Library Highlights

January 26, 2021

Wisconsin Jury Instructions Online

We're happy to announce that the Wisconsin State Law Library is now hosting current Wisconsin Jury Instructions on our website. https://wilawlibrary.gov/jury/

This is a result of a cooperative effort between the University of Wisconsin Law School, the State Law Library, and the Wisconsin Court System's Office of Judicial Education. You can read more in this press release: https://www.wicourts.gov/news/view.jsp?id=1307

All three Jury Instructions committees of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference will continue their standard schedules to develop instructions. New instructions will be published online. The Office of Judicial Education will continue to provide update releases indicating revised or new jury instructions for each set.

Every instruction set on the website includes a table of contents with links to download current instructions. Indexes and tables are also linked from each set. On individual instruction pages (pictured below), get more information about each instruction including a model citation, download links, relevant dates, and related cases and statutes from the case and statutory comparison tables.

Each instruction set includes an update page, which links to filing releases for recent years.

For those needing to update print sets of instructions, tools are available to help. When an instruction set is updated, a filing release will be created and posted on the set's updates page. Users can use the latest update release to print off new instructions to update their set. In addition, annually-updated printable versions of tables and indexes are linked at the top of each index and table page. A complete, printable copy of each instruction set is linked as a single file from each main instruction page, above the table of contents.

January 8, 2021

January 2021 WSLL @ Your Service

Happy New Year! The January issue of WSLL @ Your Service is now online. Please send comments to the editor, Carol Hassler.

In this issue:

Word of the Year? Communication

If the library had a word of the year, it would likely be "communication." This word has factored heavily in our work and will continue to be of utmost importance for all of us in 2021. Read more

New Books

Our two new featured titles this month are Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn, and Dignity law: global recognition, cases, and perspectives. Our monthly new book list is also ready to peruse. Read more

Tech Tip

The National Conference of State Legislatures offers a Student Loan Bill Tracking Database which tracks state legislation related to student loan debt across several categories. Search this database for a single state, or across several states. Read more

Library News

Learn about upcoming state holiday closures, plus a new State Bar of Wisconsin InsideTrack article. Read more

January Snapshot

New murals brighten the Milwaukee County courthouse walls. Celebrating and representing the diversity of Milwaukee County, these murals feature work from local Milwaukee artists or art collectives. Read more

January 5, 2021

In Memory of Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson

Flags are flying at half staff today to honor former Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson. Justice Abrahamson passed away on December 19, 2020 at the age of 87.

Justice Abrahamson was the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving on the Court for 43 years. In a recent Wisconsin Court System article, Chief Justice Patience Drake Roggensack said, “During her four decades on the Court, Justice Abrahamson made numerous contributions, both in terms of the law and the administration of the court system. She was well-read, well-traveled, and she brought a lifetime of interesting experiences with her as she served on the bench. The court system and the people of Wisconsin continue to benefit from her work and will do so for years to come.” You can read about Justice Abrahamson’s long career on the Court’s biography page, or in Portraits of Justice.

In 2008, she took time to sit for a READ poster promotion during National Library Week. A framed copy of this poster can be found on the second floor of the library.

We remember her as an avid researcher dedicated to serving Wisconsin, and a strong supporter of the library. The library is working on incorporating donated items from Justice Abrahamson’s extensive book collection into the library collection. A unique bookplate designed for this collection will be inside each cover. (Pictured below.)

Bookplate for donations from Justice Abrahamson's collection

Justice Abrahamson authored over 1300 opinions during her time on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. You can find them in a Google Scholar author search, or by searching other legal research databases using her name in the judge or author search field.

December 1, 2020

December 2020 WSLL @ Your Service

The December issue of WSLL @ Your Service is now online. Please send comments to the editor, Carol Hassler.

In this issue:

Online Classes a Popular Addition

The State Law Library did not predict that we would be offering webinars via Zoom in 2020, but the live, online format has helped us reach more people throughout the state. We look forward to continuing and expanding upon our webinars in 2021. Read more

New Books

Our two featured new titles this month are Cyberbullying law and Automated vehicle law: legal liability, regulation, and data security. Our complete new book list is also available! Read more

Tech Tip

As the health emergency continues, many law libraries continue to offer services remotely. Under these conditions, LexisNexis recently announced a continuation of their free remote access service. Read more

Library News

We feature new or updated research guides and some upcoming class opportunities in this month’s news column. Read more

December Snapshot

For many years, we've held an open house event during the winter months with games and appetizers. Here's a look back at previous parties. We're missing all of our library users this year! Read more

Wisconsin State Law Library