Matter of Norton

This is an attorney-disciplinary proceeding in which respondents, Robert T. Norton and Richard A. Kress, were found guilty of ethics violations for conduct contributing to an improper dismissal of a drunk-driving case. The municipal court dismissed the case after Kress, the municipal prosecuting attorney, told the court that the arresting officers did not want to proceed with it. Kress, apparently aware that the officers had improper reasons for not proceeding with the case, did not so inform the court.

Norton, who represented the DWI defendant, had contributed to the officers’ decision not to…