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Doc: 00131030 DB: research–d–2006–3 Date: Fri Jul 28 15:36:36 2006

Alert Categories: bus frd hit lab law mun

Profiler Categories: Business HiTech Labor Law Media Municipal

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KD8J56EH00 07-28-2006 15:36:36*F BC-WI--UW Software Failure:Reports detail

Copyright 2006 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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BC-WI--UW Software Failure,1014

Reports detail mismanagement that killed UW payroll project

With BC-WI--UW Software Failure-Quote Box

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By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Poor leadership, a lack of planning and bureaucratic infighting plagued University of Wisconsin System's failed project to install a new payroll management system, according to critiques by private consultants.

The two assessments, obtained by The Associated Press after an open records request, detail widespread mismanagement of the project that cost $26 million before the UW System canceled it earlier this month after eight years of planning and attempted implementation.

The assessments in 2004 and 2005 by consultants Diane Haubner and Susan Doherty blame a mix of strategic errors by UW leaders, clashes between key leaders and resistance from rank-and-file employees. Their reports were meant to help UW System leaders understand problems with the project.

"The general lack of project experience on the team led to on-the-fly planning and ongoing 'surprises,'" Haubner wrote in her February 2005 assessment.

Ed Meachen, UW System's chief information officer, said the assessments accurately portray what went wrong in a complex project that turned into "this disaster."

"We know this is a major, major failure on our part," he said.

UW System started planning the project in 1998 with hopes of adopting a software system to replace a 30-year-old homegrown program that was becoming obsolete. The program was to track payroll, benefits and other information for its 40,000 employees at 13 four-year universities, 13 two-year colleges and a statewide extension.

But after years of delays and cost overruns, UW System announced July 5 it would stop trying to implement the software developed by Minnesota-based Lawson Software, saying the project would be too expensive to complete.

The system will continue using its aging program but will eventually start from scratch using Oracle PeopleSoft, the preferred choice of many UW employees when Lawson was selected in 2000.

"We didn't even get started and there were questions," recalled Don Mash, then UW-Eau Claire's chancellor and now UW System's executive senior vice president. "Here we are now coming back around after all this time and money with an opportunity to have PeopleSoft."

UW System does not have a budget for the project, but it will take years and cost millions, Mash said. He said future projects will engage experienced leaders and consultants early in the process and have stronger oversight, better planning and improved communication.

Still, the project has become a symbol of UW System waste that threatens to undermine its requests for more state funding next year. State auditors, meanwhile, are beginning to dissect the project as part of their probe of information technology problems across state government.

Some Republican lawmakers have demanded the employees responsible be held accountable, but system spokeswoman Kate Dixon said no employee has been disciplined or reprimanded.

Much of the criticism from the consultants was aimed at George Brooks, who retired last year as the system's associate vice president for human resources.

Brooks and other officials decided that end-users of the software, not information technology experts, would lead the project. The consultants called that approach a mistake.

"The assumption that business experts were qualified to perform top level roles in managing and implementing a technical software package for a $26 million project and learn on-the-job how to do this, has, by and large, resulted in the majority of risks," Haubner wrote.

Brooks hired an inexperienced project manager, Margo Lessard, over two others who had more expertise, Doherty wrote in her assessment dated November 2004, citing interviews with staff.

Lessard, who headed the project from 2000 to 2005, "admits openly that she does not have the project management skills or time needed to manage the project plan," Doherty wrote.

The lack of experience and incomplete planning led to poor testing of the software and weak transitions from one project phase to the next, Haubner wrote.

"Margo and George rejected any technology assistance," said Annie Stunden, who retired as UW-Madison's chief information officer July 1 and advised ending the project years ago. "University technology leadership was rejected over and over and over again."

Lessard, who works as a $93,000-per-year UW System consultant, declined to comment except to say the assessments were accurate.

Brooks defended his decision to put end-users in charge and to hire Lessard, saying she was well-respected across the system. He blamed a lack of cooperation from UW-Madison and Meachen for problems but criticized the decision to stop implementation.

"I never would have bailed on that," he said. "That threw away a $26 million investment when all it would have taken was strong leadership to tell UW-Madison to get on board."

Mash said it would be less expensive to implement PeopleSoft at a discounted price under a new state contract than to finish with Lawson.

Mash, who has overseen the project since last year, declined to criticize anyone. Instead, he cited "all the resistance you can imagine" to changes in business practices the new system would have required. He conceded, "We underestimated the complexity of this implementation."

Lawson, which was paid $10.1 million for the software and consulting services, was not to blame, he said.

Haubner said the internal problems went beyond resistance to change. She cited political and personal conflicts between the project team and officials on the UW-Madison campus that went unmanaged, leading "to mistrust, resistance and lack of acceptance of the system." Some UW-Madison employees had an expectation for failure, she wrote.

Haubner advised that it would take tens of millions of dollars to complete the project but noted that one option would be to stop and start over with a different vendor if that was determined to be cheaper in the long-run.

"This option will result in significant increases in time and cost and will result in a throwaway of the current Lawson system and the years of work and dollars already expended on the project," she wrote, warning: "Such an action could raise unwelcome public interest."

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On the Net:

University of Wisconsin System: http://www.wisconsin.edu

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BC-WI--UW Software Failure-Quote Box,0381

Excerpts from two reports detailing failed UW System project

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By The Associated Press

Two lengthy assessments by private consultants detail widespread mismanagement of a failed $26 million project to install a new software program to track UW System employees' payroll and benefits information. Below are excerpts from two reports by Susan Doherty and Diane Haubner:

–––

On inexperienced project leaders and poor planning:

"The assumption that business experts were qualified to perform top level roles in managing and implementing a technical software package for a $26M project and learn on-the-job how to do this, has, by and large, resulted in the majority of risks that appear in this report." – Haubner

"Adequate project management practices, including quality control principles to ensure that risks are avoided or at least managed, are lacking on the project." – Haubner

"The general lack of project experience on the team led to on-the-fly planning and ongoing 'surprises' which ultimately resulted in the risks the University faces today." – Haubner

"The project manager admits openly that she does not have the project management skills or time needed to manage the project plan." – Doherty

"The project plan is not complete and is not being used to track tasks and manage the project and is therefore ineffective as a tool for understanding project status or budget needs." – Doherty

–––

On institutional resistance and infighting:

"These risks include the political and personal conflicts between the project team and several of their customers ... The fostering of these conflicts ... has led to mistrust, resistance and lack of acceptance of the system." – Haubner

"The continual placement of blame for poor deliverables on (others) by the project management team hurt the project. The expectation for failure by (some UW-Madison employees) is equally problematic." – Haubner

"The majority of team members interviewed experienced or were painfully aware of the 'infamous' internal politics with the UWPC Madison's Peterson processing center which has impacted the project with an overwhelming negative perception that the project will not succeed." – Doherty

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On poor communication between project leaders and campuses:

"By and large, the message communicated within and outside of the project team was slanted to the positive, even though there were significant issues and risks." – Haubner

"Project status is not communicated clearly ... (A communication plan) has not been implemented since the team member who created it got ill and left the project." – Doherty.

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Doc: 00158769 DB: research–d–2006–3 Date: Thu Aug 3 15:32:31 2006

Alert Categories: frd law ter

Profiler Categories: Law Media Terrorism

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kD8J8V6700 08-03-2006 08:59:08 S BC-WI--Instructor-Sept. 11:Ozaukee County

kD8J93BQG3 08-03-2006 13:44:10 BC-WI--Instructor-Sept. 11, 1st Ld-Writeth

kD8J94UJO0 08-03-2006 15:32:31*F BC-WI--Instructor-Sept. 11, 2nd Ld-Writeth

Copyright 2006 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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BC-WI--Instructor-Sept. 11, 2nd Ld-Writethru,0663

Letter warned Barrett to stop seeking publicity

Eds: SUBS lede to delete extraneous 'has'. CORRECTS AP style on '10' in 4th graf. ADDS summary box.

With BC-WI--Instructor-Sept. 11-Summary Box

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By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of Wisconsin's provost warned an instructor who believes the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks to stop seeking publicity for his views, days after he defended the teacher's right to free speech.

UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell also warned Kevin Barrett to stop associating himself with UW-Madison when he advocates his views. Otherwise, Farrell wrote in the July 20 letter, he would reconsider his decision to allow Barrett to teach a course on Islam this fall.

"In summary, if you continue to identify yourself with UW-Madison in your personal political messages or illustrate an inability to control your interest in publicity for your ideas, I would lose confidence ... ," he wrote in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press in an open records request.

The letter came 10 days after Farrell decided to retain Barrett as a part-time instructor for the fall semester course, "Islam: Religion and Culture," despite calls to fire him.

The decision has sparked a major backlash against UW-Madison, with 61 state lawmakers denouncing the move. The Ozaukee County Board voted Wednesday to cut funding to next year's UW Extension program by $8,247 – the amount Barrett will earn for the course – in a symbolic protest that could spread to other counties.

Announcing his decision on July 10, Farrell declared, "We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas."

Mike Mikalsen, an aide to Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said Farrell's letter "makes a mockery of his earlier statements" that he was committed to protecting Barrett's ideas and may signal the school is looking for a way to fire him.

"It stuns me they would put that kind of threat in writing because they have set a standard that Barrett's already broken," he said, noting Barrett gave an interview on Fox News on Thursday morning. "He has not backed off one iota."

Farrell said he wanted Barrett to know that he could reconsider his decision if he did not meet expectations. He said Barrett has "modestly made some efforts" to cut down on publicity.

"I was trying to be fairly careful to not inhibit his privilege of speaking freely," he said. "My point was that he should be aware as he exercises those rights there may be a time when I have to rethink the assurances he has given me about his ability to separate his opinions from what happens in the classroom."

Farrell launched a review of Barrett's course plans after he gave a radio interview in which he said he planned to teach students his views that the U.S. government carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to spark war.

The provost concluded Barrett was qualified to teach and he could present his ideas during one week of the course as long as students were allowed to challenge them.

But the letter shows Farrell, UW-Madison's No. 2 official, became frustrated with Barrett's handling of himself during the national media frenzy that ensued.

Barrett has appeared on national television shows and given dozens of interviews to discuss his theories and has been erroneously described as a professor rather than a part-time instructor. He is also active in a group of scholars who share his views.

Farrell scolded Barrett for identifying himself as a UW-Madison instructor in e-mails in which he challenged others to debate his theories. The provost said the challenges suggest "that you speak for the university – precisely what I told you was inappropriate in that context."

Barrett said he understood Farrell's frustration and his desire that "the media hoopla would die down." But he said he told Farrell he was only defending himself in the media in the face of repeated attacks and that he had turned down many interviews.

"I have not sought publicity," Barrett wrote in an e-mail message to The AP.

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Doc: 00157106 DB: research–d–2007–1 Date: Thu Feb 1 18:09:35 2007

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kD8N13G181 02-01-2007 13:57:09 BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy:

kD8N15OBG2 02-01-2007 16:31:26 BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy, 1st Ld-Writethru:

kD8N16FB8A 02-01-2007 17:20:29 BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy, 2nd Ld-Writethru:

kD8N176BO1 02-01-2007 18:09:35*F BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy, 3rd Ld-Writethru:

Copyright 2007 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy, 3rd Ld-Writethru,0808

AP NewsBreak: Wis. firm tried to keep tax error mum, records show

Eds: ADDS new 2 grafs at bottom with reaction from senator.

With: BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy-Glance

By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A printing company responsible for an error that led to the disclosure of thousands of Wisconsin taxpayers' Social Security numbers tried to convince the state Department of Revenue to keep the mistake quiet, e-mail records show.

Revenue officials initially agreed taxpayers should not be notified and asked media outlets not to report the story, concerned disclosure would increase the risk of identity theft, e-mails obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request show.

Only after news organizations – tipped off by angry taxpayers – said they would report the mistake by Ripon Community Printers did the department notify the public.

The contractor has blamed a printing mistake for including Social Security numbers on the address section of about 171,000 booklets mailed to taxpayers in late December.

The department has acknowledged it had no reason to give the numbers to the company. In response, it has ordered contractors to purge nonessential information from files and promised to appoint a privacy specialist and develop unique identification numbers for taxpayers.

Although no cases of identity theft have been attributed to the glitch, the company and the state have agreed to cover a year's worth of free credit monitoring for those affected.

One taxpayer who said she was angry to find her Social Security number sitting in her mailbox called the e-mails "very disturbing."

"They are just trying to shove this under the rug so to speak," said Carol Herbert, 58, of Milwaukee. "This cover-up, it's very disheartening. It's no wonder that people have lost faith in the system. This is very serious and nobody is being held accountable."

But the company and the agency both denied on Thursday they wanted to cover up the mistake.

Company President Andy Lyke said he only wanted the press to wait a few days before reporting it to reduce the risk of identity theft.

"The press made the situation a whole lot worse. I'm convinced of that," he said. "It alerted anyone who had any kind of ill-intent that these numbers were out there."

Revenue spokeswoman Meredith Helgerson acknowledged the agency's first instinct was not to immediately inform the public so as not to alert would-be identity thieves. But she said the agency quickly decided taxpayers should know so they could quickly retrieve their mail.

"We decided we really had to get it out on the same day it was brought to our attention," she said.

The agency discovered the problem on the morning of Dec. 29, when taxpayers called to complain. E-mails show an initial desire among the company and some agency officials that day to keep the mistake quiet.

"The press is going with it despite my plea," Helgerson wrote in an e-mail to a colleague at 4:43 p.m. Two hours later, she sent out a brief statement apologizing for the problem.

The department later took credit for promptly notifying the public. "DOR notified press outlets immediately to promote public awareness," deputy secretary Laura Engan wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Jan. 5.

Department executive assistant Audra Brennan said Engan made the decision to notify the public and it "had nothing to do with what the press was or was not going to do."

"Once all the information was presented to the person in charge of making the decision, it was an immediate decision to notify taxpayers," she said.

But company officials, including Lyke, repeatedly asked the agency not to disclose what happened, e-mails show. Revenue official Martin Wright wrote that Lyke asked "that we do not publicize this event at this time."

"His reasoning is that the mistake is out there and if we publicize it at this time someone with bad intentions could go looking for this data and use it in an unscrupulous manner," Wright wrote to colleagues.

Wright wrote he agreed with Lyke that many people wouldn't even notice the mistake when they picked up their mail.

"Hopefully an unknowing person will not realize this is a social security number as the nine numbers just run together and are not in the typical social security number format," he wrote.

An hour later, Wright wrote in an e-mail that the company again called to ask "that we not publicize this issue as it is not in the best interest to the taxpayer."

"I informed them that the media is already aware of the situation and we are requesting they not publicize the issue," he wrote.

Reacting to the disclosures Thursday, state Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, said the agency "showed incredibly poor judgment by not letting the public know of the mistake immediately."

"To suggest that the mistake should have been covered up, and the public not be notified is borderline criminal," he said in a statement.

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Excerpts of e-mails from taxpayers angry over tax form glitch

Eds: With: BC-WI--Taxpayer Privacy.

By The Associated Press

Hundreds of angry taxpayers contacted the Wisconsin Department of Revenue after news broke in December that an agency contractor had accidentally included Social Security numbers on tax forms sent through the mail. Below are excerpts from e-mails obtained by The Associated Press in an open records request. The department removed the names of taxpayers.

– "I want to know who screwed up and will that person or persons be fired, since this breaks with your mission statement and pledge to us taxpayers."

– "How is it that something this serious gets by someone?"

– "As a professional CPA, business owner and more importantly taxpayer it genuinely frightens me that my social security was disclosed to so many possible individuals. I pray that no identity theft comes of this error. If my employees were as careless as yours I truly believe that we'd be out of business."

– "Who did this to us? I want that person's name. I assume I am paying that person's salary out of my tax dollars. I want them removed from their job."

– "In this day of identity theft, I cannot understand why government would do such a thing."

– "All the steps I take to protect my identity down the drain because of the State of Wisconsin."

– "Doesn't anyone in government think before acting...no one caught this?"

– "you are looking into sanctioning the printing firm?? c'mon how about sanctioning the idiot that released the social security numbers to the printing firm??? nothing like trying to pass the blame!!!"

– "Idiots! Did you ever hear of proofing? If a member of the private sector did something like this, heads would roll."

– "What are you planning to do about this? It appears sweeping this under the rug is the order of the day."

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kD8N9NODO1 02-14-2007 16:16:39*F BC-WI--NCAA-Drug Testing, ADV17:After poli

Copyright 2007 By The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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BC-WI--NCAA-Drug Testing, ADV17,1021

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For release weekend, Feb. 17-19, or thereafter

AP Centerpiece: NCAA starts drug-testing program in Division III

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By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

MENOMONIE, Wis. (AP) – After police seized steroids from the homes of two of his linebackers, University of Wisconsin-Stout football coach Todd Strop fired off an e-mail warning his players to stop using drugs or quit.

"I am scared to know how deep the drug use is on this team, but we will, with your help, get it cleaned up," he wrote in the Dec. 21 e-mail obtained by The Associated Press in an open records request. "For those of you who are clean, I apologize for not knowing and we are proud of you."

Division III coaches at schools such as Wisconsin-Stout soon should be better able to understand the extent of drug use among their players.

Wisconsin-Stout and up to 115 other schools will participate in an NCAA pilot program starting next school year that will subject some of their athletes to random drug testing and require them to educate players on the effects of drug use.

The two-year program, expected to cost the NCAA $1.2 million, aims to determine how many Division III players use common street drugs and performance-enhancing substances. The findings will help decide whether the NCAA should implement a year-round testing program similar to those in Divisions I and II.

"The sense among our student athletes and our leadership is we need to get a better handle on the extent to which a problem might exist," said Dan Dutcher, NCAA vice president for Division III. "This will be our first venture into any kind of NCAA regular-season testing."

He said the goal is to improve the health of student athletes and ensure fair competition amid concerns about the use of performance-enhancing drugs at all levels of sports.

Division III athletes use social drugs such as alcohol, marijuana and cocaine more than their upper-division counterparts, according to an NCAA survey released in 2006. The survey found comparable levels of anabolic steroid use across all divisions.

The issue hit home in Menomonie, a city of 15,000 in western Wisconsin, in December when police seized liquid steroids and other drugs from the homes of Wisconsin-Stout football players Luke Steffen, a senior all-conference linebacker who led the team in tackles, and junior linebacker Nicholas OrRico.

The discovery came after police searched their homes one block from each other near the campus recreation center. A former player who left the team in 2005 also was arrested. All three face multiple drug charges and have pleaded not guilty.

Neither Steffen, OrRico, nor their attorneys returned phone messages.

The news shocked the university of 8,400 students and Strop resigned after three years as coach in January, weeks after sending the e-mail warning to his team.

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Commissioner Gary Karner said Wisconsin-Stout and a handful of its members have asked to participate in the pilot program, which he said would yield significant data.

"We have a tendency to think some of the seedier things that go on in athletics, that we're immune. But those things can occur at any campus, at any level, at any time," he said. "The Wisconsin-Stout situation proves we're not immune to those pressures."

Even before the arrests, Wisconsin-Stout agreed to participate in the NCAA program. But the university said this month it would go further, implementing random drug testing for all athletes and requiring the entire football team to submit to testing this spring.

University spokesman Doug Mell said the policies will be among the toughest in Division III, whose institutions cannot award sports scholarships.

Ryan Ament, a Wisconsin-Stout running back who also competes in shot put for its track and field team, said he has no problems submitting to drug tests.

"I think it's a very smart move to set the standard to let everybody know this is a serious matter," said Ament, who was stunned by the arrests of his teammates. "We are Division III. I think it's getting a little out of hand if people are resorting to drugs at this level."

Many small schools have resisted such tests, in part because they lack the money to pay for them, don't think drug problems exist or believe they unfairly target student athletes.

Only 13 percent of Division III schools had drug-testing policies in place in 2005, according to the latest NCAA survey. And until now, the NCAA has done random drug testing only for championship competitions.

In the pilot program, up to 20 athletes at each school picked randomly by the NCAA will be required to give urine samples on short notice. The results will be given to schools in aggregate form, but individual violators will not be identified or face sanctions since it is only a research project.

The tests will be administered by the National Center for Drug Free Sport, the Kansas City group that tests for performance-enhancing substances in Divisions I and II. The pilot will go beyond those programs and test for other illegal drugs such as marijuana.

Frank Uryasz, the group's president, said calls for the testing came from athletes concerned about maintaining fair competition. Many small schools resist testing until athletes get in trouble, he said, but data indicate drug problems exist.

"What I usually hear from Division III is they believe strongly athletes should be treated the same as the rest of the student body and to single them out for testing is inconsistent with that philosophy," he said. "But I point to the NCAA drug-use study. If we can bring some of those drug-use numbers down by using drug testing, it ought to be considered."

Mary Wilfert, NCAA associate director of education outreach, emphasized a key part of the pilot program will be the educational efforts, including videos on the NCAA's banned substances and information on problems of substance abuse. She said the goal is to create an environment where drug use is not tolerated.

"We think it's going to have an impact across the board on all drug use," Wilfert said.

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KD8O16CB00 03-22-2007 07:19:08*F BC-WI--Lawyer's Hoax:Wis. hoax sparks deba

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Wis. hoax sparks debate over whether lawyers can ethically participate in covert activities

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By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – When a prominent lawyer was defending a businessman on charges of sexually assaulting a boy and possessing child pornography, he used a ruse to obtain the boy's computer to aid his case.

Now, state regulators want the state Supreme Court to scold the lawyer for the hoax. Stephen Hurley hired a private investigator to trick the boy into swapping his computer for a new laptop.

The case illustrates what the American Bar Association says has been a major debate in legal circles in recent years: Can lawyers ethically participate in covert activities?

The court will decide whether to discipline Hurley. The private reprimand sought by regulators is the lightest punishment possible.

The Oregon Supreme Court set off a similar debate in 2000 when it reprimanded a lawyer who posed as a doctor in phone calls to an insurance company he was planning to sue.

Hurley's lawyer, Claude Covelli, said his client did nothing wrong in supervising an undercover investigation to collect evidence, similar to sting operations conducted by law enforcement officers investigating civil rights complaints.

But a complaint filed by a state disciplinary board says Hurley broke rules that prohibit lawyers from engaging in "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" by approving the hoax.

"There are limits to zealous advocacy," said William Weigel, lawyer for the Office of Lawyer Regulation, who brought the complaint last month.

Supporters say Hurley, who has represented everyone from former University of Wisconsin football player Ron Dayne to former Gov. Scott McCallum, is being unfairly targeted.

"I certainly wouldn't be proud of taking advantage of a teenager," said Jack King, spokesman for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "But I don't feel the guy did anything unethical as far as the professional responsibilities rules go."

At issue is Hurley's defense of Gordon Sussman, who owned a business in Madison selling canoes and kayaks and became the boy's school mentor.

Sussman, 54, has insisted his accuser is lying.

Hurley wanted the boy's computer to aid the defense. He acknowledges hiring private investigator Sheridan Glen to obtain it through deception.

Glen sent the boy a letter from a fake Illinois company called Thermetric, Inc., claiming to be researching students' computer use.

"You have been selected to receive a brand new Hewlett Packard laptop computer, free of charge" in exchange for turning over a computer, the letter said. "The new computer is your reward for participation." The letter was signed "Glen Sheridan."

Glen later traveled to the boy's home in Indiana, where he had moved, to make the swap. His mother soon feared they were tricked and alerted authorities.

A defense analyst discovered hundreds of pornographic images on the computer, including 28 images involving children. Hurley claimed the images showed the boy accessed child pornography and learned about sex on his own and not through Sussman.

The evidence was never introduced at trial. A judge ruled that pornography viewed by the boy in 2004 was not relevant to assaults that happened at least two years earlier.

A jury found Sussman guilty of assault and possessing child pornography. He is in prison, though he maintains his innocence and is appealing.

Hurley, who did not return phone or e-mail messages, argued in court documents in 2005 that the hoax was the only way he could obtain the computer and perhaps evidence to exonerate his client.

"Given that the defense does not have the police at its disposal, this was the only means to obtain this exculpatory evidence," his law firm wrote in a motion. "The defense was correct in its instinct as the computer did contain relevant pornography."

Weigel's complaint says Hurley could have asked authorities to investigate the computer or sought a subpoena requiring the boy to produce it.

Other defense lawyers called those steps impractical and the use of deception justified, saying it was no different than a prosecutor who oversees undercover police operations.

"It's exactly the same thing or should be," Madison attorney Stephen Morgan said.

Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, who complained to regulators about Hurley's actions, dismissed such comparisons.

"There is no comparison between those lawful investigative activities and a private attorney's use of a sophisticated trick, without any court involvement whatsoever, to dupe a child witness in a criminal case out of his private computer files," he said.

Weigel acknowledged that Wisconsin rules are murky and the court could use the case to spell them out.