Former Judge William Carver of Oshkosh, WI; ethical gremlin

The state of Wisconsin presented William H. Carver with a law license in 1965 after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Law.

The Wisconsin Judicial Commission found Billy guilty of engaging in the following misconduct, all of which took place while he was sitting as a Winnebago County Circuit Court judge.

• Made inappropriate comments from the bench while disqualifying himself at the initial appearance of a defendant charged with sports gambling
• In his comments, Billy minimized the seriousness of the offense charged and questioned the legitimacy of the investigation and prosecution in the case before him
• Billy also questioned the legitimacy of other sports gambling cases pending in other branches of Winnebago County Circuit Court
• Billy suggested to the public and to his fellow judges that minimum sentences should be imposed for sports gambling crimes
• Misrepresented in his comments from the bench that he had not been contacted by a defendant, who was a friend of his, or asked by him for special treatment
• Gave the appearance of partiality toward a defendant
• Failed disqualify himself from a pending case promptly upon determining there was cause for his disqualification
• Gave the impression he would preside in a case and by not disclosing to counsel for the parties or in his comments from the bench his receipt of ex parte [one-sided] communications from the defendant concerning the case

As a direct consequence of his misconduct, the enablers for Judicial Misfits sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court punished Billy by gifting him with a complimentary 15-day suspension from the bench.

It should also be noted that the Wisconsin Court System attorney search website conceals Lee’s misconduct by falsely stating: “Discipline History: There is currently no public disciplinary history for this attorney.”

Apparently, concealing from public searches on its website, the Wisconsin Court System has determined that it will not disclose misconduct meted out to Wisconsin Judges. On the other hand, the same courtesy is not afforded to attorneys disciplined for engaging in misconduct.

As we speak (ca. November 2022), Billy practices his so-called brand of law at 336 Legion Place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.