Former Supreme Court candidate faces disciplinary complaint

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A suspended Madison-area attorney who unsuccessfully ran for Wisconsin Supreme Court is again facing an Office of Lawyer Regulation disciplinary case.

Joseph Sommers, of Oregon, is facing five counts of misconduct based on his representation of two clients, according to a case filed Tuesday by the OLR.

In one case, Ronald DePaoli — who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting a child — reached out to Sommers to ask about his appellate options.

Sommers received $2,500 from DePaoli — which he charged without writing up a fee agreement — and put the money into a business or personal bank account, and not a trust account, according to the complaint. Sommers told DePaoli of his options, but a few months later he told DePaoli that he was going to stop practicing law.

DePaoli filed a complaint with the OLR in 2013 and asked for a refund of his money. Sommers did not respond to the OLR’s inquiry, according to the complaint, and the Supreme Court suspended his license in October 2013 for failure to cooperate with the investigation.

In another case, when representing Michael Long in St. Croix County on appeal, he was able to get a life sentenced reduced. After the re-sentencing, Sommers withdrew from representation, but he did not respond to requests to obtain Long’s files, according to the complaint.

The OLR is asking the Supreme Court to publicly reprimand Sommers.

Sommers’ law license is also suspended for failing to pay State Bar dues and not complying with continuing legal education requirements.

He was admitted to practice law in Wisconsin in 1992 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He ran for state Supreme Court in 2007, but lost to Justice Annette Ziegler.

Reached by phone Friday, Sommers defended the work he did with DePaoli, saying he did exactly what he was paid for. He also said he had not practiced law in more than two years, yet cases are still filed, and he said it is because a website he put up several years ago alleging a large conspiracy that involves the state Supreme Court was not taken down.

Sommers also was publicly reprimanded in August for statements and letters he sent disparaging Dane County Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey while representing Adam Raisbeck in Dane County.

Raisbeck was acquitted of homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle, though Sommers alleged that Humphrey committed misconduct while prosecuting his client. Sommers’ statements were sent to the Supreme Court and were posted on his website.

Raisbeck’s case and the way Humphrey and Sommers handled it also led the Supreme Court to suspend both attorneys for 30 days in 2012.

Sommer’s Supreme Court candidacy website also takes aim at other Dane County prosecutors and state legislators, accusing them of a conspiracy. Follow @eheisigWLJ