Dear Editor,

I recently received a mailed pamphlet supporting outgoing District Attorney Wambach’s selected candidate to succeed him. It is visually attractive and the cost to mail it to almost all of the voters of Jefferson County must have been in the tens of thousands of dollars. It contains no thoughtful reason for electing the young Assistant District Attorney with two years of undistinguished performance versus his highly-qualified opponent Susan Happ. To defend this rather strong statement I rely on, as usual for me, lessons from Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson, founding brother of John Adams, would point out that Adams, a Boston lawyer, before our Declaration of Independence was signed successfully defended British soldiers accused of unreasonably firing on rebelling sons of liberty, the so-called Boston Massacre. Amidst the jeers of his fellow Bostonians, Adams conducted the trial quite and the British soldiers occupying Boston were acquitted.

Jefferson would say that, while he drafted the Declaration of Independence with the assistance of Adams and Benjamin Franklin, it was Adams who argued vociferously for many days in the Continental Congress to bring about passage of the Declaration of Independence, while Jefferson sat by quietly. John Adams always stood on the principle that we must follow the law, and in this case our colonial law acquitted the British soldiers. Does Adams’ defense of British soldiers charged with murder support that he should not have gone on to be the second president of the United States?

This history illustrates that a capable lawyer can argue either side of the hardest case. That is, the lawyer’s skill, hard work, and good sense will win the day.

The thrust of Happ’s opponent is that he has “handled” 786 prosecution cases, “0” defenses. “Handling cases” can simply be shuffling papers or making plea bargains. His piece did not mention how many children Attorney Happ has represented in protecting their best interest in non-criminal cases. Most importantly, Mr. Tempelis did not mention his win/lose record in conducting trials, which is one of the worst records in the State.

One of our four sitting judges was a Jefferson County Public Defender before elected to the bench. The argument could have been made against him that since he prosecuted “0” cases in Jefferson County and defended hundreds of criminal defendants he was not fit to be a judge in criminal cases or sentence convicts. That would have been preposterous.

City attorneys across Wisconsin prosecute local ordinance violations including OWI’s. On the other hand, they are permitted under Wisconsin law to defend municipal ordinance violations in other cities and the circuit courthouse where criminal prosecutions are held. Does that mean that such city attorneys are less qualified to do their jobs as city prosecutors i.e. because, they at times defend criminal defendants? Again that is sophistry.

Jefferson, himself a skilled lawyer, would say that a lawyer’s dedication to the Constitution, good character, skill, legal experience, and plain hard work will best qualify him or her to serve the Public Good. If one follows that standard, there is no question that Susan Happ is better qualified.

It is not important that Mr. Tempelis has “handled” more criminal prosecution cases than Attorney Susan Happ. That was simply his job slot not hers. The real question is, in his small time as an assistant district attorney brought in from outside the County by Mr. Wambach, what has been his litigation success? That matter should be addressed by this newspaper. Or, if you choose not to, then by citizens who write to you. As a practicing attorney I know that Mr. Tempelis’ reputation is one of lack luster performance. That matter can also be borne out by statistics…and should be, soon.

Jefferson and Adams were great thinkers who elegantly argued common sense. Jefferson County voters need to think about the sense of this situation because it is one of public safety not partisan politics. Then, they will make the right choice on November 4 th.

Respectfully,

Raymond E. Krek

Jefferson Attorney