By the Numbers
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The number of attorneys general, including Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul, who urged a Tennessee court last month “to enforce orders that require TikTok to comply with an ongoing multistate consumer protection investigation and to preserve and produce relevant evidence,” according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice (WisDOJ) in a statement released last month.

The investigation, which began in 2022, delves into whether TikTok has fueled a mental health crisis in children through consumer protection violations, including features that addict children to the platform.

After Tennessee sought to compel TikTok to comply with investigatory requests last year, 46 states filed an amicus brief supporting Tennessee’s position, but TikTok failed to comply.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed separate lawsuits against TikTok last month, alleging the social media platform damages young users’ mental health and collects their data without consent.

Last year, Wisconsin and 41 other states sued Meta Platforms Inc. in state and federal courts, “alleging that the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and its other social media platforms that purposefully addict children and teens,” according to WisDOJ. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram.

Sources: Associated Press, NBC News, WisDOJ.

On the Radar
CLE Reporting Deadlines Fast Approaching

“Active” lawyers admitted to practice law in Wisconsin must obtain at least 30 continuing legal education (CLE) credits every two years. “Senior active” members (75 years or older) must obtain and report at least 15 credit hours.

At least three of those credits must be on ethics and professional responsibility (EPR). If you were admitted to practice law in an even-numbered year, the reporting period technically ends on Dec. 31, 2024.

The rules grant an additional month to obtain and report CLE activity for the reporting period. That is, to avoid a late filing fee or other penalties, 2023-24 courses must be completed by Jan. 31, 2025, and CLE reports must be submitted electronically to the Board of Bar Examiners (BBE) on or before Feb. 1, 2025.

There are some exemptions. For more information, visit the CLE page at wicourts.gov or check out “The Wisconsin Lawyer’s Guide to Earning, Tracking, and Reporting CLE,” published Nov. 6, 2024, in WisBar Inside Track.

Out There
Judge Disciplined for TikTok Videos

The New Jersey Supreme Court reprimanded a circuit court judge in October for posting videos of himself lip-syncing songs on TikTok.

The ethics complaint against him “took issue with the lyrics that he lip-synced and some of the locations that were backdrop – his chambers, the courthouse and his bed,” according to the ABA Journal.

The judge, a Harvard Law School graduate and former federal prosecutor, also donned his judicial robe in some of the videos.

He received a three-month unpaid suspension for violating ethics rules that require judges “to observe high standards of integrity, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and to conduct extrajudicial activities in a way that does not demean the judicial office,” according to the ABA Journal’s report.

From the Archives
State of the Judiciary: 50 Years Ago

Chief Justice Annette Ziegler will be giving the State of the Wisconsin Judiciary Address this month, at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference (Nov. 13-15). She’ll highlight the work of the Wisconsin judiciary and the priorities ahead.

Fifty years ago, in 1974, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Horace W. Wilkie – stepping in for Chief Justice Harold Hallows, who had been diagnosed with acute leukemia – gave the State of the Judiciary Address at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference.

Justice Wilkie highlighted the court’s case backlog and advocated for the creation of an intermediate appeals court (which occurred four years later). He noted that just a year prior, in 1973, the court adopted the rules of evidence – now codified at Wis. Stat. chapters 901-911.

And he praised the work of the Wisconsin judiciary. “Wisconsin has for many, many years been blessed with one of the finest judicial systems in the whole country,” he said. “Wisconsin has had an excellent judiciary and still does because we have constantly worked on improving that system and on improving the quality of justice achieved by it.”

Source: Wisconsin Bar Bulletin, Vol. 47 (1974)

Good Idea?
California Nixes Artificial Intelligence Safety Bill

California would have been the first state to impose “safety testing” on artificial intelligence (AI) companies, but last month California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill. According to the New York Times, the bill would have “required safety testing of large A.I. systems, or models, before their release to the public.”

The bill also would have given the attorney general the right to sue companies if the AI systems caused harm.

Other states, including Wisconsin, have enacted laws to regulate AI specific to political advertisements.

A new Wisconsin law enacted in March 2024 (2023 Wis. Act 123), “requires disclosure if certain types of political advertisements incorporate audio or video content that is substantially produced in whole or in part by means of generative artificial intelligence (AI)” according to a Wisconsin Legislative Council memo.

“Under the act, any audio and video communication using AI that contains express advocacy, issue advocacy, or supports or opposes a referendum must include a disclosure that identifies the use of AI in the communication.”