Wis. office wants to suspend former DA's license
Notable Attorneys
The Wisconsin office that regulates attorney conduct asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to suspend a former prosecutor's law license for trying to spark an affair with a domestic abuse victim through a barrage of racy text messages and allegedly making sexual remarks to a number of other women.
The Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint with the court alleging former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz violated multiple attorney conduct rules. The office recommended the justices suspend his law license for six months.
Kratz resigned in October 2010 after The Associated Press reported that he sent 30 texts over three days to a then-25-year-old domestic abuse victim in 2009. The Republican district attorney was prosecuting the woman's ex-boyfriend at the time.
Kratz, then 50, called the woman a "tall, young, hot nymph," told her he wanted her to "be so hot" and touted himself as "the prize" with a $350,000 house.
He has since set up a private practice that handles criminal defense, drunken driving, divorce and injury cases, according to the firm's website. Kratz didn't respond to an email or phone message left Wednesday at his office, and his attorney, Robert Bellin, also didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Related listings
-
9th Circuit appeals court Judge Pamela Rymer dies
Notable Attorneys 09/23/2011Judge Pamela Rymer of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has died after a years-long battle with cancer. The federal court on Thursday announced the passing of the 70-year-old Rymer, who had been in failing health in recent months. The court says ...
-
Noted NJ attorney Michael Cole dies at 67
Notable Attorneys 09/22/2011Michael Cole, a noted lawyer who held several key state government positions during his long legal career, has died. He was 67. Cole's death was announced Sunday by the Teaneck-based law firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole, but further details w...
-
Former Wyoming governor joins law firm
Notable Attorneys 07/03/2011Former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal has joined the international law firm of Crowell & Moring as senior counsel. Freudenthal says in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the firm will open an office in Cheyenne, where he will be ...
Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.