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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    June 01, 2005

    Inside the Bar

    No computer or Internet security system, no matter how sophisticated, can prevent a determined person from electronically targeting or stalking another person.

    George Brown

    Wisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 78, No. 6, June 2005

    Targeting Marty Kohler

    No computer or Internet security system, no matter how sophisticated, can prevent a determined person from electronically targeting or stalking another person. Wisconsin attorney Martin Kohler and others know this first-hand.

    by George C. Brown
    State Bar executive director

    George Brown

    Late in May, I turned on my computer to discover hundreds of email messages, mostly from people I didn't know, all written in German. Yet another computer virus. The virus blocker prevented the attachments from getting through, but the original messages made it through by the hundreds.

    Many of you probably experienced a similar event, recognized it for what it was, worried about yet another virus, and hoped your day wasn't going to be spent recovering files. Viruses and the malicious minds that create them are some of the costs we face to gain the advantages provided by today's technology.

    Computer and Internet security is the single greatest concern among information technology professionals nationwide. State Bar staff mirror that concern. Security was a principal issue that we addressed before launching the new WisBar Web site. That security is why it is virtually impossible for someone to download an electronic copy of the entire list of member email addresses or telephone numbers from the Lawyer Search function and why members' personal information, such as the CLE courses that you track via WisBar or your Social Security number listed in the membership database, cannot be accessed by other people. Nor can someone change your contact information via WisBar. The security systems in place prevent the State Bar from spreading viruses that may be sent here via email and they block attachments, such as those associated with the recent German virus, from spreading into State Bar computers.

    Unfortunately, no security system, no matter how sophisticated, can prevent a misguided person who has patience, time, and a computer from electronically targeting or stalking another person. Milwaukee attorney Martin Kohler knows this first-hand.

    Mark Inglin is a former client of Martin Kohler. Inglin kidnapped his child during a custody dispute, was captured, and later was convicted of his crime. Marty Kohler was his defense attorney. Now, Kohler is paying the price of defending Inglin.

    Inglin has twice brought complaints against Kohler to the Office of Lawyer Regulation, and twice Kohler has been exonerated. For years, Inglin distributed pamphlets denouncing Kohler, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Hansher, and others in the justice system, to the extent that Kohler felt compelled to sue Inglin for libel and then won a judgment against him. Inglin has fled the country, and there is an outstanding federal warrant for his arrest. He lives in Switzerland, where he continues to stalk Kohler, Judge Hansher, and others via the Internet.

    You may have received one of Inglin's unsolicited emails. They are headlined "Attorney Martin Kohler and Suspended Police Officer" or "The Judge David Hansher Story: Trash on the Bench." I received one, as did several State Bar staff members. So did the State Bar president. And, judging by the number of emails sent to Martin Kohler over the last several months informing him of the emails, so have hundreds of you.

    Some members have expressed concern that Inglin hacked into the membership database through WisBar to get the email addresses or that the State Bar sold email addresses to him. Neither has happened. No one has hacked into the database, and the State Bar does not sell email addresses to anyone. Inglin appears to be sending his diatribes to attorneys in selected geographic areas, disguising his mass email as a personal message.

    This misuse of email, then, becomes another cost of being accessible via the Internet. The State Bar adds your email address to the Lawyer Search function so other lawyers, the courts, and members of the public can easily contact you. Some members have even asked to have their firm Web sites linked to the Lawyer Search function.

    But for all the good that this service provides, it also provides opportunities for abuse and destruction, just as the Internet itself provides opportunities for destructive behavior. So for now, know that Kohler and Judge Hansher are fully aware of these emails and they would appreciate you just deleting them. And know that Inglin's actions have earned him another day in court on an intentional tort claim, and that the federal government is trying to figure out how to make him stop.


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