News

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will move its proceedings to Oshkosh next month, hosting a press conference on Monday, October 6, and conducting hearings in six cases on October 7 and 8. The visit marks the first time the high court has sat in Oshkosh. About 400 of the available 550 seats have already been reserved.

The visit will begin with a welcome ceremony/press conference at the Winnebago County Courthouse, Branch 4, at 4 p.m. on Monday, October 6. County Board members, the county executive, state legislators, local judges and other officials will welcome the court, and the justices will take questions.

On Tuesday, October 7, and Wednesday, October 8, the court will hear six cases in the Branch 4 courtroom (#211). The cases will begin each day at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. Immediately prior to each case, a local attorney (see list below) will conduct a warm-up session with the audience. The ‘warm-up’ attorneys are also available to explain the cases to the media.

Students from UW-Oshkosh, Oshkosh North High School, Omro High School and Ripon High School will attend in addition to dozens of city and county officials and other members of the public. Limited seating is still available in some cases. Reservations are recommended and can be made by contacting Sara Foster at sara.foster@wicourts.gov or (608) 266-1298.

The court will also participate in two luncheons with local groups during its stay in Oshkosh. On Tuesday, October 7, the justices will attend a Winnebago County Drug Court graduation and luncheon at 12:15 p.m. in Courtroom #410. On Wednesday, October 8, the Oshkosh Southwest Rotary has arranged a luncheon with three local Rotary clubs at the EAA Eagle Hangar.

This trip is part of Justice on Wheels, a program begun in 1993 to make the court’s work more accessible to the people of the state. The Oshkosh visit marks the court’s 20th Justice on Wheels trip. The court also has sat in Green Bay, Eau Claire, Wausau, Milwaukee, La Crosse, Superior, Janesville, Kenosha, Baraboo, Juneau, Rhinelander, Appleton, Stevens Point, Racine, Portage, Fond du Lac, Elkhorn, Wautoma and Hudson.

Local experts who have studied the briefs in the cases slated for Oshkosh, and who are available to make presentations or speak with the media are as follows:

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
9:30 a.m. Joseph Blunt, Sr., et al. v. Medtronic, Inc.
Atty. John M. Kelly
Phone: (920) 235-7300
E-mail: jmkelly@dempseylaw.com

11 a.m. State v. Jordan A. Denk
Atty. Edmund J. Jelinski
Phone: (920) 720-0061
E-mail: ejjelinski@sbcglobal.net

2 p.m. Apple Valley Gardens Assoc., Inc. v. Gloria MacHutta
Atty. Beth Osowski
Phone: (920) 233-1010
E-mail: osowski1@milwpc.com

Wednesday, October 8, 2008
9:30 a.m. State v. Dhosi J. Ndina
Atty. Colleen Bradley
Phone: (920) 424-3308
E-mail: bradleyc@opd.wi.gov

11 a.m. Brittany L. Noffke v. Kevin Bakke
Hon. Robert Haase, Reserve Judge
Phone: (920) 233-1403

2 p.m. Milton J. Christensen v. Michael J. Sullivan
Atty. Mark Fremgen
Phone: (920) 231-1500
E-mail: Fremgen@oshkoshattorneys.com

For more information, contact: Amanda Todd
Court Information Officer
(608) 264-6256; (608) 338-8941

Note to electronic media and still photographers: Camera requests must be made to cover the Supreme Court’s oral arguments. Call Media Coordinator Rick Blum at (608) 271-4321. No request is necessary for the press conference.