Kratz is pleading for leniency to keep his law license

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Ken Kratz says he’s suffered enough. And he’ll try to convince the State Supreme Court not to suspend his law license for sexually harassing women while he was Calumet County’s district attorney. Kratz is scheduled to appear tomorrow before retired Rhinelander Judge Robert Kinney. The judge will hear arguments, and then make a recommendation to the State Supreme Court – which was asked last November to suspend Kratz’s law license for six months. His case was first publicized in 2010, a few months after he sent 30 sexually-explicit text messages to a domestic violence victim while he was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend. He was later accused of making sexual remarks to other women, and having sex with a woman he prosecuted. Kratz has agreed to plead guilty to six violations of attorney conduct rules brought by the state Office of Lawyer Regulation. Five other violations were dropped last week – including the sexual assault allegations. Kratz told the Associated Press he doesn’t believe a suspension is necessary to show him how serious his misbehavior was. He was a private attorney after quitting in 2010 as the Calumet D-A – but he says he’s been forced out of the business for six months. He filed for bankruptcy this spring and moved to Florida. And the subject of the original text messages still has a federal harassment lawsuit pending against him.

Tags: crime and courts, news, wisconsin, crime