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Lawyer decertified as public defender

JANESVILLE — Janesville lawyer Stephen Carpenter has been decertified from any further appointments to represent clients of the State Public Defender’s Office.

In February, Rock County District Attorney David O’Leary barred Carpenter from the district attorney’s office for making what O’Leary called “public slurs against Muslims.”

O’Leary limited Carpenter, once an assistant district attorney, to communication in writing with members of his office, the Rock County Victim Witness Office and the DA’s office for deferred prosecution and domestic violence intervention.

O’Leary’s action prompted the State Public Defender’s Office to temporarily stop assigning cases to Carpenter pending the office’s own investigation.

The public defender regularly assigns cases to private attorneys when state-employed public defenders are not available to represent clients.

Deborah Smith, director of the public defender’s assigned counsel division, conducted the investigation and sent the decertification letter Tuesday in the name of state Public Defender Nick Chiarkis, said Randy Kraft, spokesman for the state office.

“Our investigation into concerns raised by District Attorney O’Leary’s letter called into question attorney Carpenter’s effective representation of our clients,” Kraft said.

Carpenter has 30 days to appeal the decertification.

He declined to comment Wednesday afternoon when asked if he would appeal the decertification.

If Carpenter appeals, the State Public Defender’s Board would consider the appeal at its next meeting, which is June 27. The board then has 20 days to affirm or reverse the decertification, Kraft said.

Kraft and Kelly Krake, legal counsel for the public defender’s office, were asked if the effectiveness of Carpenter’s representation was being questioned because he is barred from face-to-face meetings with prosecutors, because of his alleged religious and ethnic bias or a combination of the two.

Most criminal cases are settled by plea agreements, which involve discussions between prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Because of Carpenter’s possible appeal, the investigation is considered ongoing, Kraft and Krake said, and so they declined to provide a copy of the decertification letter or comment beyond the statement about questions being raised concerning Carpenter’s effective representation.

The public defender’s office asked Carpenter to consider relinquishing cases he already has been assigned, Krake said.

The decertification applies only to future assignments, not cases on which Carpenter already is working, she explained.

Carpenter has represented many public defender clients.

In 2005, he was assigned 99 cases; in 2006, 121 cases; in 2007, 117 cases, and 13 this year, Kraft said.