Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Taber

Summary

The Wisconsin Supreme Court imposed reciprocal attorney discipline on Katharine L. Taber based on a one-year suspension imposed by the Supreme Court of Arizona. The court suspended Taber's Wisconsin law license for one year, required compliance with Arizona's probation and restitution obligations, and assessed no costs. The suspension was not made retroactive because Taber's Wisconsin license had not previously been temporarily suspended in connection with the misconduct.

Holdings

1. The Wisconsin Supreme Court must impose identical discipline imposed by another jurisdiction unless one of the exceptions in SCR 22.22(3) is established; because no exception was present, the court imposed a one-year suspension.
2. The one-year Wisconsin suspension was imposed prospectively from the date of the Wisconsin order rather than retroactively.
3. No costs of the Wisconsin proceeding were assessed against Attorney Taber because appointment of a referee was unnecessary.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Wisconsin should impose reciprocal discipline based on the one-year suspension imposed by the Supreme Court of Arizona.
2. Whether any exception in SCR 22.22(3) required Wisconsin to impose substantially different discipline.
3. Whether the Wisconsin suspension should be retroactive and whether the court should assess proceeding costs against Attorney Taber.

Disposition

other