WisBar Court Review | State Bar of Wisconsinhttps://www.wisbar.org/Pages/RSS.aspx60Wisconsin Supreme Court: Asbestos Created Safe-Place Statute Liabilityhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31574https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31574Jay D. JerdeA 5-2 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority held that Pabst Brewing Co.'s knowledge of asbestos before ordering pipe repairs drew liability under the safe-place statute. Two dissenting justices said work by the independent contractor caused the unsafe condition.2026-05-04 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/dusty-asbestos-dirty-air-1200x630.jpgWisconsin Supreme Court: Asbestos Created Safe-Place Statute Liabilityhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31574Wisconsin Supreme Court: Pandemic Doctor Immunity Statute Constitutionalhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31569https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31569Jay D. JerdeA statute that granted broad immunity to health care professionals during the COVID-19 state of emergency and for 60 days afterwards constitutionally eliminated a cause of action for medical malpractice, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided unanimously. 2026-04-22 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/covid-19-pandemic-facemask-healthcare-gavel-justice-court-medical-1200x630.jpgWisconsin Supreme Court: Pandemic Doctor Immunity Statute Constitutionalhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31569Wisconsin Supreme Court: Student in Custody at School, but Error Harmlesshttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31535https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31535Jay D. JerdeAlthough a 4-3 majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed that the 12-year-old defendant had been in police custody in school, a unanimous court had different reasons for affirming the delinquency. 2026-04-07 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/InsideTrack/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/school-trouble-teenager-child-police-questions-therapist-counselor-1200x630.jpgWisconsin Supreme Court: Student in Custody at School, but Error Harmlesshttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31535Supreme Court: WCA 'Appropriate Remedy' Prevents Class Actionhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31500https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31500Jay D. JerdeA 6-1 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority held that a collection agent's "appropriate remedy" to a plaintiff for a Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA) violation resolved the claim, stopping her intended class action.2026-03-09 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/Final-demand-letter-1200x630.jpgSupreme Court: WCA 'Appropriate Remedy' Prevents Class Actionhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31500Wisconsin Supreme Court Sets Involuntary Medication Standards of Reviewhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31473https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31473Jay D. JerdeA 6-1 Wisconsin Supreme Court majority recently set standards of review for the four Sell factors that evaluate the constitutionality of involuntary medication orders to ensure competency to stand trial, affirming the circuit court’s order.2026-03-02 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/Medicine-Pills-Getty%20Images-1200x630.jpgWisconsin Supreme Court Sets Involuntary Medication Standards of Reviewhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31473Wisconsin Supreme Court: Google was a Private Actor in File Searchhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31471https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31471Jay D. JerdeThe CyberTip that resulted from Google’s scan, verified by an employee, for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) meant the Wisconsin law enforcement’s warrantless view fell within a private search, taking it out of Fourth Amendment limitations.2026-02-24 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/InsideTrack/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/data-unlocked-warning-phishing-cyber-1200x630.jpgWisconsin Supreme Court: Google was a Private Actor in File Searchhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31471Wisconsin Supreme Court: Video View OK Within Private Searchhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31417https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31417Jay D. JerdeLaw enforcement could view, without a warrant, a video with suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) flagged by Snapchat because the look only confirmed the video was CSAM, providing no more information than the private search.2026-01-23 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/Cellphone-search-magnifying-glass-1200x630.jpgWisconsin Supreme Court: Video View OK Within Private Searchhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31417U.S. District Court: First Amendment Doesn't Protect "RD RRAGE"https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31376https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31376Jay D. JerdeA First Amendment claim against the Wisconsin Department of Transportation after it denied a vanity plate for "RD RRAGE" failed because license plates are government speech, a Wisconsin federal district court has ruled. 2025-12-16 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/wisconsin-license-plate-questionmarks-car-vehicle-wisdot-1200x630.jpgU.S. District Court: First Amendment Doesn't Protect "RD RRAGE"https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31376Court of Appeals: Smartphone Search Unconstitutionally Overbroadhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31336https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31336Jay D. JerdeCase law on computer and smartphone searches guided the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in what it described as a first-in-the-nation case about how Warrant Clause requirements of probable cause and particularity apply in searches of smartphones. 2025-11-25 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/InsideTrack/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/smartphone-criminal-handcuffs-police-evidence-arrest-1200x630.jpgCourt of Appeals: Smartphone Search Unconstitutionally Overbroadhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31336Court of Appeals: Controlled Substance Violation Doesn't Get Hemp Regulatory Protectionhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31316https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31316Jay D. JerdeA hemp processor’s products alleged with as much as 40 times the legal limit for delta-9 THC resulted in a controlled substances criminal charge – not a hemp grower regulatory violation requiring administrative referral for criminal prosecution.2025-11-12 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/hemp-marijuana-1200x630.jpgCourt of Appeals: Controlled Substance Violation Doesn't Get Hemp Regulatory Protectionhttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31316Court of Appeals: Dangerousness Necessary to Support Recommittal https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31273https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31273Jay D. JerdeOne word rendered unconstitutional three parts of a statute governing the ability to recommit an individual found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect because due process requires a finding of dangerousness.2025-10-14 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/Mental-hospital-hall-1200x630.jpgCourt of Appeals: Dangerousness Necessary to Support Recommittal https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31273Court of Appeals: Separate Abandonment Claims Require Separate Verdictshttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31272https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31272Jay D. JerdeThe Brown County Circuit Court grappled with unsettled Wisconsin law and reached an unconstitutional conclusion, the Court of Appeals held, because separate allegations of abandonment require jury instructions and verdict forms for each one.2025-10-14 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/Jury-Box-Lawyer-1230x646.jpgCourt of Appeals: Separate Abandonment Claims Require Separate Verdictshttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31272Court of Appeals: No 'Trial Penalty' for Different Sentences in Similar Statuteshttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31232https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31232Jay D. JerdeA defendant's claim of constitutional violation from two criminal statutes covering similar facts, one of which set a mandatory minimum sentence, failed because no case limits prosecutorial discretion even if it could create a penalty for going to trial.2025-09-22 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/Gavel-No-1200x630.jpgCourt of Appeals: No 'Trial Penalty' for Different Sentences in Similar Statuteshttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31232U.S. District Court Suppresses Evidence: Police Ruse Defeats Voluntary Consenthttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31200https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31200Jay D. JerdeThe defendant granted access to his apartment because police said they needed to search for a missing child, but once police entered, they began digging in drawers and a duffle bag for evidence of drug distribution, justifying suppression of the evidence.2025-09-02 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/InsideTrack/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/police-officers-doorway-knocking-house-search-evidence-1200x630.jpgU.S. District Court Suppresses Evidence: Police Ruse Defeats Voluntary Consenthttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31200Seventh Circuit: U.W.'s Blocking 'Off Topic' Comments Violated First Amendmenthttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31190https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31190Jay D. JerdeThe University of Wisconsin's policy for removing comments "off-topic" from Facebook and Instagram posts violated a frequent commenter's First Amendment rights in a government's limited public forum.2025-08-18 00:00:00https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/PublishingImages/Article%20Images/First-Amendment-Constitution-1200x630.jpgSeventh Circuit: U.W.'s Blocking 'Off Topic' Comments Violated First Amendmenthttps://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/Pages/General-Article.aspx?ArticleID=31190