In re King

409 Wis. 2d 518

2023 WI 77

In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings Against Gary King, Attorney at Law:

Office of Lawyer Regulation, Complainant,

v.Gary King, Respondent.

Supreme Court

No. 2022AP745–D. Decided December 15, 2023.

2023 WI 77

(Also reported in — N.W.2d —.)

Per curiam.

ATTORNEY disciplinary proceeding. Attorney's license suspended.

¶ 1. PER CURIAM. We review the report of referee David A. Piehler recommending that this court suspend Attorney Gary King's license to practice law in Wisconsin for one year and require him to pay the full costs of this disciplinary proceeding, which are $5,927.83 as of September 20, 2023. Because no appeal has been filed, we review the referee's report and recommendation pursuant to Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 22.17(2).¹ Upon careful review of the matter, we agree with the referee's recommendations in all respects.

¶ 2. Attorney King was admitted to practice law in Wisconsin in 1998. He has no prior disciplinary history. The most recent address he furnished to the State Bar of Wisconsin is in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

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

¶ 4. On May 5, 2022, the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) filed a complaint against Attorney King alleging two counts of misconduct, both arising out of his conduct as the Eau Claire County District Attorney.

¶ 5. Attorney King filed an answer to the complaint on May 31, 2022. Referee Piehler was appointed on July 14, 2022. On June 27, 2023, the parties entered into a stipulation whereby Attorney King withdrew his answer, entered a plea of no contest to the two counts of misconduct alleged in the complaint, and agreed that the referee could use the allegations of the complaint as an adequate factual basis in the record for a determination of violations Of supreme court rules as to both counts of misconduct alleged in the complaint. The parties agreed that the appropriate level of discipline for Attorney King's misconduct was a nine-month suspension of his license to practice law. The parties filed a supplemental stipulation on July 28, 2023 in which Attorney King identified some potentially mitigating factors relating to the appropriate level of discipline. Specifically, Attorney King stated that he attributes his misconduct to personal or emotional problems he was experiencing at the time, and he described the two-year period detailed in the complaint as a particularly difficult time in his life, which included the deaths of family and friends and the isolation of the COVID quarantine. Attorney King stated that he has sought comprehensive treatment to deal with those personal or emotional problems. He also noted that he expressed remorse in his letter resigning as Eau Claire County District Attorney, saying "To the extent that any conduct fell short of the level expected of me, I sincerely apologize."

¶ 6. The referee issued his report and recommendation on September 1, 2023. The referee found that Attorney King committed the misconduct alleged in OLR's complaint. Rather than the nine-month suspen- sion advocated by the parties, the referee concluded that a one-year suspension of Attorney Kang's law license was an appropriate sanction for his misconduct.

¶ 7. 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.

¶ 8. 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.

¶ 9. T.G., the Eau Claire County Criminal Justice Director, told OLR about a meeting on October 21, 2019 with representatives of the Chicago Police De- partment 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.

¶ 10. 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.

¶ 11. 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."

¶ 12. 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."

¶ 13. Sheriff Ron Cramer was advised about Attorney King's condition. Sheriff Cramer met with Attorney King and confronted him about his behavior and his appearing in court under the influence of an intoxicant. Attorney King started to cry, rant, yell and scream, at which point J.B. and other office employees were evacuated to a safe location and sent home for the remainder of the day. Sheriff Cramer asked Attorney King to submit to a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT). Attorney King refused.

¶ 14. On June 1, 2021, Attorney King came to work appearing to be under the influence of an intoxicant. In a grievance filed with OLR, Judge Michael Schumacher said he observed Attorney King "nod off, jerk his head, and lose his balance for the next forty minutes." Judge Schumacher reported that Attorney King "appeared to be either suffering a serious medical incident or was severely intoxicated." Two Sheriff’s Department personnel went to Attorney King's office on June 1, 2021 to perform a welfare check. They also asked Attorney King to submit to a PBT. He refused.

¶ 15. Judge Sarah Harless, apprised by Judge Schumacher that Attorney King appeared to be either ill or intoxicated, met with Attorney King prior to a sentencing hearing. Judge Harless asked Attorney King to submit to a PBT. An officer performed the PBT and obtained a "weak breath sample." The test showed a reading of.047. Judge Harless adjourned the sentencing hearing and filed a grievance with OLR. In the grievance, Judge Harless reported that "[Attorney] King's eyes were red and bloodshot and I also observed a faint odor of intoxicants."

[1]

¶ 16. OLR's complaint alleged the following count of misconduct with respect to Attorney King's behavior at work:

• Count One: By sleeping through a January 2021 court hearing, appearing in a February 2021 court hearing while under the influence of intoxicants or otherwise impaired, and appearing in a June 2021 court hearing while under the influence of intoxicants or otherwise impaired, Attorney King violated SCR 20:1.1.²

¶ 17. 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.

¶ 18. From the time J.B. began employment at the District Attorney's Office in 2013 until July 2019, J.B.'s interactions with Attorney King, although limited, were cordial and professional.

¶ 19. In July 2019, J.B. and her husband attended the wedding of an office employee. J.B. told OLR that Attorney King also attended the wedding and that he was intoxicated. Attorney King made a number of statements to J.B.'s husband complimenting J.B. J.B. found the comments odd since she did not often interact with Attorney King.

¶ 20. After the July 2019 wedding, Attorney King began paying extra attention to J.B. He would frequent her office, whereas in the past he would communicate with her and other staff members mostly through email. He would comment on J.B.'s hair and clothes and express opinions on how her hair was styled or how she dre...