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Vol. 71, No. 2, February
1998
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).
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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.
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