The only way my “career” in law makes any sense is if I view it from the perspective of it having followed a path designed by someone other than the “I” that looks back at me when I look in the mirror. And as it turns out, the purpose of...

When President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan last year he invoked Abraham Lincoln's 1861 suspension of habeas corpus, claimed his decision was based around the actions of terrorists and fundamental extremists, and instituted a Provisional Constitutional Order effectively suspending the Constitution of Pakistan. The suspension of Pakistan's...

The 30th Judicial District of North Carolina is a rural, seven county district located in the far western part of the state. Here and, to the best of my knowledge, in the rest of the state, courts have employed the traditional in-court calendar call for civil and domestic relations calendars...

As a trial judge since 1979, I have presided over many cases involving adults and youths who made serious mistakes, were charged with criminal offenses, and needed to improve their lives. At key moments in these cases, including detention, sentencing, and review hearings, the judge must listen carefully to testimony...

In thinking about preventive law, analogies from medicine and public health come immediately to mind. While much has been written about preventive medicine, including early screening, detection, and intervention for disease, only recently have judges, lawyers, academicians and the public begun to address preventive law and its philosophical cousins, therapeutic...

There are many reasons mediators want to improve the quality of practice in their geographic or subject area. Most mediators have a strong sense of professionalism and sincerely want to help people in conflict. When parties and lawyers are in a difficult dispute, sometimes the only way they can get...

What can you do if, as a lawyer, you want to negotiate a divorce cooperatively from the outset of a case? The Divorce Cooperation Institute (DCI), an organization of more than 70 Wisconsin lawyers, has established a general process to provide a cooperative and efficient negotiation process to improve the...

It’s a Friday afternoon. No, let’s get real. It’s a Friday morning, about 10:30 a.m. Calendar call for the next term is finished, you’ve wrapped up those lingering matters that have been held open from earlier in the week, or have otherwise completed the critical things on your plate. You...

What's on your mind? For most of people, there's a steady stream of ideas, concerns and musings reams of information to digest and act on. Lawyers tend to consider the mind a great ally. After all, it churns out the clever insights about rules, arguments and strategies that build your...

Most people probably think of lawyers as advocates in court, perhaps the most common image of lawyers in popular culture. In law schools, students not only focus on lawyers’ courtroom roles, but the vast majority of their education is based on reading reports of the work of appellate courts. Although...

Driving under influence can have a broad range of consequences for a person. In most cases, the first or second DUI offense is treated as a misdemeanor and the person is set free with penalties, fines, and/or license suspension. For people with subsequent DUI offenses or those who end up...