The court staked out no new legal ground in its opinions last week, so I’ll just briefly describe a case that nicely illustrates a classic problem in evidence law. Based on information provided by a confidential informant, Milwaukee police stopped a Ford Excursion on suspicion of drug activity. Inside were Marc Cannon (the driver), David Harris (Cannon’s cousin), $8,900 in cash (found in Harris’s pockets), and a brick of cocaine. The cash pointed to Harris’s likely involvement in the drug-dealing operation, but, without more, the evidence still seems short of beyond a reasonable doubt.
At trial, the government thus relied heavily on the testimony of the confidential informant, Anderson, who recounted a series of interactions with Cannon and Harris. Perhaps most damaging to Harris was testimony that Cannon told Anderson that his cousin was coming to Milwaukee with a signficant amount of cocaine. This testimony, of course, was hearsay: Cannon himself did not testify, and Harris had no ability to cross-examine him. In order to overcome the hearsay problem, the government relied on the exception for statements by co-conspirators. But this required the government to prove that Cannon and Harris were ... Read more..
Archive for October, 2009
At the beginning of this semester, I proposed that the law school host a conference on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Dean Kearney lent his support and we were fortunate enough to obtain the co-sponsorship of the Appellate Practice section of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
So yesterday we hosted a sold out gathering of over 100 lawyers for “Conference on the Wisconsin Supreme Court: Review and Preview.” Our meeting began with a plenary panel discussing the question of judicial recusal predicated on campaign contributions and speech. The discussion was moderated by the Hon. Diane Sykes (L’84) of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the panelists included Attorney Robert Henak (who has filed motions to recuse Justice Michael Gableman is connection with certain campaign ads and support), along with our own Chad Oldfather and me. Much of the discussion focused on the implications of the recent decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. and the recent consideration by the Wisconsin Supreme Court of competing rules on recusal.
This discussion was followed with breakout panels discussing business and criminal law cases, respectively. ... Read more..
Married couples often butt heads when it comes to finances – and it is sometimes even cause for divorce.
However, according to a report from Rediff Business News, the recession that is causing the world to tighten its belt may also be causing feuding couples to wait it out and not file for that divorce just yet.
Employment rates have fallen, salaries have gotten cut and it’s having an effect on more than just our pocketbooks. It seems that since money isn’t flowing as freely as it was a few years ago, couples are thinking twice before putting lots of dollars into a divorce.
Divorce lawyers have reported a decrease in the number of divorce cases they see each month. Though it may be unpleasant for separated or estranged couples to remain connected via a marriage license, it seems like a financially responsible thing to do.
Read more..
Several months ago I blogged about the situation of Liberians who fled their country for the United States (but who did not receive official status as refugees) and who have lived here for years in a “temporary” status, while it remained unsafe to return to Liberia. As I explained in those posts, these US residents face yearly the prospect of deportation to Liberia, unless Congress acts to pass legislation allowing them to stay permanently. Last year the crisis was once again temporarily resolved by President Obama’s one-year extension of protection. It’s unclear whether any permanent status for this group is on the horizon, as legislation on the issue seems to be, at this time, stalled in committee in both the Senate and theHouse, so I may be posting about this again next spring.
Anyway, if you followed those posts with any interest, or if you are generally interested in the experience of refugees, then you may want to review the recently-released report from The Advocates for Human Rights, entitled A House with Two Rooms: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia Diaspora ... Read more..
Several months ago I blogged about the situation of Liberians who fled their country for the United States (but who did not receive official status as refugees) and who have lived here for years in a “temporary” status, while it remained unsafe to return to Liberia. As I explained in those posts, these US residents face yearly the prospect of deportation to Liberia, unless Congress acts to pass legislation allowing them to stay permanently. Last year the crisis was once again temporarily resolved by President Obama’s one-year extension of protection. It’s unclear whether any permanent status for this group is on the horizon, as legislation on the issue seems to be, at this time, stalled in committee in both the Senate and theHouse, so I may be posting about this again next spring.
Anyway, if you followed those posts with any interest, or if you are generally interested in the experience of refugees, then you may want to review the recently-released report from The Advocates for Human Rights, entitled A House with Two Rooms: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia Diaspora ... Read more..
