APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A defense attorney accused of withholding information from the court and lying to a client about a plea agreement in the criminal case has been charged with contempt of court.
The misdemeanor charge was filed in Outagamie County in August against 32-year-old Appleton attorney Michael D. Petersen.
The charge carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and one year in jail.
Petersen is accused of advising his client to enter a guilty plea to attempted armed robbery after telling his client that the prosecutor agreed to later amend the charge to attempted theft, according to the criminal complaint.
Petersen knew that the prosecutor had made no such agreement, according to the complaint.
Milwaukee-based attorney Craig Mastantuono, whose firm is representing Petersen, said the allegations are out of character.
Petersen’s law license is still listed as in “good standing” with the state’s Office of Lawyer Regulation and no public disciplinary history is listed.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
