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Court schedules
hearing re Office of Lawyer Regulation, seeks volunteers for investigative
committees
![Keith L. Sellen]() |
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Keith Sellen
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When the Wisconsin Supreme Court established the new lawyer regulation
system last fall, it began accepting comments to improve the new system.
Almost a year later, the components are in place and training is complete;
however, district investigative committees are in need of public and lawyer
involvement.
"With the implementation of any new program, there is a need to assess
progress and to make necessary adjustments," said Director Keith L. Sellen,
Office of Lawyer Regulation
(OLR). "While the basic structure and procedures of the new lawyer regulation
system are sound, some adjustments are required to update references to
the new system in other rules, to clarify specific authorities and responsibilities
under the rules, and to make improvements based on the first year of experience."
The court will consider three petitions relating to the lawyer
regulation system in September.
The court seeks comments on these petitions and on Supreme Court Rules
chapters 21 and 22. Written comments may be submitted by Aug. 31 to Cornelia
Clark, Clerk of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, P.O. Box 1688, Madison, WI
53701-1688. The court will hold a public hearing in the Supreme Court
Room in the State Capitol at 9 a.m. on Sept. 20.
District Investigative Committees. District investigative committees
are an important part of the OLR system, making the initial investigation
and recommendations in grievance matters. "The district investigative
committees are in desperate need of public applicants for 2001 in districts
4, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 16," says Appointment Selection Committee cochair
Michelle Behnke. "Nominations and, hence, appointments for these districts
are not complete for terms that were to begin Jan. 1, 2001. Public members
from all walks of life are eligible to apply, but we especially need public
applicants who are active in their communities and willing to participate
in public service."
"While the most pressing need is for public members in the districts
mentioned above, we need both lawyer and public applicants for all districts
for 2002," added Behnke. Lawyers must have at least five years of practice
experience and no record of public discipline.
Send a letter of interest and/or resume to: Appointment Selection Committee,
c / o Cornelia Clark at the address listed above, fax to Clark's attention
at (608) 267-0980, or email cornelia.clark@courts.state.wi.us.
For more information about the role of district investigative committees
and the OLR, visit www.wisbar.org/newscenter/disc.html.
Seminar
examines how the Bill of Rights affects our daily lives
Well beyond its 200th anniversary, the Bill of Rights remains the cornerstone
of the rights, privileges, and freedoms upon which all citizens depend.
Attend the "Private Rights, Public Good: The Bill of Rights in Our Lives"
seminar on Oct. 12 - 13 at the Midwest Express Center in Milwaukee. This
two-day forum will focus on heightening your awareness of the Bill of
Rights and how it affects our lives today.
Sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters with
support from the State Bar Law-related Education Committee, presenters
will examine the Bill of Rights through the use of timely, interrelated
themes including the drug war, free speech, privacy, and property rights.
Keynote speakers include U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner,
Wall Street Journal editor John Fund, and Wisconsin Chief Justice Shirley
Abrahamson.
For more information, visit www.wisconsinacademy.org/fallforum,
call Michael Goodman, at (608) 263-1692, or email conference@wisconsinacademy.org.
U.S. Senate designates National Court Reporting & Captioning
Day
The U.S. Senate designated Aug. 3 as "National Court Reporting and Captioning
Day" in honor of the individuals who preserve our nation's history as
the true guardians of the record. By passing this resolution, the Senate
also recognizes the pressing need for more closed captioners to fulfill
the requirements of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and provide communication
access to hard-of-hearing people.
Court helps
youth take responsibility for municipal violations
By bringing the court into the community, Milwaukee Municipal Court is
giving young offenders a new opportunity to deal with outstanding warrants
and suspensions to resolve their violations and avoid arrest.
In a pilot project designed to make the court experience less threatening,
Milwaukee municipal judges are hearing juvenile cases on a rotating schedule
on select evenings at Journey House, a social service agency that provides
youth and family programs.
Juveniles who commit municipal violations - like disorderly conduct or
loitering in schools, fights, truancy, curfew violations, and retail thefts
- usually must participate in community service or pay a civil forfeiture.
"We have ten thousand outstanding warrants for juveniles," according
to Hon. Vincent Bobot. "These young people get tickets and respond by
throwing them away. When that happens, they are subject to arrest. We
want them to take responsibility and take care of those citations before
that point."
Bobot explained that the community sentence provides a positive way
to pay the community back for the violation and create a meaningful experience
that puts young people in touch with positive roles models, adult and
young adult volunteers.
 ABA
policy relieves legal barriers to pain management for patients
Recent studies show that despite the availability of effective drugs,
doctors often do not treat pain adequately because, among other reasons,
they fear legal complications. To address this problem, the ABA adopted
a policy in 2000 to urge the removal of legal barriers to quality pain
management. Resources are available through the ABA's Division for Media
Relations and Communications Services. For information, contact Tina Lanier
at (202) 662-1792 or tlanier@staff.abanet.org.
Women in
the legal profession underrepresented
Although they account for nearly 30 percent of all lawyers and are on
the brink of becoming the majority of entering law students this fall,
women remain significantly underrepresented in positions of status, influence,
and economic rewards in the legal profession. This is the conclusion of
a report published this year by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.
The Unfinished Agenda: Women and the Legal Profession examines a range
of issues including the unique challenges facing minority women lawyers,
"family friendly" schedules, and work-life balance. To view the report,
visit www.abanet.org/women,
or contact JoEllen Zacks at (312) 988-6141 or zacksj@staff.abanet.org.
Need help using MS Word?
For a free Microsoft® Word® Legal User's Guide, visit http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/legal.
This legal user's guide contains step-by-step instructions to build legal
documents in Microsoft Word 97 or Microsoft Word 2000.
Chapters focus on basic formatting; legal numbering; understanding styles;
sections, section breaks, and headers-footers; complex legal documents;
tables in the legal environment; tracking changes; troubleshooting; and
document corruption.
No copyright restrictions apply; the guide can be printed and copied.
Statute
changes passport issuance for children
Effective July 2, any person applying for a U.S. passport on behalf of
a child under age 14 must demonstrate that both parents consent to the
issuance of a passport or that the applying parent has sole authority
to obtain one. If the second parent is unable to appear when the passport
application is filed, the applying parent may provide the absent parent's
written statement of consent. The new requirement lessens the possibility
that a U.S. passport might be obtained to further an international parental
child abduction.
In 1999, as part of the FY 2000 and 2001 Foreign Relations Authorization
Act, P.L. 106-113, Congress enacted Section 236, Issuance of Passports
for Children Under Age 14. On June 4, 2001, the Department of State published
as a final rule (66 FR 29904), the regulation implementing this program.
The statute does not provide for notification of the nonapplying parent
when a passport application is filed, nor does it apply to the passport
applications of children over age 14. Parents and their attorneys who
are concerned that a child under age 18 may become the victim of an international
parental child abduction should request that the child's name be included
in the passport name check system through the State Department's Children's
Passport Issuance Alert Program. This program may be reached at (202)
663-2613 or fax (202) 663-2674. Send written communications to: Office
of Children's Issues, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State,
2401 E Street NW, Suite L127, Washington, DC 20524.
For more information about the two-parent consent requirement, contact
Sharon Palmer-Royston, chief, Passport Legal, at (202) 663-2430, or Consuelo
Pachon, attorney adviser, at (202) 663-2431.
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