Wisconsin State Law Library

What's New - Lisa Winkler

WSLL's Holiday Open House

Join us for our annual Holiday Open House on December 18th from 3-4:30 pm in the Reading Room. We will provide games, refreshments, and abundant cheer to keep away the winter chill. Come for the punch, stay for the company.

This year's mitten and hat theme anticipates our upcoming Helping Warm Hearts and Hands donation drive benefiting Community Action Coalition (CAC). Starting at our holiday event, the State Law Library will be accepting donated mittens, hats, and scarves. Items of all sizes for adults and children are welcome through January 16, 2015. All donations will be taken to the CAC for distribution to children, men, and women in our community who need appropriate winter wear. We encourage you to bring new materials with you when you come for the festivities and leave behind the gift of warmth.

Upcoming Classes

We have one more class before 2014 ends. Spaces are still open if you register now!

Learn how to access Wisconsin Appellate Briefs on the UW Law Library's website and WSCCA. This webinar is an introduction to searching for Wisconsin Appellate Briefs available for free on the Internet. 1 CLE credit.

Wisconsin Briefs Online
Wednesday, December 10, noon - 1 p.m. Location: webinar ($35) Register now.

In 2015, classes through the Milwaukee Legal Resource Center will be held on the second Tuesday of each month. Check our class schedule for new sessions.

After Hours Library Access: Sign Up or Renew for 2015

The Wisconsin State Law Library offers an After Hours Service to any attorney licensed to practice in this state. For only $80 per year you will have access to the library's print and microform materials, public access computer stations and Wi-Fi. This includes WestlawNext, Hein Online, and electronic Wisconsin Jury Instructions. You can also make photocopies or check out books you would like to take back to your office. Extend the hours you may visit the library and do your research when it is most convenient for you.

First time registration and renewal forms are online. Print and submit with payment by mail to:

After Hours Service
Wisconsin State Law Library
P.O. Box 7881
Madison, WI  53707-7881

For more information, contact Tammy Keller, Program Assistant, at 608-261-7553, 800-322-9755, or tammy.keller@wicourts.gov.

Libraries Closed for Holidays

The Wisconsin State Law Library, Milwaukee and Dane County Legal Resource Centers will be closed on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1 in observance of the Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day state holidays.

Call the Reference Desk at 608-267-9696 and leave a voice message, or Ask a Librarian online, even though we are closed. We will respond to you the next business day.

50th Anniversary Judicial Education Conference

Julie Tessmer, State Law Librarian, and Lisa Winkler, Outreach Services Librarian, attended the Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference in Appleton, Wisconsin. This event, held on Nov. 19-21, marked the 50th anniversary of what has become exemplary continuing legal education for the Wisconsin judiciary. Lisa Winkler was on hand to meet the nearly 350 attendees, discuss library services to judges, and demonstrate selected online resources.

Program highlights include Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson's State of the Judiciary Address 2014 and a compelling presentation by Douglas Marlowe, Chief of Science, Policy and Law at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, on scientific findings about the judge's role in drug courts.

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This Just In... - Pete Boll

New Edition! Discovery Practice, 6th ed., by David F. Herr, and Roger S. Haydock.
Wolters Kluwer, 2015
WSLL Call Number: KF8900.H42 D55

In addition to updated content, this latest 6th edition also features a change in format from a loose-leaf binder to a soft cover bound volume. Discovery Practice provides both substantive and strategic guidance on discovery rules, procedures, and tactics including the scope of discovery, privileges, depositions, interrogatories, document production, and enforcement of discovery rights.

Highlights of the 6th edition include:

• Expanded discussion of e-discovery issues
• New sections on dissemination of discovery information and preservation requirements
• New case law on protective order provisions and confidentiality
• Evolutionary changes to Rule 30(b)(6) depositions and changes to deposition answers

New Edition! Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, 2nd edition, by Michael B. Gerrard and Jody Freeman, editors.
American Bar Association, 2014
WSLL Call Number: KF 3775 .G58 2014

A vast body of U.S. law relevant to climate change has developed since publication of the first edition of Global Climate Change and U.S. Law in 2007, even while Congress has failed to pass a new statute to address the climate challenge. This emerging area of domestic law, covered comprehensively in this updated volume, consists of federal greenhouse gas regulations issued under the Clean Air Act, federal energy efficiency statutes, new disclosure requirements imposed under the securities laws, as well as a variety of state and local initiatives and common law decisions by the courts.

Recognizing that climate change is largely an energy problem, this edition adds a brand new section on energy regulation. Additional chapters now cover cap-and-trade regimes, climate-related water issues, agriculture and forestry, and the use of non-climate international agreements to reduce emissions and address climate impacts. The final new section focuses on issues previously seen as marginal but now of growing importance: climate adaptation, carbon capture and sequestration, and geoengineering.

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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Tech Tip in Brief - Heidi Yelk

Tech Tips for Jury Persuasion

Technology is well integrated into our daily lives. It's not surprising that its use in the courtroom has become a must. Here is a brief list of tips on using technology to reach the jury. Each tip is gathered from articles available through the Wisconsin State Law Library. In keeping with the technology theme, I've noted which of the library's electronic databases carry the article.

• Know how to use the technology
  ("Seven Rules for Using Technology" by Daniel J. Siegel, Trial, Oct. 2014, p. 52; available via LegalTrac)
• Integrate technology into trial preparation
  If visual presentations, such as timelines, help the jury retain and clarify information, the same should be true for the lawyers working on the case. Also, using the technology during trial preparation helps lawyers become experts at its use. ("Trial Presentation Technology" by Brett Burney, GP Solo, June 2009, available via LegalTrac)
• Don't let technology distract from the message
  A splashy Prezi show may have the jurors more interested in the software than the argument. ("Tips for Using Tech for Juries, Clients" by Elizabeth Millard, Minnesota Lawyer, June 13, 2013, available via Badgerlink, Regional Business News)
• Don't let the exhibits outshine the witness
  ("Thinking Like Film Director - Sequence Your Exhibits to Focus the Jury," by Donald H. Beskind, Trial, July 2014, available via WestlawNext, free onsite library use only)
• Finally, old school visuals can stand out
  Unlike a chain of PowerPoint slides which disappear after one click, poster board exhibits stay in front of the jury. ("Low-tech Can Work When Solos Get Big Cases" by Will Connaghan, Missouri Lawyers Weekly, June 16, 2008, available via Badgerlink, Regional Business News)

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WSLL Recommends: Wisconsin Collection Law

This monthly column highlights a legal research tool, in print and/or electronic format, that is not freely available on the internet. We hope it will increase your knowledge of sources with which you might already be familiar and help to expand your legal research toolkit.

We are often asked about collection law. To find information we turn to Wisconsin Collection Law, by Robert A. Pasch. In its second edition, Wisconsin Collection Law is volume 12 and 13 of the Wisconsin Practice Series published by Thomson Reuters. It is a comprehensive publication on substantive and procedural law.

Topics include:

• Pre-suit considerations
• Collection regulation
• Consumer credit transactions
• Marital property concerns
• Bulk transfers
• Obtaining a civil or small claims money judgment
• Attachment
• Injunctive relief
• Replevin: non-consumer and consumer
• Judgments and foreign judgments
• Executions and exemptions
• Supplemental proceedings/examination
• Garnishment
• Receivers
• Creditors' actions
• Other collection issues

Sample and mandatory court forms are also included. Volume 13 consists entirely of appendices referring to selected Wisconsin statutes and regulations, commonly used statutes of limitations, and federal acts. Wisconsin Collection Law is available to check out at the State Law Library and our branch libraries in the Milwaukee and Dane County courthouses. It is also available on Westlaw for free in our libraries.

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Odds 'n' Endings - Lisa Winkler

Holiday Treats

Easy and Delicious: 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge
Save time this holiday season by returning to basics. Blissful Basil offers a fast solution for those looking to minimize their time in the kitchen, and the grocery store.

Timelessly Modern: Ultimate Sugar Cookies
Tried and true, the sugar cookie never seems to get old. Add a fun twist to a holiday staple by adding Epicurus' royal icing in bold colors.

Simply Irresistible: Slow Cooker Cranberry - Orange Mulled Wine
Kitchen Treaty's seasonal spirit is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser for the adults.

A 1930's Classic: Shirley Temple (non-alcoholic) Cocktails
For the kids, or the kid-at-heart.

Image source: Slow Cooker Cranberry - Orange Mulled Wine

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