Wisconsin Supreme Court issues three opinions from May 15-21


The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued three opinions from May 15-21. As of May 21, the court issued 34 opinions in 2023 — 10 more than this point a year ago. The three opinions are below: 

  • Fleming v. Amateur Athletic Union of United States, Inc., where the court “affirmed the order of the circuit court dismissing Femala Fleming’s action against Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, Inc. (AAU) as untimely under Wis. Stat. 893.54, holding that Fleming’s negligence claim against AAU was not timely filed.”
  • State v. Johnson, where the court “overruled State v. Shiffra, 499 N.W.2d 719 (Wis. Ct. App. 1993), which created a process by which a criminal defendant could obtain a limited review by way of in camera review by the court of a victim’s privately-held, otherwise privileged health records, holding that Shiffra is unsound in principle and unworkable in practice and has been undermined by developments in the law.”
  • Wisconsin Justice Initiative, Inc. v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, where the court “held that the challenges to the victim’s rights amendment termed ‘Marsy’s Law’ that was brought by Wisconsin Justice Initiative, Inc. and several citizens (WJI) failed and that the amendment was validly ratified and properly part of the Wisconsin Constitution.”

From May 15-21, state supreme courts issued 186 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 21. State supreme courts in 15 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 121 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 65.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Annette Ziegler. The court issued 68 opinions in 2022 and 79 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,660 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,511 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,149. Wisconsin is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.

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