News Briefs
Wisconsin's sesquicentennial to celebrate
legal history
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a long list of special events and
publications planned in celebration of our state's 150th birthday.
"We are proud of Wisconsin's progressive heritage, which is boldly
reflected in our legal history," says Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice
Shirley Abrahamson. "Wisconsin courts, for example, have defied the
federal government's stand on slavery and strengthened worker's
compensation rights. Our sesquicentennial activities are designed to
help us remember our past; to remind us of where we come from as we make
plans for where we are going."
To commemorate the state's sesquicentennial, the Wisconsin Supreme
Court plans the following events:
- "Rope of Sand," an original play based on the story of Joshua
Glover and Sherman Booth, one of the most interesting chapters in
the story of our country's struggle with slavery.
The play will be presented at the Madison Civic Center at 1 p.m. and
7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29, with additional shows planned for either
Thursday or Saturday. Tickets are free (there is a limit of four per
person) and can be obtained by writing Rope of Sand, P.O. Box 1688,
Madison, WI 53701-1688. Please specify which performance you wish to
attend.
- A writing contest sponsored by the supreme court in cooperation
with the U.W. and Marquette law schools. Contestants must write an
essay focusing on the importance of law in our lives, how the law has
shaped American society, and how progress and change have shaped the
types of cases the courts handle. The contest is open to all law school
students. An anonymous donor has offered a $1,500 prize for the best
essay.
- A 52-part newspaper series on Wisconsin's legal history
available to media statewide. The articles, written by Madison
attorney Joseph A. Ranney, cover historical cases and events, the
abolition of the death penalty in Wisconsin, the right-to-vote struggle
of Wisconsin's blacks, and more. Ranney's work has been featured in
Wisconsin Magazine of History and Wisconsin Lawyer,
which is now available
on WisBar.
- Fifty-two one-minute spots on Wisconsin history, to air on
public television throughout the year. Produced by Wisconsin Public
Television, several spots will focus on the state's legal history,
including the story of Lavinia Goodell and the Bashford-Barstow
governor's election of 1855.
Wisconsin's historical courthouses are the focus of the State Bar's
sesquicentennial endeavors. This spring, the Wisconsin Lawyer
will contain an article on Wisconsin's historic courthouses; and the
Bar's two TV shows, Law Talk and Wisconsin Forum, will
feature programs on these special sites.
There are many ways local bar associations can get involved in
celebrating our state's sesquicentennial and making this year's Law Day,
May 1, special. The Law Day planning kits, which were mailed in January
to local bar associations and local clerks of court, mark the state's
150th birthday with information on Wisconsin's legal history -
high-profile cases, local courthouses and judges and lawyers from the
earliest days of Wisconsin's statehood to the present. This information
was compiled by the supreme court in an extensive research project and
can help lawyers statewide "become history teachers in their own
communities," as Chief Justice Abrahamson encourages.
For more information on the state supreme court's sesquicentennial
events, call Wisconsin Supreme Court Information Officer Amanda Todd at
(608) 264-6256. For more information on Law Day contact Dee Runaas,
State Bar law-related education coordinator at (608) 250-6191.
A moment in history ...
IN 1852 JOSHUA GLOVER, A FUGITIVE SLAVE, MADE HIS WAY TO
WISCONSIN from Missouri, eventually settling in Racine. When
Glover's owner discovered his whereabouts, he persuaded a U.S. court
commissioner in Milwaukee to issue a warrant for his arrest. When news
of Glover's arrest and imprisonment in the Milwaukee jail reached
Racine, antislavery activists contacted newspaper publisher and
abolitionist Sherman Booth. Booth rode through town, assembling a crowd
and making a speech that he hoped would inspire the group to use legal
and peaceful methods for freeing Glover. However, the crowd broke down
the door to the Milwaukee jail and Glover escaped to Waukesha on the
underground railroad. He eventually settled in Canada.
Booth was arrested for aiding in the escape of a fugitive slave and
was bound over for trial in federal court. What followed was a long,
tangled battle that wound its way through both the state and federal
courts. In the end, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Wisconsin
Supreme Court and found Booth guilty. The state court, however, refused
to file the high court's mandate - and never has.
LAVINIA GOODELL WAS THE FIRST WOMAN ADMITTED TO THE
BAR of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In denying the Rock County
lawyer's application, Chief Justice Edward George Ryan wrote "There are
many employments in life not unfit for the female character. The
profession of the law is surely not one of these." The state Legislature
passed a bill to admit Goodell to the bar shortly thereafter.
IN THE 1855 RACE FOR GOVERNOR BETWEEN WILLIAM
BARSTOW and Coles Bashford, the election returns originally
showed Republican Barstow the winner. It soon was discovered that
Barstow owed his victory to votes from nonexistent precincts. Bashford
asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to step in and declare him the winner.
The two-year-old court had never faced that kind of challenge, and,
despite Barstow's threats and political clout, reviewed the evidence and
declared Bashford governor. This episode illustrates the independence
from politics and political maneuvering that has become the hallmark of
the Wisconsin legal system.
New form makes accommodating court
participants with disabilities easier
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that public
entities, including courts, take appropriate steps to guarantee equal
access to Wisconsin courts and to ensure the equal treatment of all
participants in the system.
The Wisconsin Records Management Committee, which develops forms and
procedures for standardizing the state's courts, has created Form
GF-153, the Accommodations/Interpreter Request Form. The form is
designed to identify persons who will need accommodations in a court
proceeding and to help provide those accommodations in an appropriate
and timely manner.
GF-153 addresses the most often-requested accommodations and offers
the options of requesting other necessary accommodations. The form
currently includes requests for wheelchair space, a foreign language
interpreter, an American Sign Language or other sign language
interpreter, an oral interpreter, real-time (video text) translation, an
assisted-listening device, large print or enlarged materials and breaks
for medical reasons.
The form can be filled out by the person needing the accommodation,
his or her attorney or any other advocate on the person's behalf. It
also can be completed by court staff. The completed form is given to the
court's ADA coordinator, who makes the necessary arrangements.
Charlene Allen of the Office of Court Operations suggests that
attorneys complete and return the form as soon as they are aware of a
client needing special accommodations. "It's much easier to cancel or
reschedule an interpreter, for example, than to find one at the last
minute," Allen says.
Form GF-153 is available at court offices and online
on WisBar, the State Bar of Wisconsin's Web site.
FYI
Participants in the Habitat for Humanity program included family
members and, from Remley & Sensenbrenner S.C.: Wyon Wiegratz (back
row, far left), Sue Sullivan (back row, second from left), Barbara Holly
(back row, middle), Jeff Hanes (back row, third from right) and Jim Rudd
(back row, second from right).
Law firm helps Habitat for Humanity
This past summer, employees of the Fox Valley firm Remley &
Sensenbrenner S.C. worked together with Habitat for Humanity to
landscape the new emergency homeless shelter in Appleton. Attorney Wyon
Wiegratz, who participated in the landscaping, said, "Our firm's mission
statement recognizes our civic responsibility. And while we often make
donations to charities, this just seemed like something we could really
put some sweat equity into and get everyone involved. It feels good to
personally make a difference and we really had a lot of fun."
Dane County updates guardian ad litem list
The Dane County Family Court is updating its Family/Paternity
Guardian Ad Litem list. According to District Court Administrator Gail
Richardson, inclusion on the list is voluntary and only indicates a
willingness to serve as a GAL.
If you are interested in serving as a GAL, you must fill out a
registration form. Forms are available from Richardson at the
City/County Building, Room 319, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.,
Madison, WI 53709. Attorneys currently on the list who wish to remain
must return their registration forms immediately. All forms must be
returned by Feb. 28. For more information, call Gail Richardson at (608)
267-8820.
Know of any unsung heroes?
It is an unfortunate truth that many low- and moderate-income people
lack access to adequate legal representation or legal services. But
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson knows that there are many Wisconsin
lawyers who do everything they can to meet the legal needs of those less
fortunate.
If you know of a lawyer who has assisted someone in need, Chief
Justice Abrahamson wants to hear from you. She uses stories of these
"unsung heroes" in her remarks to new lawyers upon their admission to
the bar.
Send stories to Chief Justice Abrahamson at the Wisconsin Supreme
Court, P.O. Box 1688, Madison, WI 53701; fax them to her at (608)
261-8299; or call her assistants, Susan M. Fieber or Robin Whyte, at
(608) 266-1885.
Wisconsin
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