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LawCrossing Feature
Wisconsin May Reconsider Life-ban for Felonious Attorneys By Surajit Sen Sharma
While a demand for lifetime bans had already been rejected by an unanimous Supreme Court in 2010, latest developments indicate that Wisconsin may reconsider the issue and might promote lifetime ban for felonious lawyers.
A new report published by the Office of Lawyer
convicted for stealing client funds, practicing happily in
Regulation Review Committee has made such a
the Wisconsin bar.
suggestion. The committee was appointed by the Board of Administrative Oversight in April 2011 to review the
The Wisconsin disciplinary system for lawyers have
OLR process for handling ethics complaints against
been heavily criticized for lacking transparency, being
attorneys in Wisconsin.
awfully slow, and allowing lawyers to continue practice under investigation.
The findings of the report mention that while most people feel the disciplinary process in place to be
Last year too, the regulatory committee was criticized
effective and good in general, the long term of
by the media for taking no action upon numerous
complaints remaining confidential allowed felonious
sexually suggestive text messages sent to a woman
lawyers to continue practicing with impunity, even if the
complainant by Calumet County District Attorney
complaints against them had merits.
Kenneth Kratz, while Kratz’s office was looking into a complaint of domestic violence by the woman.
Suggestions of the committee include: Ethics and disciplinary processes have been convoluted 1.
The disclosure of complaints immediately upon
for centuries, but it needs to get more transparent
the Preliminary Review Committee having deter-
and more assertive, according to the latest study in
mined that a complaint has the merits to move
Wisconsin.
further 2.
Preliminary Review should be more frequent than
However, the report also takes pains to point out the
quarterly sessions
principle of being innocent until proven guilty, and that as such, the disclosure of unproved complaints
While in other states like New Jersey, felonious lawyers
can cause undue suffering and loss of reputation to an
are debarred for life upon being convicted of felony, in
attorney.
Wisconsin, the maximum period for debarment is five years.
When last time, the idea of a lifetime ban upon a lawyer was rejected by the Supreme Court, a number
Of recent, there have been media reports of felonious
of Justices, including Abrahamson expressed doubts
lawyers practicing with impunity in Wisconsin courts.
and held that permanent revocation of license may
Last year, the Journal Sentinel found at least 135
leave an improperly convicted lawyer without any
attorneys with criminal records, including those
recourse.
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