OLR Compendium > Public Reprimand of Christopher W. Duren

Public Reprimand of Christopher W. Duren

2008-OLR-12

Christopher W. Duren (“Duren”), age 37, is a Wisconsin-licensed attorney, admitted to practice in this State on September 30, 1997.

Duren represented a client who was charged in November 2004 in separate OWI 2nd cases filed in Juneau and Dane Counties. The client had a previous OWI 1st conviction, dating back to 2002. The Juneau County OWI 2nd case was filed very shortly after the Dane County OWI 2nd case. The Juneau County case, however, was resolved before the Dane County case.

Duren was present with his client in Juneau County Circuit Court on March 4, 2005, when the client’s Juneau County case was resolved with the entry of a no contest plea to the OWI 2nd charge and the dismissal of a charge of second offense Operating with PAC .08 or More. The judgment of conviction in the Juneau County case was entered on March 4, 2005.

On March 9, 2005, five days after the resolution of the Juneau County case, Duren was present with his client in Dane County Circuit Court, when the client’s Dane County case was resolved with the entry of a no contest plea to the OWI 2nd charge and the dismissal of a charge of second offense Operating with PAC .08 or More. The Dane County Circuit Court Judge who presided at the March 9, 2005 plea and sentencing hearing was unaware that Duren’s client had just been convicted of OWI 2nd in Juneau County, in a case filed after the Dane County case.

In the course of the March 9, 2005 plea and sentencing hearing in Dane County Circuit Court, the presiding judge asked Duren’s client, “And do you understand also that you’re charged as a repeat offender, this being a second offense based on a prior conviction for the same offense on November 19th of 2002?” Duren’s client answered in the affirmative. At the same plea and sentencing hearing, the judge inquired as to the joint sentence recommendation, and stated:

Mr. Duren, that’s a high blood alcohol level for a minimum jail sentence recommendation. Do you have anything more to say regarding the rationale behind that or any reason why it’s a minimum jail sentence?

Duren responded, stating in part:

…His last conviction was in 2002. He was – he’s 39 years old and he is employed as a pharmacist with Wal-Mart, and given the nature, even though he did have a high blood alcohol content, you know, I believe the DA possibly – I’m not speaking for [the prosecution] – but possibly the fact [the defendant] does deal with bipolar and that was mentioned to the police officer and that was included in the police report. I don’t know if that had a factor at all, but he was very cooperative with the police officers…

Duren’s representation to the court that his client’s last conviction was in 2002 was false, and he knew it was false, because he had been present with his client just five days earlier, on March 4, 2005, when his client was convicted of OWI 2nd in Juneau County Circuit Court.

By making a knowing misrepresentation to the court concerning the timing of his client’s last OWI conviction, Duren violated former SCR 20:3.3(a)(1), effective prior to July 1, 2007, which states, “A lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal.”

Duren has no prior discipline.

In accordance with SCR 22.09(3), Attorney Christopher W. Duren is hereby publicly reprimanded.