Barred lawyer responds to public defender
JANESVILLE — The State Public Defender’s Office is investigating allegations of religious slurs and so is not releasing the response of a Janesville lawyer barred from the Rock County District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney David O’Leary barred Stephen Carpenter from the DA’s office because of what O’Leary called “public slurs against Muslims.”
O’Leary detailed several incidents in a Feb. 11 letter to Carpenter.
The DA limited Carpenter, once an assistant district attorney himself, to communication in writing with members of his office, with the Rock County Victim Witness Office and with the DA’s office for deferred prosecution and domestic violence intervention.
In addition, the public defender’s office stopped assigning cases to Carpenter. The public defender regularly assigns cases to private attorneys when state-employed public defenders are not available.
Carpenter responded to the public defender’s office by the Friday deadline the office set. But the office still is investigating the allegations and so will not make public Carpenter’s response at least until the investigation is concluded, spokesman Randy Kraft said Wednesday.
The state office asked Carpenter to respond in writing as to the accuracy of O’Leary’s allegations and as to how Carpenter plans to effectively represent clients in criminal cases while being barred from the DA’s office, Kraft said.
In barring Carpenter, O’Leary wrote in a letter to him: “If you call my office or have personal contact with my office in the future, I will consider having you arrested for disorderly conduct, trespassing or both.”
One of the employees in his office is Muslim, O’Leary said, and was offended by Carpenter’s remarks Jan. 10.
During a conversation in the DA’s office, Carpenter referred to his son and called him a “Muslim-killing Marine,” O’Leary wrote.
“This is not the first time that you made such public slurs against Muslims,” O’Leary informed Carpenter. “Several months prior to this incident, you were once again in the district attorney’s office near the reception area when you made a similar comment about your son killing Muslims.
“These comments are highly offensive to me and my staff.”
Mar 6, 2008 at 9:22 p.m.
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Carpy... fight the establishment in the DA's Office... O'Leary will bargain... He plea bargains everything... Don't see too many trials out of the office he runs....
Mar 6, 2008 at 9:14 p.m.
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"would bet a dollar to a doughnut that one or more of her relatives have commited a violent offense against a christian or jew"
And none of your relatives have ever committed a crime against another? If your white, and live here in America, guess what! Blood is on your hands too, you judgmental bigot.
Mar 6, 2008 at 8:56 p.m.
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Kind of hard to argue with billnewbie.
Mar 6, 2008 at 4:46 p.m.
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What's the fuss? Lawyers make outrageous statements all the time. It's just that this one does it on his own behalf.
Mar 6, 2008 at 3:23 p.m.
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Well put Housewife, but Mytake has a good point too. In my opinion there is something lying beneath all this. A grudge between the DA and his former associate turned opponent?
Mar 6, 2008 at 2:11 p.m.
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MyTake- I hope they bar you from blogging just like they bared carp from the DAs office.
Mar 6, 2008 at 2:02 p.m.
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Dini, I think they were referring to the extreme views of mytake4U, that racial and religious slurs should be allowed.
Mar 6, 2008 at 1:56 p.m.
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What's extreme about courtesy? Except that it's so rare?
Mar 6, 2008 at 1:45 p.m.
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Mytake, it's not about who has historical regressions on which religion or country. If you were consistent on your principle, the Sauks and Fox indian tribes could come over, shove you out of your domocile, and tell you to "get over it, we were here first."
Fact is, it's 2008 in USA, and you can't make slurs against races, religions, sexes, sexual orientation, nationalities, etc etc ad nauseum if you expect to hold a public position.
If you want a private job while spewing such vitriol, go for it, but the free market usually weeds those people out.
Mar 6, 2008 at 1:44 p.m.
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The extremists are out in Janesville again.
Mar 6, 2008 at 1:23 p.m.
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mytake, here's what someone famous once had to say about "PC": It stands for "plain courtesy."
Mar 6, 2008 at 1:19 p.m.
Mar 6, 2008 at 12:57 p.m.
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mikki, the first paragraph states the case is under investigation. They CAN'T release the response -- it's evidence, for one thing.
Mar 6, 2008 at 12:30 p.m.
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'They' meaning the Public Defender's office. I believe it was the DA's office who made this all public. The Public Defender's office is taking its time in investigating and reviewing the facts. Their not just rushing to judgement. I think the DA really has a grudge against Carpenter (I'm not condoning what he said)and that is very obvious. I think that the DA should also be looked at for the way he handled the situation(s). That is totally unprofessional.
Mar 6, 2008 at 12:20 p.m.
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can`t be no worse than a police officer not arresting his friend for hit and run,and possibly owi
Mar 6, 2008 at 12:17 p.m.
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Interesting, they won't release Carp's response, but were all over the media letting them know what he did.
Mar 6, 2008 at 10:34 a.m.
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This Carpenter sounds like a real brain trust.
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