Office of Lawyer Regulation v. David G. Dudas , 2021 WI 5 ( 2021 )

2021 WI 5SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN
CASE NO.: 2014AP1651-D
COMPLETE TITLE: In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings
Against David G. Dudas, Attorney at Law:
Office of Lawyer Regulation,
Complainant,
v.
David G. Dudas,
Respondent.
DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AGAINST DUDAS
OPINION FILED: January 27, 2021
SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS:
ORAL ARGUMENT:
SOURCE OF APPEAL:
COURT:
COUNTY:
JUDGE:
JUSTICES:
Per Curiam.
NOT PARTICIPATING:
ATTORNEYS:
2021 WI 5NOTICE
This opinion is subject to further
editing and modification. The final
version will appear in the bound
volume of the official reports.
No. 2014AP1651-D
STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT
In the Matter of Disciplinary Proceedings
Against David G. Dudas, Attorney at Law:
Office of Lawyer Regulation, FILED
Complainant, JAN 27, 2021
v. Sheila T. Reiff
Clerk of Supreme Court
David G. Dudas,
Respondent.
ATTORNEY disciplinary proceeding. Attorney's license
revoked.
¶1 PER CURIAM. We review a stipulation filed pursuant
to Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 22.12 by the Office of Lawyer
Regulation (OLR) and Attorney David G. Dudas. In the
stipulation, Attorney Dudas enters a no contest plea to the
OLR's complaint and agrees that he committed the one count of
professional misconduct alleged in the complaint, which was
committing criminal acts that reflect adversely on his honesty,
trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.
Attorney Dudas agrees that revocation of his license to practice
No. 2014AP1651-D
law in Wisconsin is a proper level of discipline for this
misconduct.
¶2 After reviewing the matter, we approve the stipulation
and revoke Attorney Dudas' license to practice law in this
state. We accede to the parties' request that the commencement
date of the revocation be May 21, 2014, which was the date of
the summary suspension of Attorney Dudas' law license. Because
this matter is being resolved without the appointment of a
referee, we impose no costs on Attorney Dudas.
¶3 Attorney Dudas was admitted to practice law in
Wisconsin in 1989. He practiced in Stevens Point.
¶4 On August 16, 2013, Attorney Dudas was charged with 31
criminal counts in Outagamie County Circuit Court. On April 30,
2014, following a trial, an Outagamie County jury found Attorney
Dudas guilty of 30 criminal counts, including felony first-
degree sexual assault, felony second-degree reckless injury,
felony substantial battery, 14 counts of felony second-degree
sexual assault, 11 counts of felony strangulation and
suffocation, one count of misdemeanor battery, and one count of
misdemeanor intimidation of a victim.
¶5 Following the jury's verdict in the criminal case, the
OLR moved pursuant to SCR 22.20 for a summary suspension of
Attorney Dudas' Wisconsin law license. On May 21, 2014, this
court granted the motion and suspended Attorney Dudas' law
license until further order of the court.
¶6 On July 16, 2014, the OLR filed a disciplinary
complaint alleging that Attorney Dudas' criminal acts reflected
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adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a
lawyer in other respects, in violation of SCR 20:8.4(b).1
¶7 Attorney Dudas pursued postconviction relief in the
criminal case. The parties filed a joint request for a stay of
the disciplinary proceeding and the continuance of Attorney
Dudas' summary suspension pending postconviction and appellate
proceedings in the criminal case. On January 12, 2015, this
court granted the request, holding the disciplinary proceeding
in abeyance and continuing the summary license suspension.
¶8 Attorney Dudas filed an appeal of his criminal
convictions in December 2016. The appeal was pending in the
Wisconsin court system for years. During that time, the OLR and
Attorney Dudas, through counsel, communicated about the status
of the appeal and whether Attorney Dudas would file an SCR 22.19
petition for consensual license revocation or stipulate to the
revocation of his license as sought by the OLR. The OLR
communicated to Attorney Dudas that should revocation be
imposed, it would request this court to order the revocation to
commence on May 21, 2014, the date the underlying related
summary suspension had commenced.
¶9 The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of
conviction on February 18, 2020. On June 16, 2020, this court
denied Attorney Dudas' petition for review.
1SCR 20:8.4(b) provides: "It is professional misconduct
for a lawyer to commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on
the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in
other respects."
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¶10 On July 14, 2020, this court ordered the parties to
file a status report why the stay of the disciplinary proceeding
should not be lifted. The stay was lifted on October 21, 2020.
The stipulation and no contest plea were filed on October 27,
2020. In the stipulation, Attorney Dudas acknowledges that to
date the judgment of conviction remains unreversed following the
completion of his direct appeal in state court. He acknowledges
that under the present state of his case the OLR could establish
his violation of SCR 20:8.4(b).
¶11 The stipulation states that Attorney Dudas answers the
OLR's disciplinary complaint by entering a no contest plea, and
he agrees that this court may use the allegations of the
disciplinary complaint as an adequate factual basis for a
determination of misconduct. He states he enters into the
stipulation to resolve the pending proceeding and enters the no
contest plea to the misconduct allegation for purposes of
professional discipline only. He states he reserves his right
to pursue collateral challenges to his criminal convictions in
state or federal courts. The stipulation avers that neither
Attorney Dudas nor the OLR intend that the stipulation will
impact future litigation in Attorney Dudas' criminal matter.
¶12 The stipulation goes on to state that it does not
result from plea-bargaining. It notes that the OLR's position
on sanction has remained constant throughout the proceeding.
¶13 Attorney Dudas represents and verifies that he fully
understands the misconduct allegation; that he fully understands
the ramifications should this court impose the stipulated level
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of discipline; that he fully understands his right to contest
this matter; that he fully understands his right to consult with
counsel and that he has had the benefit of advice of counsel
throughout the proceeding; that his entry into the stipulation
is made knowingly and voluntarily; and that his entry into the
stipulation represents his decision not to contest the
allegations in the complaint or the level and type of discipline
sought by the OLR's director.
¶14 Having reviewed the stipulation and the OLR's
memorandum in support of the stipulation, we approve the
stipulation and adopt the stipulated facts and legal conclusions
of professional misconduct. Given the extreme seriousness of
the felony criminal convictions that underlie the misconduct
allegation contained in the OLR's complaint, we agree that the
revocation of Attorney Dudas' license to practice law in this
state is an appropriate level of discipline. Consistent with
this court's treatment of discipline imposed in proceedings that
are filed following an SCR 22.20 summary suspension, we agree
that it is appropriate to set the commencement date of the
revocation for May 21, 2014, the effective date of the
underlying SCR 22.20 summary suspension. See, e.g., In re
Disciplinary Proceedings Against Washington, 2007 WI 65, 301
Wis. 2d 47, 732 N.W.2d 24; In re Disciplinary Proceedings
Against Chvala, 2007 WI 47, 300 Wis. 2d 206, 730 N.W.2d 648. In
its memorandum in support of the stipulation, the OLR states the
public will not be put at risk by a retroactive revocation
commencement date since Attorney Dudas' Wisconsin law license
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No. 2014AP1651-D
will remain revoked unless and until he is able to prove his
fitness to regain his license in a reinstatement proceeding.
Since this matter was resolved without the need for the
appointment of a referee, no costs will be imposed.
¶15 IT IS ORDERED that the license of David G. Dudas to
practice law in Wisconsin is revoked, retroactive to May 21,
2014.
¶16 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, to the extent he has not
already done so, David G. Dudas shall comply with the provisions
of SCR 22.26 concerning the duties of a person whose license to
practice law in Wisconsin has been revoked.
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