The Daily Beast explains that at Cremona, Italy’s Stradivarius Museum, peerless 18th century violins are protected by cameras, alarms, and armed guards stationed both in the museum’s hallways and inside a remote control booth.  Stradivarius violins are some of the most sought after and valuable instruments in the world. With instruments from the violin maker’s golden period of 1700 to 1725, it is a rare honor to set eyes, or hands, on one.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, circa 2008, however, the Lipinski Strad—a 1715 Stradivarius violin valued at over $6 million, and rumored to have once been touched by the Devil himself—was left in the hands of acclaimed musician Frank Almond, whose sole means of safeguarding it was hiding a cell phone in its case, for GPS-tracking purposes.  In 2014 Frank Almond was robbed of this one-of-a-kind Lipinski Stradivarius violin. 

I was to come in contact with this famous violin when I represented Universal Allah, a humble barber obviously way in over his head when he hooked up with the mastermind of the offense, Salah Salahadyn.

That story, entitled “Plucked” was to be told by Joel Van Haren who is an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated cinematographer at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival at Village East Cinema on April 28, 2019 in New York City.

That film is coming to Milwaukee for the Milwaukee Film Festivel and will be shown at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202 on Tues., Oct. 22, 2019 at 6:45 pm and at the Oriental Main, 2230 N Farwell Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202 on Friday , Oct. 25, 2019 at 9:15 pm

In our internet society with boundless information at our fingertips, people try to take legal matters into their own hands.  Forgotten is the old saying of the person who represents him/herself in court has a fool for a client.  People continue to try to represent themselves in court after watching some TV show or reading an article on the internet.

That is dangerous.  Very dangerous.  Do you think you can do brain surgery because you watched “House” or “Gray’s Anatomy” on TV?

Rather than trying to represent yourself in court, consider hiring a lawyer for limited term representation.  The Wisconsin Bar has explained that limited scope representation allows attorneys to work on limited aspects of case. For instance, a lawyer might agree to draft a motion. A lawyer may agree to drafts briefs in litigation, but not to appear in court. Or, a lawyer may agree to appear in court, but only for one particular proceeding. 
The current Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys have explicitly allowed limited scope representation since 2007.  SCR 20:1.2(c) reads as follows: 

A  lawyer  may  limit  the  scope  of  the  representation  if  the  limitation  is  reasonable  under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent. Thus   the   Rules   explicitly   allow   limited   scope   representation   under   certain   circumstances.

Comment [6] to the Rule further explains:

A limited representation may be appropriate because the client has limited objectives for the representation. In addition, the terms upon which representation is undertaken may  exclude  specific  means  that  might  otherwise  be  used  to  accomplish  the client's  objectives. Such limitation may exclude actions that the client thinks are too costly or that the lawyer regards as repugnant or imprudent.

Judge John P. Anderson, Bayfield County Circuit Court & Attorney Mary K. Wolverton, Chairpersons of Limited Scope Representation Subcommittee of Planning and Policy Advisory Committee for the Wisconsin Supreme Court have explained that “[l]imited scope representation is one [ ]tool that can improve access to justice for some Wisconsin residents who may not wish to retain counsel throughout an entire legal proceeding or who may not have the resources for full representation.”

Judge John P. Anderson continues, “As a result of economic downturn, families have less money to spend at a time when their legal needs remain at least the same or are rising. The result is more people are using inappropriate legal documents purchased through online companies to file pleadings, affidavits, and other documents. At the same time, lawyers face economic challenges of their own in finding new clients willing and able to hire an attorney. Many self-represented litigants are unaware that they have the option of hiring an attorney to provide limited assistance. It’s a match based on mutual interest that would benefit everyone involved.”

Attorneys must determine whether it is reasonable to limit the scope of representation based on the circumstances at the time of the engagement.  The Chicago Bar has explained that this requires attorneys to consider both the complexity of the legal matter and the capabilities of the client.

Complexity of the Legal Matter:
• Is the case simple enough substantively, strategically, and procedurally to be broken down into discrete steps that can be easily divided between the attorney and the potential client?
Capabilities of the Client:
• Does the potential client have realistic expectations about their ability to handle all or parts of the case on their own?
• Does the potential client have the mental, physical, and emotional capacity to handle parts of the case on their own? When making this determination, an attorney should consider many factors including, but not limited to, disability status, English proficiency, and whether the potential client is a victim of trauma.
• Is the potential client capable of appearing independently in court?
• Does the potential client have the ability to follow instructions?
• Does the potential client have access to the technology needed to comply with e-filing and other court requirements and do they know how to use it?

If the answer to any of the above questions is “no,” the attorney should consider carefully whether limiting the scope of representation will be reasonable. However, the attorney should also keep in mind that reasonableness does not require the lawyer to predict that the client will prevail in the matter with limited scope assistance, but merely that there is a reasonable chance the litigant will do so.

Help where it’s needed
New Wisconsin limited scope rules expressly allow an attorney to appear on behalf of a client for a specific hearing or on a specific issue, provided everyone is given notice of that fact right away.  A good starting point for limited scope representation can be found here.  The new rules call for a written description of the limits on the scope of representation, but it doesn’t have to be anything fancy; many attorneys use a simple checklist, signed by the attorney and client, to take care of this requirement.  When the attorney has completed the scope of the work he or she has been hired to do, the attorney simply files a notice with the Court stating that fact, and the self-represented party is on their own from that point forward.
The new limited scope rules are good for the general public depending on the facts of a case. People who have limited income and are in need of legal assistance and guidance can focus their resources on issues in areas that will provide them the greatest benefit.  This will result in courts seeing fewer cases where unrepresented parties struggle with complex legal problems.

The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) website provides access to certain public court records of the Wisconsin Circuit Courts on the internet.  I am frequently asked the question about how long records of a case will remain on line. 

How long are cases kept on WCCA?
Generally, case information is displayed on WCCA for the minimum retention period for the case type as set by Supreme Court Rule - Chapter 72. However, beginning at the end of the first quarter of 2018, there is a shorter display period for criminal cases where all charges are dismissed or the person charged was acquitted, for injunction petitions that are denied or dismissed, and for small claims cases that are dismissed.
Additionally, cases remain displayed so long as there are active warrants, active appeals, or money still owed on the cases. Contact the clerk of circuit court’s office in the county where the case was filed for complete case information for those cases that no longer display on WCCA. Case types that are confidential do not appear on this list.

Cases remain displayed as follows:

Civil cases (CV) not small claims
20 years, with the following exception:

• Injunctions under Chapter 813, Wis. Stats., for domestic abuse, child abuse, individual at risk, and harassment that are denied or dismissed, are displayed for 2 years.

Commitment of an inmate cases (CI)
75 years
Complex forfeiture cases (CX)
20 years
Criminal traffic cases (CT)
20 years, with the following exception:

• Criminal traffic cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Docketed judgments
20 years
Family cases (FA)
30 years, with the following exception:

• Dismissed divorce and annulment/legal separation cases are retained for 5 years.

Felony class A cases (CF)
75 years, with the following exception:

• Felony cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Felony class B - I cases (CF)
50 years, with the following exception:

• Felony cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Foreign judgment cases (FJ)
20 years
Forfeiture (non-traffic ordinance violation) cases (FO)
5 years, with the following exception:

• Forfeiture cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Incarcerated person cases (IP)
5 years
John Doe cases
75 years (JD, with class code 34001) for proceedings under §968.26, Wis. Stats.
Misdemeanor cases (CM)
20 years, with the following exception:

• Misdemeanor cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Paternity post judgment actions (PA)
30 years
Probate and informal probate cases (PR and IN)
75 years
Proceedings commenced under §968.02(3)
75 years (JD, with class code 34003)
Small Claims Cases (SC)
20 years, with the following exceptions:

• Dismissed small claims cases filed prior to 7/1/2006 are removed 1 year after the final order.
• Dismissed small claims cases filed 7/1/2006 or later are removed 2 years after the final order.
• Small claims cases that are dismissed with no money judgment are displayed for 2 years.

Tax warrants (TW)
20 years, with the following exceptions:

• Filed before 7/31/1981 - 10 years.
• Filed from 7/31/1981 - 4/30/2004 – Permanent retention.
• Filed after 4/30/2004: 20 years, but can be renewed for an additional 20 years.

Traffic forfeiture cases (TR)
5 years, with the following exception:

• Traffic cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Transcript of judgment cases (TJ)
20 years
Tribal court order cases (TC)
20 years
Unemployment compensation cases (UC)
20 years
Workers compensation cases (WC)
20 years
Will filed cases (WL)
100 years