MaryBeth Matzek

3 weeks ago | wislawjournal.com | MaryBeth Matzek |Peter Cameron

IN BRIEFCity of La Crosse pays $450,000 to settle excessive force lawsuit. Federal judge ruled officers used unjustified force during a 2020 stop. Practice of issuing citations via traffic stops was ended in April. Back in 2020, Demond Harris had outstanding citations for reckless driving and disorderly conduct. An alleged road rage incident led to La Crosse police writing the tickets against Harris after he had departed the scene.

1 month ago | wislawjournal.com | MaryBeth Matzek |Peter Cameron

IN BRIEFDistracted driving killed nearly 3,300 Americans in 2023. States with phone bans see significant drop in fatalities. Wisconsin law only bans phone use in construction zones. The next time you are on or near a road, and not operating a car yourself, take a look around. You will probably see a familiar, but terrifying sight: drivers fiddling with their phones. The average car weighs about 4,000 pounds. Imagine the damage that wrecking ball of metal and plastic does when it slams into something.

2 months ago | wislawjournal.com | MaryBeth Matzek |Alexander Shur

IN BRIEFMadison officials face a claim for compensation in an unusual case that aims to emphasize the importance of properly counting all ballots and set a monetary penalty for denying people their vote. For the November 2024 election, 193 absentee ballots that were sent to two polling places in the city for tabulation on Election Day went missing, and were not counted, even after they were found.

2 months ago | wislawjournal.com | Alexander Shur |MaryBeth Matzek

IN BRIEFIdeological swings on Wisconsin’s highest court and an influx of lawsuits in all Wisconsin courts are roiling parts of the state’s election law and complicating the work of local election administrators, with a real impact on voters. In recent years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has flip-flopped on several issues, such as the use of ballot drop boxes. More election rules are being settled by courts.