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Recent Blog Posts
Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety and Accident Prevention
As the weather begins to warm up in the spring and summer months, more and more motorcycles will be appearing on Wisconsin’s roads. Unfortunately, while motorcyclists have the same rights on the road as other vehicles, they are much more likely to be seriously injured in a collision. In fact, around 2,000 motorcyclists are injured and dozens of cyclists and their passengers are killed in motorcycle accidents in Wisconsin every year. In order to protect the safety of everyone who uses the road, both cyclists and drivers of other vehicles should practice the following safety tips:
Safety Tips for Cyclists
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Wear a helmet. While Wisconsin law only requires helmets for motorcyclists or passengers who are under the age of 18, it is highly recommended for everyone to wear a full-coverage helmet, which can greatly reduce the possibility of brain injuries.
Planning for Your Business's Future: What Are Shareholder Agreements?
Starting a new business is an exciting time. Business owners put a great deal of thought into their plans for their company, and setting those plans into motion can be immensely satisfying. However, decisions made at the beginning of a business venture can greatly impact a business’s future. Therefore, it is important for business partners to plan for the future and ensure that their rights are protected. One way to do so is through a shareholder agreement. Furthermore, having this type of agreement in place can help safeguard against future commercial litigation if disputes should ever arise between partners.
What Should be Included in a Shareholder Agreement?
A shareholder agreement, also known as an operating agreement, is a contract between the people who have an ownership interest in a company. The agreement outlines the shareholders’ rights and ensures that each person’s interests are protected. Moreover, the agreement may additionally describe how certain types of disputes will be resolved if they should arise in the future.
Computer Crimes: What is Hacking?
In today’s digital world, we spend a great deal of time using computers and communicating with others on the Internet. Due to the increased importance of electronic communication, law enforcement organizations are cracking down on computer crimes (also referred to as cyber crimes or hacking). However, many people may not realize that they have committed any illegal acts, so it is important to understand what is considered a computer crime and the possible penalties that an alleged hacker may face.
Wisconsin Computer Crimes
Under Wisconsin law, computer crimes fall into two categories:
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Offenses against computer data and programs: it is illegal to access, modify, copy, or destroy data or computer programs without authorization or to provide passwords or information to people who are not authorized to have them.
How Domestic Violence Can Affect the Divorce Process in Wisconsin
Divorce is rarely an easy or simple process, but it can become much more complicated when domestic violence is a factor. In these cases, it is incredibly important for victims to receive the protection they need. In Wisconsin, domestic violence can affect the divorce process in the several ways.
Restraining Orders
A victim of domestic violence who plans to divorce his or her abuser may receive protection through a domestic abuse restraining order. Wisconsin law defines domestic abuse as the threat or infliction of harm or physical injury by one adult to another when the adults are members of the same household, are former spouses, or have a child together. Stalking and damaging personal property are also forms of domestic abuse.
A victim of domestic abuse may file a petition to request a restraining order that will prohibit the alleged abuser from committing any further acts of domestic abuse, order him or her to stay away from the petitioner’s residence and avoid contacting him or her, and any other restrictions that the court deems necessary. Typically, a temporary restraining order will be issued, and this order will be in effect for up to two weeks. Within 14 days of the issuance of a temporary restraining order, a hearing will be held to determine whether a permanent injunction is necessary. If an injunction is issued, it may be valid for up to four years.
The Dangers of Concussions in Bicycle Accidents
Bicycling is a great way for people to get exercise while traveling, whether riders are doing so for recreation or commuting to work on a daily basis. However, bicyclists are at risk when they share the road with cars, trucks, and other vehicles— bicycle accidents are likely to result in serious injuries for bike riders.
Bike Accident Statistics
As more and more people travel on Wisconsin’s roads via bicycle, improvements have been made with the intent of increasing safety for bicyclists. While the number of injuries has decreased over the past few decades, there are still around 1,000 bicycle accidents in Wisconsin every year, and nearly every accident results in a bicyclist being injured or killed. In fact, in 2016, a bicycle accident resulted in the injury or death of a cyclist every 10.2 hours.
End of Life Planning: Advance Directives
Having a plan in place with regard to one’s assets and affairs post death is essential. However, it is equally important to have specific instructions about what should happen if one becomes incapacitated. As a person nears the end of his or her life, setting these instructions, known as advance directives or healthcare directives, down in a legal document can ensure that his or her wishes regarding medical care are carried out correctly.
Wisconsin Advance Directives
Advance directives allow a person to specify how decisions about his or her healthcare will be handled if he or she becomes incapacitated or is unable to make decisions for himself or herself.
The following advance directives are available for Wisconsin residents:
Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreements
By Kenneth Baker and Denis Regan
Non-disclosure agreements have dominated headlines for the better part of 2018. A non-disclosure agreements (NDA) is a legal contract that creates a confidential relationship between the involved parties to protect information that is deemed confidential, typically proprietary information or trade secrets, from being publicly known.
The terms confidentiality agreement and non-disclosure agreement are used interchangeably, but in practice, they are used in slightly different circumstances. A confidentiality agreement is used when a higher degree of secrecy is required. Non-disclosure implies you must not disclose personal or private information while confidentiality implies you must be more proactive in making sure information is kept secret. This more aggressive approach involves actions such as putting restrictions on the use of confidential information, protection of electronic databases, preventing theft by employees, requiring sub-contractors to be bound by the same agreement, etc.
The Dangers of Drowsy Driving by Truck Drivers
The roads of the United States are filled with 18-wheelers and tractor-trailer trucks, and these vehicles provide an essential service for moving cargo throughout the country. However, the large size and massive weight of these trucks makes them incredibly dangerous to other vehicles.
Since drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles are at risk of serious injuries in truck accidents, commercial truck drivers must meet a number of requirements to ensure they are safely operating their vehicles. Unfortunately, failure to follow these requirements can result in truck driver fatigue, which can lead to deadly accidents.
Drowsy Driving Truck Accident Statistics
Of the over 30,000 people who die in motor vehicle collisions across the United States, more than 4,000 of these fatalities result from crashes involving semi-trailer trucks. According to a study performed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), 13 percent of truck drivers involved in accidents were considered to be fatigued at the time of the crash. This means that more than 500 people are killed each year as the result of drowsy driving by truck drivers.
New Wisconsin Assembly Bills Aim to Protect Wisconsin Schools from Gun Violence
By: Kenneth Baker
The traumatic horrors of school shootings have become all too familiar in American education. Most recently, on Tuesday March 20, 2018, there was a high school student who entered a Maryland high school with a firearm and killed two innocent classmates. This also comes in the wake of the Parkland shooting in Florida that left 17 innocent students dead.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have spoken out for various forms of response to these shootings. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students have led nationwide school walkouts in an attempt to change current gun laws to prevent assault weapons from getting into the hands of suspect individuals. The response has been wide spread and sustained. It finally seems as though something is going to be done to prevent mass shootings.
This past week, Governor Scott Walker signed an executive order to call a special session of the Wisconsin Assembly. This special session was aimed at reforming and creating new school safety measures. The first bill introduced (2017 WI A.B. 1 (NS)) creates a grant program for schools to use money to retrofit existing buildings with new technologies to tighten security. In a Facebook post, Representative Todd Novak (R - Dodgeville) , who introduced the Assembly Bill, claims that the bill will create a $100 million grant program to fund school safety initiatives, and will be used for things like security personnel or safety upgrades to our schools.
What is a Federal Criminal Appeal, and How Long Does the Process Take?
Many people are familiar with the idea of appealing a verdict in a criminal trial and taking a case to a higher court if they did not receive a satisfactory outcome. However, the actual appeals process is complicated. Thus, it is important to understand the requirements that must be met and the process that must be followed during a federal appeal.
The Federal Appeals Process
A case cannot be appealed simply because one of the parties did not agree with the verdict; there must be a legal basis for the appeal, such as errors made during the trial or an incorrect interpretation of the law. Furthermore, in criminal cases, only a defendant is typically allowed to appeal a verdict—an appeal by the prosecution could result in the defendant being tried twice for the same crime (known as double jeopardy), which is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
