The change would allow lawyers to respond to publicity affecting their client. The petition, set for a public hearing on Sept. 9, would bring Wisconsin's trial publicity rule into conformity with the current ABA model rule. A statement made pursuant to this paragraph shall be limited to such information as is necessary to mitigate the recent adverse publicity. In the wake of the O.J. Simpson criminal murder trial, California implemented the same rule change to clarify lawyers' opportunities to make public comments to the media. Wisconsin attorneys have avoided testing the limits of the state's trial publicity rule because it lacks clarity.
Responses are necessary to try to neutralize adverse, prejudicial, pretrial publicity.
Defense attorney responses to pretrial publicity could help balance public perception of the accused, thereby expanding the pool of potential jurors, Walrath added. The State Bar's Bench Bar Committee invites members and the public to submit nominations for awards that will honor two Wisconsin judges. Eau Claire County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Barland received last year's award. The first-ever Jurist Lifetime Achievement Award will be given during the State Bar Annual Convention in June 1998. The State Bar's Bench Bar Committee invites members and the public to submit nominations for awards that will honor two Wisconsin judges.