(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis’ Wisconsin law license was temporarily suspended Monday morning after he missed a deadline connected to an ongoing Office of Lawyer Regulation investigation. Solis received notice of the suspension at approximately 11:15 a.m. The suspension was not a determination on the merits of the complaints against him. Deputy District Attorney Rosa Delgado is now serving as acting district attorney while Solis is unable to practice law.
The State Bar of Wisconsin’s online attorney directory listed Solis’ status Monday as “Suspended Disciplinary.” The Wisconsin Court System’s separate lawyer-status database, however, continued to list Solis as active and in “Good Standing” earlier Monday, illustrating the speed with which the situation developed.
OLR Investigation And Massive Records Demand
Solis has been the subject of several complaints filed with the Office of Lawyer Regulation. One stemmed from his undisclosed use of artificial intelligence in a court filing earlier this year. Solis acknowledged in February that AI was used as an assistive drafting tool and that he failed to disclose that use as required under a Kenosha County court rule. The filing also contained a citation to a case that did not exist. Solis apologized for the error and said it would not happen again.
Other complaints were made by former Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Andrew “Drew” Burgoyne. But the OLR inquiry did not remain limited to the specific complaints that had been filed. Regulators substantially expanded their investigation and demanded a broad collection of records concerning Solis’ private law practice before he became district attorney.
The expanded demand required Solis to go back through years of files involving hundreds of former clients and locate large numbers of letters, communications and other records. It became an enormous document-production undertaking involving matters unrelated to his current work as Kenosha County district attorney. Solis spent hours searching through old client records in an effort to comply with the OLR’s sweeping request.
Despite the breadth of that records demand, Solis’ license was ultimately temporarily suspended because he missed a deadline associated with the OLR investigation, not because the OLR had reached a conclusion that the underlying allegations against him were true.
Courthouse Insider Raises Concern Over Precedent
The circumstances surrounding the suspension are also raising concerns inside the Kenosha County Courthouse about the power of the Office of Lawyer Regulation over an independently elected district attorney.
One courthouse insider told KCE the situation sets a dangerous precedent because unelected regulators can effectively prevent an elected district attorney from performing the job voters elected him to do over a procedural deadline, before any determination has been made that the district attorney actually committed misconduct.
The OLR is part of Wisconsin’s attorney-regulation system and its officials are not elected by Kenosha County voters. Solis, by contrast, was elected by county voters to serve as district attorney. The practical effect of Monday’s action is that an unelected regulatory body has, at least temporarily, prevented the elected district attorney from exercising the legal duties of his office because of a missed deadline connected to a broad document request.
That does not necessarily mean the OLR has legally removed Solis from elected office. Whether a temporary law-license suspension actually creates a vacancy in the office of district attorney appears far less clear.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Delgado Now Acting District Attorney
With Solis unable to practice law while his license is suspended, Deputy District Attorney Rosa Delgado has assumed the prosecutorial responsibilities of the office and is serving as acting district attorney.
Wisconsin law identifies a number of circumstances that create a vacancy in public office, including death, resignation, removal and certain criminal convictions. A temporary suspension of an attorney’s law license is not expressly identified as one of those circumstances.
That distinction could become important. Solis may remain the duly elected Kenosha County district attorney while being temporarily prohibited from performing legal work, rather than his office becoming legally vacant. KCE has not identified controlling Wisconsin case law squarely answering what happens when an elected district attorney’s law license is temporarily suspended under circumstances like these.
For now, Delgado is performing the duties of Kenosha County district attorney while Solis’ license remains suspended. KCE will continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the OLR action and how long the suspension is expected to remain in effect.
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One Response
She was just online calling cops on an innocent man with a cellphone recording on sidewalk. On phone boasting about her position and who she is!!!! Man broke no laws!!!!