Post by WaTcHeR on Jun 2, 2006 14:01:55 GMT -5
06.02.2006 - MADISON, Wis. - Poor performance as a police officer and sexual assault charges shouldn't prevent a decorated Desert Storm veteran from practicing law in Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Board of Bar Examiners that found Dominic Anderson didn't meet the character requirements for practicing law in the state. The court said although Anderson's past is troubling, it's too long ago and lacks "sufficient gravity" to deny him admission to the bar.
Anderson, now 38, served in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. He earned several commendations and was honorably discharged.
He returned to Wisconsin and became an officer with the Monona Police Department in 1996. He did well during his first three years, according to court documents, but in 1999 things started to fall apart.
A performance evaluation rated him substandard in 11 of 21 categories and he was placed on temporary administrative leave that August. In November he was charged with four counts of sexual assault for allegedly squeezing a police dispatcher's breasts while they were off-duty at a bar. He also was accused of groping a 19-year-old woman at the bar and at an after-bar party.
A jury acquitted him of all charges in 2000, and he quit the police department to avoid being fired, according to court documents.
He then went to law school in Kansas, where he graduated tied for ninth in his class. He passed the Wisconsin bar exam in 2004 and applied for admission, hoping to practice in his native Richland Center.
The board denied his application. Anderson demanded a hearing. The board agreed to hear his case, but still denied his admission, finding Anderson didn't have the temperament to conduct himself professionally.
The board pointed to his poor evaluations as a police officer, his off-duty conduct that led to the sexual assault charges and a history of job problems.
But the Supreme Court ruled his sub-par job performance as a police officer wasn't of sufficient weight to prevent him from practicing law.
His history of job problems amount to being fired from Country Kitchen and Kwik Trip in Richland Center in 1989, nearly 15 years before he applied for bar admission and quitting the Monona Police Department, the court found.
The two firings were of no relevance to bar admissions, the court ruled. Quitting the police department shouldn't bar him forever from practicing law in Wisconsin, the court added.
The sexual assault case is clearly the most serious blemish on Anderson's record and even though he was acquitted, he should have acted more mature, the justices said.
The court sent the case back to the board for reconsideration, which Anderson's attorney, Michael Van Sicklen said was a formality. Anderson should be admitted, he said.
"We're pleased for Dominic and his family," Van Sicklen said. "It's hard for the board to look back at a criminal allegation from six years in the past where he was acquitted and second-guess that. It would be different if Dominic had been found guilty of those things, but he wasn't."
The Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Board of Bar Examiners that found Dominic Anderson didn't meet the character requirements for practicing law in the state. The court said although Anderson's past is troubling, it's too long ago and lacks "sufficient gravity" to deny him admission to the bar.
Anderson, now 38, served in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. He earned several commendations and was honorably discharged.
He returned to Wisconsin and became an officer with the Monona Police Department in 1996. He did well during his first three years, according to court documents, but in 1999 things started to fall apart.
A performance evaluation rated him substandard in 11 of 21 categories and he was placed on temporary administrative leave that August. In November he was charged with four counts of sexual assault for allegedly squeezing a police dispatcher's breasts while they were off-duty at a bar. He also was accused of groping a 19-year-old woman at the bar and at an after-bar party.
A jury acquitted him of all charges in 2000, and he quit the police department to avoid being fired, according to court documents.
He then went to law school in Kansas, where he graduated tied for ninth in his class. He passed the Wisconsin bar exam in 2004 and applied for admission, hoping to practice in his native Richland Center.
The board denied his application. Anderson demanded a hearing. The board agreed to hear his case, but still denied his admission, finding Anderson didn't have the temperament to conduct himself professionally.
The board pointed to his poor evaluations as a police officer, his off-duty conduct that led to the sexual assault charges and a history of job problems.
But the Supreme Court ruled his sub-par job performance as a police officer wasn't of sufficient weight to prevent him from practicing law.
His history of job problems amount to being fired from Country Kitchen and Kwik Trip in Richland Center in 1989, nearly 15 years before he applied for bar admission and quitting the Monona Police Department, the court found.
The two firings were of no relevance to bar admissions, the court ruled. Quitting the police department shouldn't bar him forever from practicing law in Wisconsin, the court added.
The sexual assault case is clearly the most serious blemish on Anderson's record and even though he was acquitted, he should have acted more mature, the justices said.
The court sent the case back to the board for reconsideration, which Anderson's attorney, Michael Van Sicklen said was a formality. Anderson should be admitted, he said.
"We're pleased for Dominic and his family," Van Sicklen said. "It's hard for the board to look back at a criminal allegation from six years in the past where he was acquitted and second-guess that. It would be different if Dominic had been found guilty of those things, but he wasn't."