Better Off Asleep

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has imposed a one-year suspension for a District Attorney’s misconduct while in office.

In 2012, Attorney King ran for and was elected Eau Claire County District Attorney. He was re-elected in 2016 and 2020.

Stipulated misconduct in office

The allegations in OLR’s complaint, which Attorney King admitted by virtue of his entry into the stipulation, detail problems concerning his behavior at work that began in 2018. E.H., the Office Manager for the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s Office, reported to OLR that Attorney King regularly appeared at the office in an “altered state.” E.H. said he saw Attorney King slumped and sleeping in the office chairs of various attorneys and office staff, including during a discussion in E.H.’s office in which Attorney King fell asleep and remained sleeping for 10 to 15 minutes.

An Assistant District Attorney (ADA) reported that Attorney King would frequently come into attorneys’ offices and interrupt their work, sometimes falling asleep in the attorney’s office. A former ADA wrote a letter to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers saying that she had witnessed Attorney King sleeping and snoring in meetings and court proceedings. In a contemporaneously written memo dated December 20, 2019, the former ADA wrote that Attorney King’s “speech was slurred, his breathing labored, face red and he had a faint odor about him that I could not determine if it was hand sanitizer or an intoxicant.” The memo went on to say that a few minutes later the former ADA heard loud snoring and observed Attorney King sleeping and asked two other people in the office to wake him.

T.G., the Eau Claire County Criminal Justice Director, told OLR about a meeting on October 21, 2019 with representatives of the Chicago Police Department in which Attorney King fell asleep for most of the meeting. Current and former District Attorney’s Office employees told OLR that, around this time, Attorney King’s temperament changed, with his temper becoming explosive and his behavior erratic and abusive. These individuals told OLR of instances in which Attorney King yelled, swore, and shouted at his staff, leaving them feeling intimidated and afraid they would be fired.

On January 11, 2021, Attorney King missed a status conference. E.H. was contacted by a court staff member saying the court was waiting for Attorney King to appear. E.H. discovered Attorney King “slumped in his office chair at his computer, snoring and obviously asleep.” E.H. was unable to awaken Attorney King, so he found an ADA to cover for Attorney King’s failure to appear for the proceeding.

On February 16, 2021, Attorney King appeared in court. According to Deputy M.S., Attorney King could barely walk down the hall and had to brace against the wall to get to court. In her report to the Eau Claire County Sheriff, Deputy M.S. reported that Attorney King was not wearing a mask, which was unusual given that he had imposed strict mask policies for his staff. J.B., the Coordinator of the Office of Victim Services, was monitoring the hearing on Zoom and told OLR that Attorney King could not even say the word “Wisconsin” as he was “completely intoxicated.”

Attorney King went to J.B.’s office after the hearing. J.P. told OLR that Attorney King “was slouched in his chair,” with only “one eye open and his speech was heavily slurred.” Attorney King stood up from his chair and was “unstable and ran into [J.B.’s] open door.”

Further incidents led to an OLR investigation

The complaint also detailed incidents of sexual harassment by Attorney King directed toward J.B. The Office of Victim Services is a special unit within the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s Office that is designed to provide information, support, and advocacy to all crime victims, witnesses, and family members of adult and juvenile offenders. J.B. is the Coordinator of the Office of Victim Services and supervises the department, which includes five employees. J.B. was also part of Attorney King’s management team. She reported directly to the Office Manager, E.H., as well as Attorney King.

The inappropriate behavior started after they both had attended a wedding

Attorney King mentioned to J.B. the possibility of having a “threesome” with someone who lived near the District Attorney’s Office.

In another incident, Attorney King suggested to a female administrative specialist that they “make out” in her office, a comment that stunned her. This comment echoed a similar comment Attorney King had made to J.B. after another wedding event that J.B. did not attend. Attorney King said J.B. “was supposed to be there because he and [J.B.] were going to sit in the corner and make out so everybody could start talking about us.”

On another occasion, Attorney King approached J.B. in her office, took off her shoes, and began rubbing her feet. By this time, office employees had initiated an informal safety plan because Attorney King was regularly coming into J.B.’s office and closing the door. The plan involved employees coming to J.B.’s office and interrupting Attorney King’s interactions with her.

In January 2021, Attorney King appeared in J.B.’s office and started to cry. He pulled J.B. from behind and made her sit in his lap, prevented her from leaving, and patted her. When J.B. got up and returned to her desk, Attorney King told her that he loved her. He then approached her while she was sitting in her chair, hugged her from behind, took off her mask, and tried to kiss her on the lips. J.B. immediately told E.H. about the interaction.

Sanction

While he was serving as District Attorney, Attorney King harassed multiple women over whom he had supervisory authority. His misconduct included not only verbal harassment but also unwelcome physical contact. His harassment in the workplace created a hostile working environment that persisted over the course of two years. Attorney King’s behavior warrants a significant sanction.

In addition to the sexual misbehavior, Attorney King, while serving as District Attorney, appeared in the office, as well as in court, while either intoxicated or otherwise impaired. His coworkers reported that he was erratic and abusive. Two judges reported Attorney King’s erratic behavior. On one occasion the Sheriff was advised of the situation and confronted Attorney King. That confrontation led to Attorney King becoming so upset and unbalanced that employees had to be evacuated to a safe location and sent home for the rest of that work day.

Thus

We agree with the referee that a one-year suspension of Attorney King’s license to practice law is an appropriate sanction for his misconduct.

WQOW reported on a civil suit filed by J.B.

In the suit she outlined numerous specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment by King, and claimed he subjected her to a sexually hostile work environment. King denied many of her allegations and asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed.

According to court records, that is exactly what happened Friday. A federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the case can’t be brought back to court. 

According to documents filed, the dismissal was voluntary and signed by lawyers for King and Bryan. A lawyer for Bryan told News 18 the parties met in March and came to a settlement. The dollar amount is not yet known.

This case is separate from the one brought against King by the state, which is seeking to suspend his license for nine months due to bad behavior. A hearing is scheduled for September in that case.

The Leader-Telegram reported he had resigned in 2021. (Mike Frisch)