In a test of how far the state's Office of Lawyer Regulation can go to keep its investigations secret, a referee in a disciplinary case has ordered the agency to let him inspect the case file — so far to no avail.

The agency on Monday denied referee Stanley Hack access to the file, saying confidentiality rules "specifically do not allow the OLR director to permit a referee to inspect OLR investigative materials."

Hack said in his order Wednesday that if the agency doesn't allow him to inspect the file, he would take the matter to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which oversees the OLR.

But agency director Keith Sellen said the office will ask the high court to block Hack's order, which he said is the first time his agency has been ordered to open its files to a referee.

Hack, a Mequon attorney, was appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the disciplinary case against Madison attorney Joseph Sommers.

Regulators allege Sommers violated Supreme Court rules during his defense of Adam Raisbeck, a Marshall teenager charged in Dane County Circuit Court with vehicular homicide. The complaint stemmed from Sommers' in-court statements that a judge was running a "kangaroo court" and that prosecutor Paul Humphrey may have improperly had a witness arrested.

Sommers argues that the alleged violations were allowable under court rules to counter alleged misconduct by the prosecution. Humphrey, a Dane County assistant district attorney, also is facing discipline in that case for allegedly withholding from Sommers crash-scene photos and a witness statement, and lying to a judge about whether he improperly kept the photos from Sommers.

Sommers is seeking access to his OLR file to find out whether agency investigators received documents he provided, which he said clear him of any wrongdoing. In his order, Hack said he needs to examine the file first to determine if Sommers should be allowed to see it.

Over the past several weeks, Sommers has sought to exonerate himself by deposing several people involved in the disciplinary case and the Raisbeck case. Last month, Sellen acknowledged under oath that some information in the complaint against Sommers is untrue, which he chalked up to a "mistake."

Sellen also couldn't explain why several documents Sommers sent to the agency apparently weren't sent to the committees that investigated Sommers' alleged misconduct.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation is seeking a two-month suspension of Sommers' law license. A one-week hearing is scheduled for June 9 before Hack, who will recommend what sanction, if any, the Supreme Court should impose.