Avery Prosecutor Releases Video Showing Police Surveillance of Protected Attorney-Client Meeting

Steven Avery and attorney Jerome Buting are shown in an
apparently illegally produced surveillance video at the
Calumet County Jail that shows a criminal defendant
meeting with his attorney in a confidential conference.

Updated - See Related to Avery Monitoring/Video Recordings of Avery Meetings with Counsel at Calumet County Jail.

Madison, Wisconsin — Advocates working for the exoneration of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are criticizing former Calumet County District Attorney (R) Ken Kratz for his possession of and Oct. 25 release of a video that appears to show illegal police surveillance of Avery meeting with his attorney in the Calumet County Jail on an unknown date believed to be between 2005 and 2007.

Kratz is now a private citizen. Kratz can no longer practice law in Wisconsin because his law license remains suspended following his sexual assault and harassment scandal that forced his resignation in 2010.

The YouTube video is posted by Kratz as part of a series of videos to promote an update to his book that was published in 2017.

In the bizarre video entitled "Sacrificial Lamb," Kratz appears to advocate for Brendan Dassey despite the fact Kratz prosecuted Dassey for the 2005 homicide of Teresa Halbach. Legal observers and human rights advocates regard the Dassey prosecution and conviction as a miscarriage of justice.

Law enforcement surveillance of the attorney-client meeting in the video begins at the five-minute, two-second mark. The law enforcement camera looks over the shoulders of attorney Buting.

The confidentiality of the attorney-client relationship is a hallmark of the American criminal justice system and of the American legal profession, (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute).

Wrote Buting on social media on a pined (featured) Tweet on Oct 26:

This is first I have seen of surveillance video during atty-client jail mtg with SA. This was confidential mtg room reserved for attys, no camera was visible & no notice that we were being recorded. Thanks @Ken723Ken for deciding to #workwithKZ by releasing this. 🤗 @ZellnerLaw https://t.co/TiMMpOYJJQ

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) October 26, 2019

Buting's Tweet makes the point that Kratz inadvertently revealed more law enforcement misconduct in the video that could work in Avery's favor as he pursues post-conviction litigation.

Writes Buting in a follow-up:

@Ken723Ken disclosure on Friday that Calumet Jail secretly videoed SA’s atty-client mtgs is yet another explosive revelation in this case. Camera was pointed so SA’s lips could be easily read. All should be shocked at these unconstitutional tactics. #MakingAMurderer @ZellnerLaw

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) October 26, 2019

Questions raised by Kratz' video include:

How did Ken Kratz come in possession of this law enforcement video when he is now a private citizen?

How closely is Kratz still working with Wisconsin law enforcement?

Was the Avery legal team made aware of the existence of the surveillance video?

Observers believe the existence of the surveillance video may provide more grounds for appeal in Steven Avery's post-conviction litigation.

The Wisconsin Dept of Justice is currently defending the misconduct by law enforcement in the Avery case.

The case is State of Wisconsin v. Steven A. Avery, Appeal Number 2017AP002288.

For updated legal filing and explanations, see Work with KZ.

Wisconsin Ex-DA Drops Pretense as Practicing Atty: Follows Complaint with Lawyer Regulation Office

Update: Disgraced former district attorney Ken Kratz resigned his suspended law license after a complaint by the editor of this website, Mal Contends, (State Bar of Wisconsin).
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Madison, Wisconsin — Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz (R) was chased into resignation and disgrace in 2010 following assault and sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by several women, (ABC News, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

In his defense, the sex offender Kratz claimed he is an addict and victim of a medically diagnosed  Narcissistic Personality Disorder that made Kratz uncontrollably arrogant — transforming him into a "dick," as termed by Kratz in 2016, (p. 13, Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Huffington Post).

The dick is back.

Following years of Kratz falsely purporting to be a practicing private attorney in Wisconsin, Kratz has now dropped this pretense after the intercession of the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) last Summer.

Referee Jonathan Ziesner notified the author, Michael Leon, of a June 19, 2019 grievance against Kratz that Kratz "has made several changes in response to your grievance."

The grievance reads in part:

Kratz was fraudulently portraying himself as an active-status attorney with a license to practice in good standing. ...

Further, an examination of Mr. Kratz’ historical information maintained by the State Bar of Wisconsin and Office of Lawyer Regulation reveals that from 2014 to 2019, Mr. Kratz’ license to practice law in Wisconsin was suspended for discipline, and for administrative deficiencies, a status continuing today. [See attached exhibit.]

In falsely advertising his ability to practice law with a suspended license between 2014-2019, Mr. Kratz has committed a continuing act that reflects adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness and fitness as a Wisconsin  lawyer.

The grievance includes several exhibits that show Kratz purporting to be an attorney in his social media profiles including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Linked-In as late as June 2019.

Kratz used the false description to fraudulently promote himself to 1,000s of rightwing social media followers.

Kratz is infamous as the corrupt prosecutor of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey convicted for the murder of Teresa Halbach, featured in the Emmy-winning Making a Murderer docu-series, (Netflix, Inc.).

Kratz engaged in a character assassination tour against Avery after Kratz' resignation that included Kratz writing a letter to Avery under the auspices of his disbanded law firm. In the 2015 letter, Kratz taunted Avery for legally seeking exoneration in post-conviction litigation.
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In other recent developments. Steven Avery's attorneys signaled they will file a massive brief in state appellate court on October 14, 2019 in closely watched post-conviction litigation.

The case is State v. Steven A. Avery, Appeal Number 2017AP002288.

Meanwhile, Kratz announced in social media that the publisher of his 2017 monograph on the Avery-Dassey case will release an updated paperback version this year. ---

Wisconsin's Manitowoc and Calumet counties continue as a haven for corrupt law enforcement that brings continuing condemnation from attorneys and other human rights advocates as among the worst in the country.

This cop was so confident framing people you can tell he’d been doing it to hundreds of innocent people. Right in front of his partner, who probably knew. Likewise, I believe Manitowoc’s brazen evidence planting against SA probably came after years of successful corruption. https://t.co/M6Rkq7f2Ra

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) September 20, 2019