Pritchard’s article on the rules involved.
Retaliation and New Developments in Employment Law
“Employment attorneys need to know that significant developments in the law of retaliation have recently occurred,” writes Milwaukee attorney Anna Pepelnjak in her article, “Retaliation: New Developments in State and Federal Employment Law.”
According to Pepelnjak, recent state and federal decisions have broadened the scope of persons entitled to bring retaliation claims against their employers.
“That is, more employees are protected from retaliation in the workplace, and more inconsequential occurrences will give rise to claims,” writes Pepelnjak, who covers the recent decisions and how they impact a plaintiff’s ability to prove his or her claims.
Changes to Disability Law
More than three years after Congress passed amendments to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Madison attorney Tess O’Brien-Henzen explains how things are shaking out in federal disability discrimination cases in her article, “The ADAA: Key Changes to Disability Law.”
Amendments, along with new regulations, expanded the scope of protected individuals, O’Brien-Heinzen notes, and “many federal district courts have made determinations of disability in cases in which they likely once would have refused to do so.”
The “tide seems to be turning” in favor of individuals bringing disability discrimination claims, she notes. Her article, which explains the new regulations and federal case law, will guide employment attorneys pursuing and defending such claims under the ADA.
Compelling Settlement in Worker’s Compensation Cases
Can a worker’s compensation carrier compel the settlement of a plaintiff’s bodily injury lawsuit over the objection of the injured plaintiff? Monte Weiss answers that question in his article, “’Equal Voice’ Confirmed: Worker’s Comp Carriers Can Compel Settlement.”
Weiss, an attorney in Fox Point, explains how a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling allows worker’s compensation carriers to compel settlements, and what that means for the future.
“With Dalka in its arsenal, the worker’s compensation carrier will be in a position to exert further control over the course of litigation in which it is involved,” Weiss writes.
Lawyers and Social Media
Finally, be sure to check out attorney Tom Watson’s managing risk column entitled, “Lawyers and Social Media: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”
Watson, senior vice present and director of communications at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co., Madison, explains how to operate effectively and appropriately in a Web-based environment without leaving yourself open to a malpractice claim or ethics complaint.
He offers tips on general social media pitfalls, like the prospect of violating solicitation rules, while explaining the benefits that social media can provide to your business.
“Use social sites to better serve your clients and help create new business. But do not lose sight of your ethical obligations in accessing, or protecting a client from, information disclosed electronically,” Watson writes.
