The 14 Percent Chance

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reinstated an attorney suspended for two years in 2010 for possession of heroin and felony bail jumping.

The court described the situation that led to the conviction

Attorney C. began using illegal drugs around 2006, and he admitted being”coked up” while handling legal cases in court.  The referee noted that Deputy Sergeant Patekof the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department testified at the reinstatementhearing that Attorney Compton’s conduct before his arrest included possessionand delivery of both heroin and cocaine. Deputy Sheriff Long of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Departmenttestified that Attorney Compton’s conduct before his arrest had a major impacton a woman who was a significant person in Attorney C.’s life, and thewoman ultimately lost her teaching license as a result of drug conduct and herrelationship with Attorney C. Deputy Sheriff Long described Attorney C. as a “greatperson” and “a very smart attorney.”

Lake Geneva News.com had this report on the criminal case.

The petitioner had turned his life around to a remarkable degree and has been drug-free for nearly five years.

There was testimony from a representative of the bar’s recovey program that after five years of sobriety, there is a 14% chance of relapse.

The court:

In spite of Attorney C.’s remarkable efforts to turn his lifearound, the referee did express some concern about the possibility ofrelapse.  Although Ms. Albert put therisk of a relapse at approximately 14 percent for someone who has been free ofdrugs and alcohol for five years, the referee said when it comes to trusting alawyer to serve the public and the legal profession, a 14 percent relapse ratestill needs to be addressed.  For thatreason, the referee recommends that Attorney C. remain under closemonitoring, similar to his current WisLAP monitoring, for a minimum of twoyears from the date of his reinstatement. The referee said extending the monitoring deadline beyond the October 1,2014 expiration of his current WisLAP monitoring agreement will not onlyprovide further support for Attorney C., but will also allow a quickerresponse to any relapse.

In response to the concerns of the two sheriff’s deputies thatAttorney C.’s term of suspension has been insufficient given his criminalconvictions, the referee pointed out that this court saw fit to suspendAttorney C.’s license for a period of two years.  The referee said during that two-year period,Attorney C. has done everything possible to rehabilitate himself; heappears rehabilitated; and expert testimony shows there is very little morethat can be done for him.  The refereesaid to deny reinstatement on the basis that a two-year suspension was not longenough would be second guessing this court’s choice of the appropriate periodof suspension and would also be ignoring Attorney C.’s nearly perfectrecord at rehabilitation up to this time.

The court order provides that the attorney’s recovery be monitored for two years. (Mike Frisch)