Facing the Klieg Lights: Understanding the "Good Moral Character"

CLEMENSFINAL.DOC
3/30/2007 12:51:01 PM
2007] THE “GOOD MORAL CHARACTER” EXAMINATION 291
question was very broad. 372 This question applied to treatment for
depression, “one of the more prevalent mental impairments that plague
American society.” 373 Recent studies suggest legal education might
contribute to “the development of depression, or at least promotes its
manifestation.” 374 The Florida Bar’s question would also apply to
students with anxiety disorder, also exacerbated by law school. 375
3. Scrutiny May Prevent People From Seeking Help
Critics argue that “no applicant should be punished for seeking help
for his or her mental disability” because such questions might discourage
students from seeking treatment, inadvertently producing lawyers lesser
fit to practice than if these questions were omitted. 376 When applicants
realize they must disclose treatment, they may be more reluctant to seek
assistance. 377 Fear of scrutiny has likely caused harm by deterring
people from seeking treatment. After former White House Counsel
Vincent Foster’s suicide, it was learned that Foster “had hesitated to see
a psychiatrist because it ‘could jeopardize his White House security
clearance.’” 378 Similar tragedies might occur if applicants avoid
treatment for fear of the bar. 379
Bar admission and insurance coverage is a potential double
whammy. If a law student and new mother attended a brief meeting
with a doctor to discuss post-partum depression, possibly exacerbated by
372. Florida Bar Application (2004), § (A)(26)(d) (Mental Health – Continued) (on file with
author)
Do you currently (as hereinafter defined) have a mental health condition (not reported
above) which in any way impairs or limits, or if untreated could impair or limit, your
ability to practice law in a competent and professional manner? If yes, are the
limitations or impairments caused by your mental health condition reduced or
ameliorated because you receive ongoing treatment (with or without medications) or
participate in a monitoring or counseling program? If yes, describe such condition and
any treatment or program of monitoring or counseling. ‘Currently’ does not mean on the
day of, or even in the weeks or months preceding the completion of this application;
rather, it means recently enough so that the condition may have an ongoing impact on
your functioning as a licensed attorney.
Id.
373. Shapiro, supra note 366, at 929.
374. Id. at 930.
375. Id. at 932.
376. Id. at 939-40.
377. Id. (citing Laura F. Rothstein, Higher Education and the Future of Disability Policy, 52
ALA. L. REV. 241, 260 (2000)).
378. Herr, supra note 20, at 644 (citing Lloyd Cutler, Psychotherapy: No Sign of a Security
Risk, WASH. POST, July 12, 1994, at A17).
379. Laura Rothstein, Disability Law And Higher Education: A Road Map For Where We’ve
Been And Where We May Be, 63 MD. L. REV. 122, 144-46 (2004).