WE RESPOND TO YOUR NEEDS 414-271-1440
Recent Blog Posts
Summer Time Daycare: How Does Your Child’s Care Program Stand Up?
Whether you have enrolled your child in a new child care program or your child continues to attend the same facility this summer, it is important to continually evaluate the quality of the care provided.
Not only is this critical to your child’s development but asking such questions could help you identify unsafe conditions that could injure your child.
How to Evaluate a Child Care Program
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families suggests considering the following:
- What activities did my child participate in today?
- Does my child have a positive relationship with his caregiver?
- How has the outside play area been made safe?
- What does my child say about his or her day?
Are the Police Tracking My Phone?
By: Kenneth Baker and Raymond Dall’Osto
Law enforcement agencies across the country have employed a closely-guarded technology that simulates a cell phone tower. Known as Cell-Site Simulators or “Stingrays,” police can use this technology to secretly obtain information from every cell phone within at least a 650-foot radius, even when they are not in use. Stingrays pull in all cell phones in the vicinity, not just the targeted number, to obtain information with it without the cell phone user knowing. These Stingrays are portable and compact, capable of being placed in locations around the city.
Originally developed for use in NSA and national security investigations of terrorist operations over fifteen years ago, Stingrays are now regularly used by law enforcement agencies for spying on low-level marijuana dealers and other criminal suspects. “I am not aware of any case in which a (local) police agency has used a cell-site simulator to find a terrorist,” Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Jennifer Lynch said in December 2016.
Can I Get an OWI on a Bicycle?
By: Kenneth Baker
Now that it is officially summer, people in Wisconsin are once again enjoying the outdoors and the warm weather. This change of season sparks an interest for many to get out and enjoy the city in various ways. Some people enjoy playing volleyball at Bradford Beach, some swim in Lake Michigan, and some enjoy the beautiful parks we have here in Milwaukee. What happens though when you ride your bike to one of these locations and drink a few alcoholic beverages?
The State of Wisconsin has long recognized the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, dating back to 1911. The law then barred any intoxicated person from operating any automobile, motor cycle, or other similar motor vehicle. Through the years, the Wisconsin Legislature has altered the language of the law. But to this day, it remains largely the same. The current OWI statute generally bars any person from operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant. But, what does this mean for bicyclists?
Homicide Cases in Wisconsin
By Steven McGaver and Raymond Dall’Osto
In Wisconsin, the intent of the accused matters a great deal for most crimes. When someone dies at the hands of another, the government’s ability to prove that the accused acted with specific intent can be the difference between first-degree intentional homicide, a Class A felony and mandatory life imprisonment, and a lesser degree of homicide, including reckless or negligent homicide, which is not as severely punished.
Wisconsin has several homicide laws that can be applicable when the accused allegedly killed someone without intent. Generally in these non-specific intent cases, it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused’s reckless or negligent conduct caused another to die, in order to be convicted. Some charges, such as under the Len Bias law (furnishing drugs) or homicide by intoxicated driving, veer perilously close to imposing strict liability, which can raise serious constitutional concerns.
Can I Challenge My Wisconsin Prenuptial Agreement?
If you are in the divorce process and your spouse is attempting to enforce a prenuptial agreement, there may be a way to challenge the agreement in whole or in part. However, in many cases, this will be an uphill battle—there are a limited number of grounds on which to challenge a prenup.
What is a Prenup?
A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed by two people before marriage. A prenup instructs a court on how to divide the assets and debts of the marriage upon the dissolution thereof.
Wisconsin is a community property state. Therefore, a court will presume that property acquired during the course of a marriage at the time of divorce is to be divided equally. However, a prenup is a method to opt out of the community property regime.
Summer Construction: Tips for Accident Prevention
With the weather getting warmer and daylight hours increasing, construction work is in full swing. This increase in construction sites also means an increase in possible dangers. Hence, it is important to beware of potential construction hazards which can lead to serious bodily injury or death.
Workers and construction companies should follow standard safety protocols in order to avoid accidents.
Examples of safety measures include:
- Daily safety meetings. Everyone working on a job site should meet daily to review site progress and changing circumstances. A construction site changes on a constant basis, and with each change comes new safety hazards. Changes also mean that new regulations will come into play. At the meetings, everyone should be reminded that safety is the top priority for all employees.
Employee Theft: Am I Stealing if I Take Home Work Supplies?
Stealing supplies from work may seem to some people like a perk of the job—even an action that no one will notice. However, this type of employee theft can be considered a crime. Taking money from your workplace is embezzlement. Workplace theft is a common problem for employers and retailers, and many have systems in place to detect it.
Whether it’s pens, paper, electronic devices, DVDs, thumb drives, petty cash or merchandise, taking home assets you do not own and haven’t pay for from your place of employment could result in your being terminated from employment and subjected to criminal charges, fines, possibly jail time, and civil restitution claims for treble and punitive damages.
Reasons Why Employees Steal from the Workplace
There are several reasons why employees take home office supplies and other valuables including the following, chief among which are:
Wisconsin Bicycle Safety and Laws
Bicyclists traveling on roadways must abide by specific traffic laws in order to keep them and others safe. Bicyclists are especially at risk: they do not have the safety protections cars provide, and bikes can move at much faster speeds than pedestrians.
Bicycle accidents leave cyclists gravely injured, while those in cars may not be injured at all. If you have been in a bike accident and you believe that you were not at fault (or not fully at fault) in causing the accident, you should be compensated to the full extent Wisconsin law allows.
Key Bicycle Laws in Wisconsin
There are several important laws that govern how bicycles should be ridden. Failure for motor vehicle drivers, pedestrians, or bicyclists to understand such rules could result in an accident. These laws include:
I Was Convicted of Drug Impaired Driving in Wisconsin – What Now?
Drug impaired driving has gained the attention of law enforcement in recent years due to reports that drugged driving kills more drivers than drunk driving. Drug impaired driving charges are typically treated similarly to drunk driving OWI, however, there are differences.
Wisconsin Law on Drug Impaired Driving
Wisconsin law prohibits operating under influence of an intoxicant or other drug to a degree that renders the driver incapable of safely driving. The drug may be a controlled substance or a controlled substance analog. Also, Wisconsin law prohibits driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and/or alcohol.
Importantly, Wisconsin has a per se rule that prohibits a driver from driving if he or she has any amount of restricted controlled substance detectable by a blood test.
Semi-Truck Crashes and the Future of Technology
Due to the size and weight of an 18-wheeler, trucks are a huge risk for other vehicles on the road. In fact, when a truck is at fault in a traffic accident, hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages could be sustained.
With the huge potential for serious injury in truck accidents, the industry is turning to technology to make trucks safer.
Semi-Truck Accident Causes
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reviewed thousands of traffic accidents over the course of several years and determined four categories of driver error. Categories included the following:
- Non-performance by the driver. This category describes accidents caused by a driver falling asleep at the wheel or experiencing a health condition that would render him or her suddenly unable to drive;
