WSLL @ Your Service August 2025
Contents
Safety in Construction Zones - Kaitlin Alighieri, Library Intern, Madison College Paralegal Program
Summer is well known to Wisconsinites as "construction season." It's important that drivers are aware and familiar with construction zones and the laws and regulations that accompany them. Construction zones can be high-risk areas where accidents are likely to occur. Violations in these zones don't just endanger workers, but they also carry serious consequences for drivers, including doubled fines, points on your license, or in extreme circumstances criminal charges.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has a page that details specific guidelines for driving behaviors in construction zones. Drivers are encouraged to consult WisDot's Work zone safety to familiarize themselves with the laws and safety practices. WisDOT also advises that Wisconsin drivers "know before you go" by checking 511wi.
Key rules and notes for drivers
- Fines for traffic violations in work zones are doubled, regardless of whether workers are present.
- Reduced speed limits are frequently posted in these areas and must be obeyed at all times.
- Wisconsin's "Move Over Law" (Wisconsin Statute§ 346.072) helps keep law enforcement officers, emergency responders, road maintenance workers, and others that work on the highway safe.
- The use of handheld devices is prohibited in work zones per the 2015 Wisconsin Act 308.
Best practices
- Plan ahead: Use resources like 511wi.gov to identify construction zones along your route and give yourself extra travel time.
- Stay focused: Avoid distractions (like mobile devices). Remain alert for changing traffic patterns, lane shifts, workers near the roadway, and changing speed limits.
Safe driving is everyone's responsibility
Wisconsin's roadways see significant construction activity during the summer months, often on the state's busiest highways. While these projects are necessary to maintain and repair our roads, it also requires extra caution from all drivers. Responsible driving through construction zones not only protects lives, but also allows our construction crews to work safely, all year long.
Image source: Adobe Stock
Updated Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instructions in July
The July 2025 release of the Criminal jury instructions are now available at https://wilawlibrary.gov/jury/. The Wisconsin Jury Instructions are created and edited by the Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instructions Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference.
The Criminal instructions feature updated instructions for July 2025. This set was last updated in January 2025.
The printable releases can be downloaded at any time from the "Update releases" page. Blank pages have been inserted to make double sided printing easier. File new, updated, and revised instructions, along with the updated tables and index in your print set. Complete printable files of each instruction set and finding aids are also available for those who need to print a complete set. Download them at https://wilawlibrary.gov/jury
For information on the status of the Committee's work, please contact Bryce Pierson at bryce.pierson@wicourts.gov.
Landlord/Tenant Law Display - Noelle Brasch
The Wisconsin State Law Library has resources for tenants and landlords alike. Stop by the Lavinia Goodell State Law Library this month to browse our display.
In need of a standard lease or check in/check out form? Order online or come in person to purchase from our "Forms for Sale".
In this display
Wisconsin landlord & tenant manual
KFW 2517 .W57 2023
Housing discrimination : law and litigation
KF 5740 .S39 2024
HUD housing programs : tenants' rights
KF 5729 .H83 2025
Renters' rights
KF 590 .Z9 P673 2024
Every tenant's legal guide
KF 590 .Z9 P67 2024
Every landlord's legal guide
KF 590 .Z9 O26 2024
The landlord's companion : a comprehensive handbook of residential landlord-tenant law in Wisconsin
KFW 2517 .P4 2024
Landlord and tenant law in a nutshell
KF 590 .Z9 H45 2011
New Books - Noelle Brasch
New Edition! What's it worth?: a guide to current personal injury awards and settlements, by Eileen Swarbrick
Call number: KF 1257 .W67 2025
Long-running title, What's it worth?, is back with a 2025 update. This reference guide can help when determining the value of a plaintiff's case or evaluating the extent of a client's potential exposure. The chapters are divided by type of injury and then broken down into the following:
- Settlements
- Adequate and inadequate verdicts
- Excessive verdicts
With more than 900 new summaries of decisions and settlements, this book is key for personal injury and settlement related disputes.
New Edition! Social media and the law, by Kathryn Ossian
Call number: KF 390.5 .C6 A176 2025
This resource is a great place to start if you're interested in how the landscape of social media intersects with the legal field. Social media and the law covers the crossover in several areas of law including criminal, IP corporate, employment, and civil litigation. Read this updated edition for developments into the ever-evolving subject.
Topics include:
- Privacy
- Advertising
- Control of content
- Workplace use
- Social media as a vehicle for crime
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.
Tech Tip - Heidi Yelk
Sharing a specific moment in a YouTube video
Many YouTube videos contain a lot of footage to wade through. This is problematic if you want to point a friend or co-worker to a specific point in the video. It's easy to direct people exactly to the moment of interest in the video by using the "share" button.
Locate and click the share button beneath the video on the screen. The share feature will pop up. Then, within the pop-up window, check the box "Start at." Ensure the minute and second is at the correct moment. There are options to share via various platforms (Reddit, Facebook, email, etc.) but you don't have to use these platforms. You can also simply click the "copy" button to copy the direct link to the clipboard. Then, paste that link into whatever method you are using to send the link to another person. You will drop the recipient to the exact point of interest in the video.
Library News - Carol Hassler
What's New on Westlaw
Sign up for our next live webinar, held on Wednesday, August 6, from noon- 1:00 p.m. Register for What's New on Westlaw.
This course will discuss the evolution of legal research engines to incorporate more advanced tools, such as more in-depth editorial tagging of caselaw, Artificial Intelligence and other things. We'll talk about how technology is being used to increase efficiency in legal research, specifically with a focus on the Westlaw Precision platform and CoCounsel.
OLR webinar to focus on managing stress in legal practice
The Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation will host its next Lunch and Learn webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 3, with a focus on how effective practice management can help reduce stress.
Titled "Stress Management Through Better Practice Management," the free session runs from noon to 1:00 p.m.
Christopher Shattuck, J.D., M.B.A., an educator and former managing attorney and practice management advisor, will lead the program. He'll share strategies for managing billable hours, setting boundaries, and improving client communication with the aim of creating a more manageable workload and healthier work-life balance.
More details and registration information will be posted on the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation's LinkedIn page.
OLR Ethics School
Coming to a location near you! OLR staff will be presenting a discussion on the Rules of Professional Conduct relating to the following topics:
- OLR procedures and an overview of SCR Chapter 22
- Connections between communication and other ethical obligations under the SCRs, including communicating with clients, staff and third parties
- Disciplinary sanctions: rules and precedent
- Read the flyer for dates, times, locations and additional information.
Fill out and send in the registration form to sign up.
Libraries closed for holiday
All three libraries will be closed on Monday, September 1 in observance of the Labor Day state holiday. Send questions and requests to wsll.ref@wicourts.gov or leave a message at 608-267-9696. We'll get back to you on Tuesday, September 2nd.
Legal writing and trial briefs
Librarian Carol Hassler shared tips for researching trial briefs, and finding books to help with legal writing in a recent InsideTrack article, Research 101: Legal Writing and Trial Briefs. An effective trial brief provides a succinct overview of a motion's merits and can summarize an entire case. Get tips to help you find sample trial briefs and understand where to go to hone your persuasive writing skills.
August Snapshot
Lafayette County Courthouse
Photo by Paula Maciolek
The face of the Lafayette County courthouse gleams after an evening rainfall. Located in Darlington, Wisconsin, the Lafayette County courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1905, the courthouse is the second erected for the county in this location (the first was built there in 1861). Wisconsin's summary of the building describes it as being constructed of buff limestone, with a classical balustrade and a tall staged cupola, and features many beautifully preserved classical details. In the pediment, a sculpture of Matthew Murphy commemorates how the building was funded. The National Register listing describes the unusual funding for the courthouse:
"During the Civil War a fund had been raised by subscription to provide for widows and others affected by the conflict. It was placed in trust with a commission of county citizens, but was never used. When the federal government assumed care of the war's victims, the fund was not needed for its original purpose. An attempt to return the funds to the original subscribers proved impossible. Later in the century, many of the original trustees died, leaving the fund in the hands of Matthew Murphy of New Diggings. A cautious investor, Murphy shepherded the fund through the balance of the century, but became concerned that it be used before his death. He determined to use the fund to build a needed courthouse for his county, and added to it personal funds of his own. (No breakdown between the amount of trust funds and Murphy's personal funds is available.) The building's cornerstone credits Murphy with "giving" the building to the county, and in many ways this is true. He husbanded the trust to provide for this building, and then made up the shortfall to equal the $136,500 needed finally to build the structure."
Moviegoers may recognize the courthouse from "Public Enemies," where it was used to film the courtroom scene.
We are accepting snapshots! Do you have a photo highlighting libraries, attractions or points of historical interest? Send your photo the editor at carol.hassler@wicourts.gov to be included in a future issue.
