On Point: B. Construction

Cesar Deleon v. Circuit Court for Brown County, 2012AP278, District 3, 10/10/12 court of appeals decision (1-judge, ineligible for publication); case activity Summary Contempt, §§ 785.01(1)(a), 785.04(2)(b) – “Unit” of Sanctionable Conduct  Separate, consecutive punishments meted out for each of 11 profane utterances and 1 act of spitting during brief exchange with judge upheld, against […]

Heritage Farms, Inc. v. Markel Insurance Company, 2012 WI 26; case activity ¶32  … The word “may” is ordinarily used to grant permission or to indicate possibility.  See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 1112 (3d ed. 1992).  Accordingly, when interpreting a statute, we generally construe the word “may” as permissive.  Hitchcock v. Hitchcock, 78 Wis. 2d 214, 220, 254 N.W.2d 230 (1977); Schmidt […]

State v. Dylan S. / Renee B., 2012 WI App 25 (recommended for publication); for Dylan S.: Devon M. Lee, SPD, Madison Appellate; case activity;  for Renee B.: Susan E. Alesia, SPD, Madison Appellate; case activity Delinquency – Sanctions – Municipal Truancy  After finding the juveniles in violation of  first-offense truancy under the local municipal […]

Madison Metropolitan School District v. Circuit Court for Dane County, 2011 WI 72, affirming summary order; case activity Juvenile Delinquency Disposition – Expelled Student A juvenile delinquency court lacks authority to order a school district to provide educational services to a delinquent whom the district has expelled. ¶5   We conclude: … (2)  A circuit court does not […]

Steven T. Kilian v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 2011 WI 65; case activity Statutory Construction – Legislative Acquiesence ¶30 n. 12: “Legislative failure to act is ordinarily weak evidence of legislative intention to acquiesce in or countenance a judicial or executive branch interpretation. . . . Under proper circumstances, however, inaction by the legislature may be […]

State v. Beverly H., 2011AP536, District 1, 6/21/11 court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); for Beverly H.: Jeffrey W. Jensen; case activity The trial court didn’t err in denying the parent’s request for an adjournment of dispositional hearing, following jury verdict finding grounds to terminate. The court of appeals rejects the argument that § 48.31(7)(a) […]

FCC v. AT&T, USSC No. 09-1279, 3/1/11 The “personal privacy” exemption in the federal Freedom of Information Act doesn’t apply to corporations, though they are considered “persons” under the Act. … Adjectives typically reflect the meaning of corresponding nouns, but not always. Sometimes they acquire distinct meanings of their own. The noun “crab” refers variously […]

Hakim Naseer v. Circuit Court for Grant County, 2010 WI App 142; pro se Mandamus – Generally ¶4        A supervisory writ of mandamus is a mechanism by which a court may compel a public official to perform a legally obligated act. State ex rel. Robins v. Madden, 2009 WI 46, ¶10, 317 Wis. 2d 364, 766 N.W.2d 542. Because a supervisory […]

Dolan v. United States, USSC No. 09-367, 6/14/10 This case concerns the remedy for missing a statutory deadline. The statute in question focuses upon mandatory restitution for victims of crimes. It provides that “the court shall set a date for the final determination of the victim’s losses, not to exceed 90 days after sentencing.” 18 […]

Barber v. Thomas, USSC No. 09-5201, 6/7/10 Credit for good behavior for a federal prisoner is awarded after, rather than before, the fact under 18 U. S. C. §3624(b)(1). Of course, computation of federal sentence credit will ordinarily be a matter of indifference to the state practitioner, but the Court’s discussion of the rule of […]