Failure To Pay Investigator Draws Suspension

A court-appointed attorney who had failed to pay an investigator out of funds provided to him has been suspended for 90 days by the Wisconsin Supreme Court

On March 27, 2019, due to Attorney Ditter’s conversion of the funds, the SPD sent $2,400 directly to the investigator to pay him for the work he had performed on the two matters. In order to recoup the $2,400 owed to the investigator that Attorney Ditter had wrongfully converted, the SPD withheld that sum from subsequent payments made to Attorney Ditter on other cases.

In the bar case an issue arose over a stipulation

The referee did not make a specific finding that Attorney Ditter had intentionally misrepresented to her when he had signed and mailed the original stipulation to the OLR. She
includes the facts regarding Attorney Ditter’s representation and his conduct regarding the stipulation because she had concerns about Attorney Ditter’s veracity and his continued lack of cooperation with the disciplinary process during the formal disciplinary proceeding.

Sanction

We certainly do not condone Attorney Ditter’s failure to cooperate or his false statements to the OLR.10 His response to the OLR’s investigation and this disciplinary proceeding should factor into the sanction determination. Nevertheless, although each case must be decided based on its unique facts, we endeavor to impose similar discipline in similar cases. We conclude that it is appropriate here to impose a 90-day suspension on Attorney Ditter for his professional misconduct, as we did with respect to Attorney Alfredson. Imposing a 90-day suspension in this case will still comport with our general policy of imposing progressive discipline for subsequent misconduct.

The attorney has a record of prior discipline. (MIke Frisch)