Firm Overview

Creative. Compassionate. Collaborative.

Bizzaro Law LLC is a boutique appellate practice law firm that focuses on challenging criminal convictions and sentences in state and federal court. We handle all aspects of post-conviction and appellate litigation from start to finish.

Bizzaro Law is paperless and cloud-based. We scan everything that comes in the door so our clients get their own copy of the transcripts and court record and we can work together to get the best possible results. We are dedicated to using the most up-to-date secure technology available to keep costs down and give clients access to every aspect of the case as we work on it.

Our dedication to technology not only makes us efficient and affordable, but more persuasive. We were one of the first, if not the first, to file an eBrief in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. An eBrief is a digital version of the original brief with hyperlinks to every citation, whether it be to a case, a statute, or the appendix.

About Amelia

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Amelia L. Bizzaro

Attorney

Since 2005, Amelia’s practice has focused on state and federal post-conviction and appellate work. She’s been lead or co-counsel on several cases that have resulted in published decisions and has developed a reputation as a creative and zealous advocate.

She is on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the state bar’s Appellate Practice Section. Every year since 2007, SuperLawyers has named her a Rising Star. In 2010, the Wisconsin Law Journal named her an Up and Coming Lawyer.

Amelia regularly teaches at continuing legal education seminars on topics involving criminal appellate practice and using technology. She has planned daylong seminars on topics ranging from forensic science to technology in the practice of law. In addition to her blog here, she also collaborates with several other attorneys at www.seventhcircuitcases.com to provide summaries of criminal cases decided by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Before starting Bizzaro Law LLC, Amelia spent five years as an associate attorney at Henak Law Office, S.C. Before that, she was the Director of the Legal Services Program at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Inc., and a staff attorney at Centro Legal por Derechos Humananos, Inc.

Services

State Court

Most of our cases involve challenges to convictions and sentences in Wisconsin state court. We review the case from arrest through conviction or most recent appeal and identify errors and how to fix them. Whether a conviction just occurred and you need help on direct appeal, or the conviction occurred years and years before, and you are seeking help doing a collateral attack, we can help. We have filed it all: post-conviction motions, appeals, Knight petitions, sentence modification motions, sentence adjustment motions, and petitions for writ of certiorari or habeas corpus challenging faulty probation and parole decisions. We have handled cases in circuit courts all over the state, the Court of Appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. While every case is unique, if there is a post-conviction or appellate procedure for it, we have likely done it.

Federal Court

We approach every case by reviewing everything that’s happened prior to our involvement. We handle direct appeals from federal convictions as well as habeas cases. Whether you are challenging a state or a federal conviction on habeas, we can help. We litigate cases primarily in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, but we can work cases in any district or circuit court in the country. Our state experience is invaluable in federal habeas cases challenging a state conviction: we’re familiar with state appellate procedures and understand the importance of exhausting all remedies in state court.

Consulting

We are available to consult, co-write and write motions and briefs for attorneys preparing for trial. Our research and writing experience makes us the ideal choice for helping on a case with extensive pre-trial motions or with as-of-yet unresolved legal issues. Joining your case signals to the court your client’s intention to pursue the issue to the next level and helps lay the foundation for the appellate courts, should that be necessary. We work behind the scenes to provide litigators with extra support for them to further excel in the courtroom. For attorneys devoted to a client and pursuing an appeal, we can help navigate complicated state and federal rules of procedure. We will edit briefs, help with the research or writing and generally make sure your brief or petition is the best it can be. We’ll worry about the little things required by the rules so you don’t have to.

Our Work

State

Direct Appeals
State v. Michael Lock (Brief, Reply Brief)
State v. Andre Hansbrough, 2011 WI App 79 (Decision)
State v. Darron D. Jackson, 2011 WI App 63 (Decision)
State v. Christopher Jones, 2010 WI App 133 (Decision)

Collateral Attack
State v. Andre Crowder (Motion)
State v. Travis Seaton (Decision, Brief)

Sentence Modifications
State v. Demian McDermott, 2012 WI App 14 (Decision)
State v. John Doe, 2005 WI App 68 (Decision)

Amicus
State v. Michael Sveum (Decision)
State v. John C. Brown, 2006 WI 131 (Decision)

Federal

Direct Appeal
United States v. Rafael Polanco, 496 Fed. Appx. 639 (Brief, Reply Brief)

2254
Andre Hansbrough v. United States (Brief)

2255
United States v. Timothy Vallejo (Brief)

Blog

May 30 2013

The Boston Case: Moving the Line on the Public Safety Exception

My practice is nearly exclusively a criminal appellate practice, and it’s been that way for almost 10 years. Being a on-trick pony, I can’t help but think about legal issues in the news in the context of an imaginary appeal. …

Contact Us

2266 N. Prospect Ave, Ste. 310 Milwaukee, WI 53202

Phone (414) 224-5326

Toll Free (888) 774-7177

Fax (414) 255-3484