Professional Responsibility — dismissal

Listen to this article

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Civil

Professional Responsibility — dismissal

Where attorney Peter J. Thompson’s letter to the court in response to a claim of ineffective assistance was based on legitimate concerns, the complaint against him is dismissed.

“As the letter and the testimony at the ensuing Machner hearing make clear, Attorney Thompson thought his former client intended to suborn perjury; his trial strategy was deliberate and reflected an effort to manage this concern. A lawyer with a potentially perjurious client must contend with competing considerations — duties of zealous advocacy, confidentiality, and loyalty to the client on the one hand, and a responsibility to the courts and our truth-seeking system of justice on the other. State v. McDowell, 2003 WI App 168, ¶54, 266 Wis.2d 599, 669 N.W.2d 204 (citing People v. DePallo, 754 N.E.2d 751, 753 (2001)). And, as the postconviction court would later observe, ‘[t]he perjury concerns were real.’”

2011AP2458-D OLR v. Thompson

Per Curiam.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Thompson, Peter J., Eau Claire; For Respondent: Krohn, Robert G., Edgerton; Weigel, William J., Madison