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

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CLEMENSFINAL.DOC 3/30/2007 12:51:01 PM 302 AKRON LAW REVIEW [40:255 Compulsive gambling may result in denial. 474 Even speaking publicly about betting on football games is dangerous. 475 Engaging in the unauthorized practice of law and disregarding limitations during the pendency of proceedings on an application for admission is unwise. 476 No applicant should use the judicial processes in a way inconsistent with the standards expected of a lawyer. 477 Improper activity as a law clerk can result in denial. 478 Failure to comply with business regulations and demonstrating unethical business practices can result in denial, particularly where settlement of shady pending business litigation only comes during the bar application process. 479 Lying under oath about sexual orientation for a military discharge can result in denial. 480 Unethical activity as a student attorney in a clinic may provide grounds for denial. 481 Such activity can also provide grounds for “discipline after a law student becomes a lawyer.” 482 Finally, preaching hate and white supremacy can result in denial. 483 IV. DEALING WITH POTENTIAL BAR ADMISSION ISSUES ONCE IDENTIFIED How should applicants deal with character admission problems? First, remember that the application process is not personal. An attorney has the responsibility to stand “as a shield . . . in defense of right and to ward off wrong.” 484 Because of lawyers’ obligations, the bar justifiably 474. Blum, supra note 252, at § 4 (citing Layon v. N. D. State Bar Bd., 458 N.W.2d 501, 502 (N.D. 1990)). 475. Fla. Bar v. Levin, 570 So.2d 917 (Fla. 1990). 476. 7 AM. JUR. 2D Attorneys at Law § 26 (2nd ed. 2006) (citing In re Monaco, 856 P.2d 311 (Or. 1993)). 477. Id. (citing In re Admission to Bar of Commonwealth, 392 N.E.2d 533 (Mass. 1979)); see also In re Converse, 602 N.W.2d 500 (Neb. 1999). 478. Stepanian, supra note 13, at 73-75 (citing In re Bowen, 447 P.2d 658 (Nev. 1968)); see c.f. id. (citing In Re Courtney, 319 P.2d 991 (Ariz. 1957)). 479. Blum, supra note 10, at § 14 (citing In re Appell, 359 A.2d 634 (N.H. 1976)). 480. See Blum, supra note 241, at § 4 (citing In re Adams, 540 S.E.2d 609 (Ga. 2001)). 481. Peter A. Joy and Robert R. Kuehn, Conflict Of Interest And Competency Issues In Law Clinic Practice, 9 CLINICAL L. REV. 493, 504 n.42 (2002). 482. Id. 483. Mathew Stevenson, Book Note, Hate Vs. Hypocrisy: Matt Haleand The New Politics Of Bar Admissions, 63 MONT. L. REV. 419, 420-21 (2002); see also Richard L. Sloane, Book Note, Barbarian at the Gates: Revisiting the Case of Matthew F. Hale to Reaffirm that Character and Fitness Evaluations Appropriately Preclude Racists from the Practice of Law, 15 GEO. J. LEGAL ETHICS 397 (2002). 484. Schware v. Bd. of Bar Exam. Of State of N.M., 353 U.S. 232, 247 (1957) (Frankfurter, J., concurring) (internal quotations omitted).
CLEMENSFINAL.DOC 3/30/2007 12:51:01 PM 2007] THE “GOOD MORAL CHARACTER” EXAMINATION 303 wants to only admit members with the “qualities of truth-speaking, of a high sense of honor, of granite discretion, of the strictest observance of fiduciary responsibility.” 485 When deciding if an applicant measures up, bar authorities must assess all the relevant facts before them. Justice Frankfurter described this process in Schware: No doubt satisfaction of the requirement of moral character involves an exercise of delicate judgment on the part of those who reach a conclusion, having heard and seen the applicant for admission, a judgment of which it may be said as it was of “many honest and sensible judgments” in a different context that it expresses “an intuition of experience which outruns analysis and sums up many unnamed and tangled impressions; impressions which may lie beneath consciousness without losing their worth.” 486 Decisions relying on “unnamed and tangled impressions . . . which may lie beneath consciousness” 487 run serious risks of error and inconsistency. These decisions may devastate an applicant’s dreams, livelihood, and reputation. Also, any delay may show colleagues that a recent law graduate has character problems. To foster standardization and predictable outcomes, the ABA has crafted model guidelines for bars to evaluate character. 488 Rehabilitation is an important concept. A criminal record can establish a presumption of denial, rebuttable if an applicant proves rehabilitation. 489 This rebuttable presumption sounds difficult to overcome, yet this approach, now adopted by most states, favors applicants with criminal records far more than “traditional per se disqualification.” 490 A. Obtain an Attorney Experienced with Bar Admission in the Targeted Jurisdiction An applicant concerned about the character examination should retain an attorney experienced with bar admission in the targeted jurisdiction. 491 Only an attorney familiar with the application process 485. Id. 486. Id. at 248. 487. Id. 488. Stepanian, supra note 13. 489. Arnold, supra note 6, at 63. 490. Id. at 63-64. 491. Mark R. Privratsky, Book Note, A Critical Review Culminating in Practical Bar Examination Application Techniques in Regards to the “Good Moral Character Requirement”—In re Majorek, 244 Neb. 595, 508 N.W.2d 275 (1993), 74 NEB. L. REV. 324, 332-33 (1995).
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