Tech Tip: Dude, Where’s My Phone?

Ever lost your smartphone or tablet? Then you know the sinking feeling when you realize what could happen if these devices get in the wrong hands.

To protect yourself, activate or download an app that will allow you to quickly find, lock, and remotely wipe your smartphone or tablet in the event it is lost or stolen.

For iPhones, iPads, or iPods, activate the Find my iPhone (iPad, iPod) through Apple’s iCloud service. For Android users, download apps such as Android Lost (free), Lookout Security (paid), avast! Mobile Security (free), and others. For Windows Phone 7 or newer, log onto www.windowsphone.com and erase all of your data. BlackBerry offers the free BlackBerry Protect app.

Source: Nerino Petro, State Bar of Wisconsin practice management advisor.

Did you check under the car seat or behind the couch cushions? 

By the Numbers: Less than 1%

The amount of the Wisconsin state government’s budget that goes toward supporting the judicial branch, according to Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who testified before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance in late March regarding the proposed state budget for 2013-15.

“I want to tell you how Assembly Bill 40 will affect the supreme court’s constitutional obligation to ensure that the people of the state have an effective, efficient judicial system. And most of this is not good news,” the chief justice told lawmakers.

From the Archives: Law Not Silent in Times of War

In the midst of the Civil War, 150 years ago, Wisconsin’s supreme court reluctantly but firmly called President Abraham Lincoln on the carpet. Opponents of the Union’s military draft rioted and destroyed much of Port Washington; federal authorities then imprisoned the ringleaders.

Relying on Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus, the federal authorities refused to release the prisoners to local authorities or bring the prisioners to trial.

In In Re Kemp (1863), Chief Justice Luther Dixon held this action was unconstitutional. Only Congress, not the President, could suspend habeas corpus, and the prisoners must be released. Congress later sustained Lincoln, but the court had served notice that in Wisconsin, law does not fall silent in times of war.

Source: Jay Ranney, Madison lawyer and legal historian

Out There: The Roadkill Café

Drivers in Wisconsin and Montana have similar odds of hitting a deer while driving, about 1 in 80, according to a 2012 report from State Farm Insurance.

One difference though: in Montana, drivers will soon be able to salvage and eat the deer, elk, moose, and antelope killed in vehicle collisions.

Last month, Montana passed “you kill it, you grill it” legislation. The bill passed despite the argument that roadkill may not be safe for consumption. Bill supporters noted that animals killed by hunters are not subject to food safety inspections.

New emergency kit for trunk: Flashlight, blanket, wrench, charcoal briquettes, forks, and knives. And napkins, lots of napkins. 

Good Ideas: Tuition Bubble? 

Last month, Briefly reported that law school applications are heading for a 30-year low, an indication that a “law school bubble” is bursting.

Perhaps that’s why the University of Arizona approved an 11% tuition cut for in-state law students and an 8% cut for nonresidents.

Arizona’s law school applications are down 10% from a year ago, compared to a 17% decline nationally.

“It offers evidence that the list prices for a law school education, which have far outpaced inflation for more than a decade, are beginning to reflect supply and demand,” Karen Sloan reported in the National Law Journal.

Marquette University Law School, with a current tuition of $39,850 per year, had 15% fewer applicants in 2012 than the year prior, according to MU law school statistics.

U.W. Law School, with a current yearly tuition of $21,350 for residents ($40,040 for nonresidents), reported 25% fewer applicants in 2012 than the prior year, according to its stats.

The average in-state tuition for public law schools in the United States in 1993 was $4,418, $9,763 for nonresidents.

The average tuition for private U.S. law schools in 1993 (20 years ago) was $14,828, according to the American Bar Association.

Quotable: “We are doggy paddling in a competitive swim race for justice.”

Daniel Stiller, head federal public defender at Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin, with offices in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Madison. In an April interview with legal writer Joe Forward, Stiller explains that his agency was forced to lay off 22% of its workforce in late March because of federal spending cuts known as “sequestration.”

webXtras: For more, read “Sequester Saps Wisconsin’s Federal Defender, District Courts Tighten Belts,” April 17 WisBar InsideTrack.