Wisconsin State Law Library

What's New – Connie Von Der Heide

Staff News

The Milwaukee Legal Resource Center bids a fond farewell to Kellee Selden-Huston, Library Assistant, who has accepted a position with several Milwaukee medical institutions to train physicians in using the EPIC electronic medical records system, while she also continues working toward her master's degree in medical informatics. Best wishes, Kellee! To fill that vacancy, the MLRC has hired Nick Becht, who graduated from Marquette Law School in 2010 and has been working at the family law clinic in the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Nick will continue at the family law clinic part time, and he also volunteers at the AIDS Resource Center. Welcome, Nick!

Danielle Niles recently left her position as WSLL Library Assistant in the Wisconsin Briefs collection, and we wish her the very best as she continues her studies. Our new Library Assistant is Andy Lang, who is a 2L at the University of Wisconsin Law School and is also beginning a master's program this fall in the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies. Andy plans to pursue a career as a law librarian, and he already has experience working with special collections as a volunteer at both the Neenah (Wis.) Historical Society and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Welcome, Andy!

Need a State Law Library card?

In the library world, the month of September is traditionally known as Library Card Signup Month. If you’re eligible for borrowing privileges at the State Law Library, you may request a State Law Library card at any time, either in person or by submitting our convenient online library card request form, so why not do it today? And, with a State Law Library card you can not only check out books, but also access our LegalTrac and HeinOnline journal databases from your own PC or other internet-equipped device.

The State Law Library extends borrowing privileges to Wisconsin judges and court staff, private-practice attorneys and their support staff as authorized, and government employees.

Upcoming classes

The Wisconsin Legislature Website
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 9:00-10:00 a.m., State Law Library Training Room

In this hands-on overview of the Legislature's site you'll learn how to track legislative activity, locate bills and acts, and search the online Wisconsin Statutes. You'll also learn about the Legislative Notification Service, and where to find publications of the various Legislative Service Agencies. For additional information and to print out the registration form, please visit our Classes webpage.

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This Just In… – Pete Boll

New Title! Discretionary Justice: Inside A Juvenile Drug Court, by Leslie Paik.
Rutgers University Press, 2011.
WSLL Call Number KF 3890.D7 P35 2011

Sociology professor Leslie Paik examines in depth the juvenile drug court and its ideological premises of accountability and therapeutic jurisprudence. Her goal is to aid the academic community and judicial system in understanding drug courts from both the practical policy view and the broader sociological perspective. Paik attempts to direct readers to a new perspective about the unintended consequences of problem solving courts and cautions against hastily implementing any reform that appears to work. She also hopes to show that debunking policy reforms is not a helpful approach to rectifying the social inequalities created by the contemporary justice system.

New Edition! Wisconsin Civil Procedure Before Trial, 4th edition. Advisors Thomas M. Pyper, Susan R. Steingass; Authors Thomas B. Aquino, et. al.
State Bar of Wisconsin, 2012.
WSLL Call Number KFW 2937 .W56 C52

This two volume practice guide serves as a resource for addressing pre-trial decisions and procedures which must be considered in any civil law matter. The new 4th edition integrates all the legal developments discussed in the 2008-2011 supplements. Highlights include:

• The Wisconsin Legislature created WI Statute chapter 814.045, which governs the determination of the reasonableness of attorney fees in most fee-shifting situations.
• The interest rate under WI Statute chapter 807.01(4) has changed.
• In 2011, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Casper v. American International South Insurance Co., 2011 WI 81, 336 Wis. 2d 267, 800 N.W. 2d 880, determined from the history of legislative enactments that the direct-action statute applied to any insurance policy, regardless of where the policy was issued or delivered, so long as the accident or injury involved occurs within Wisconsin. This decision overturned Kenison v. Wellington Ins. Co., 218 Wis 2d 700, 582 N.W. 2d 69 (Ct. App. 1998).
• A 2011 Wisconsin Court of Appeals case held that service of an unsigned but authenticated summons and complaint is merely a technical defect, not a fundamental defect that would deprive the court of personal jurisdiction. Mahoney v. Menard, 2011 WI APP 128, 337 Wis. 2d 170, 805 N.W. 2d 728.

See our latest New Titles list for a list of new books and other resources.

For assistance in accessing these or other resources, please contact our Reference Desk.

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Start Here: Where to Begin Your Research – Amy Crowder

Have you ever wondered how to begin your research? Perhaps you're a law clerk and have been assigned to research a topic of law and don't know where to start. Or, perhaps you are an attorney working in a less than familiar area of law. The State Law Library has created and recently updated several Start Here guides that provide a path to the resources you'll need for your research.

Covering topics such as tax law, products liability, landlord/tenant, foreclosure, estate planning, depositions, credit/debt and agricultural law, our Start Here guides provide access to content information and call numbers for key titles in the State Law Library's collection. The guides are all available (for free!) under the Learning Center section of the library's website.

If we don't provide a Start Here guide for the topic you're researching, please be sure to ask one of our reference librarians. We'll assist you with finding an information source to at least help you begin. And who knows, your question might be the spark for a new Start Here guide!

Next month we'll feature a new Start Here series on employment law, so stay tuned!

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Tech Tip in Brief – Heidi Yelk

The Lowdown on Downloads

There are many ways to discover new downloads, popular apps, and helpful plug-ins. Two I would recommend are the download sections of PCWorld.com and CNET.com. These sites are useful to explore when you're not quite sure what's available or want to know what's new. They're also trusted resources that have tested and reviewed most of the downloads they list.

Start with a page like this one from CNET.com that lists download rankings of browsers and browser tools. These charts are more than just a popularity ranking of the most downloaded tools - they also link to reviews and user comments. You can focus on a particular operating system or device type by using the sort function along the top of the page:

Or, change the category using the sidebar on the left side of the screen:

Other examples of CNET download pages include new releases for iTunes and iPod, best apps for Windows, and Top Rated / Editor's Picks.

PCWorld offers a similar array of downloads. As with CNET, users can read professional reviews and user experiences. The AppGuide provides many great suggestions – both recreational and functional – with a nice arrangement of categories on the left side of the screen.

PCWorld's dropdown menu sorting tool is a bit smoother than CNET's sorting feature, and it appears to cover a wider range of operating systems.

Whether you'd like to try a new browser or find plug-ins, scheduling tools, phone apps and more, it's worth reviewing the collections at both PCworld and CNET.

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WSLL Recommends: BNA Human Resources Library

The Bloomberg BNA Human Resources Library is a one stop shop for information on many important human resource (HR) and employment law topics. The online database provides news, analysis, tools, and research aids to help find and understand the various and complex federal and state employment laws and regulations.

Examples of the types of information you'll find and how it is organized include:

• HR Topic Navigator
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Rights in the Nonunion Workplace
• State Law Summaries and Quick Reference Charts
• HR Policy Handbook
• Attorney Resources
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Compliance Analysis

This valuable source of HR related information is only available to on-site users at the State Law Library, Milwaukee Legal Resource Center, and Dane County Legal Resource Center. Please ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.

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Odds 'n' Endings – Julie Tessmer

Wisconsin's First Presidential Candidate

Representative Paul Ryan of Janesville was recently named the Republican Vice Presidential nominee - but was he the first Wisconsin son to hold that title? Maybe. The Wisconsin State Historical Society did some research on other potential Wisconsin nominees for president or vice president, and they came up with the rather odd story of a Milwaukee attorney. Isaac P. Walker was an "almost" nominee for president in 1850. To read more about the twists and turns of his political career, visit the Odd Wisconsin Archive.

Notables for September

3 - Labor Day was declared a U.S. national holiday by Congress in 1894.

6 - Kate Kane Rossi was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1878. Rossi, born in 1854, was only the second female lawyer in the state of Wisconsin. (Source: This Day in Wisconsin History)

7 – Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson was sworn in as Wisconsin's first woman Supreme Court Justice in 1976.

11 – Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold E. Hallows died in 1974. (Source: This Day in Wisconsin History)

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