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Criminal defense attorney facing more disciplinary action

By: Eric Heisig//February 17, 2014//

Criminal defense attorney facing more disciplinary action

By: Eric Heisig//February 17, 2014//

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A Milwaukee criminal defense attorney who was publicly reprimanded three months ago is now facing more discipline cases.

Robert D’Arruda is facing 10 misconduct charges stemming from five clients he represented between 2011 and 2013, according to a complaint filed by the Office of Lawyer Regulation on Wednesday. The charges allege D’Arruda ignored or abandoned clients, as well as ignored requests from the OLR for information.

According to the complaint, D’Arruda did not respond to repeated requests from clients, and would also not respond to other attorneys when a case was transferred or dropped.

The OLR is asking the state’s Supreme Court to suspend D’Arruda for 60 days.

He could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

D’Arruda was publicly reprimanded by the court in November for mismanaging client money and failing to respond to phone calls placed by clients.

According to the opinion, D’Arruda went through his misconduct troubles when he faced “multiple outside pressures including dissolution of his small law firm, divorce, financial pressures and an excessive caseload.”

D’Arruda gained notoriety when he was one of three attorneys who originally represented Annette Morales-Rodriguez. Morales-Rodriguez killed a pregnant woman and tried to steal her full-term fetus in 2011. However, he left the case before it concluded.

Morales-Rodriguez, 35, later was found guilty of two counts of homicide and sentenced to life in prison.

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