Facing the Klieg Lights: Understanding the "Good Moral Character"
Facing the Klieg Lights: Understanding the "Good Moral Character"
Facing the Klieg Lights: Understanding the "Good Moral Character"
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CLEMENSFINAL.DOC<br />
3/30/2007 12:51:01 PM<br />
288 AKRON LAW REVIEW [40:255<br />
Formal treatment of drug or alcohol addiction is not required for<br />
admission despite an applicant’s past drug history, 343 nor will treatment<br />
guarantee admission. 344 Yet, expert testimony about rehabilitation or<br />
that no treatment is needed, can persuade <strong>the</strong> bar. 345 Law school drug<br />
misconduct causes problems, particularly when exacerbated by a lack of<br />
candor. 346<br />
5. Theft Convictions or Activity Impacting Admission<br />
Any <strong>the</strong>ft, even uncharged conduct, 347 creates difficulty for<br />
applicants. 348 Larceny is a crime of dishonesty that may lead to<br />
rejection. 349 Not all <strong>the</strong>fts, however, require denial. 350 Never<strong>the</strong>less, in<br />
one notable case, stealing a girlfriend’s cat, along with o<strong>the</strong>r minor<br />
misconduct and disrespect to <strong>the</strong> bar, resulted in permanent rejection. 351<br />
Theft is often compounded by a lack of candor. 352 Applicants may<br />
mistakenly argue that <strong>the</strong>y failed to disclose because <strong>the</strong>y thought<br />
pretrial diversion followed by a nolle prosequi 353 and expungement<br />
obviated <strong>the</strong> need for disclosure. When a lack of candor is discovered,<br />
applicants may defensively argue that <strong>the</strong>y forgot to disclose this<br />
incident similar to how <strong>the</strong>y forgot what <strong>the</strong>y were accused of<br />
stealing. 354 Such memory lapses never impress <strong>the</strong> bar.<br />
The Jean Valjean 355 defense 356 is unwise. Entreaties for leniency<br />
due to financial difficulties should be avoided unless an applicant<br />
343. Id. at § 13 (citing In re Beers, 118 P.3d 784 (Or. 2005)).<br />
344. Id. at § 14 (citing In re Glenville, 565 N.E.2d 623 (Ill. 1990)).<br />
345. Id. at § 15 (citing In re Ogilvie, 623 N.W.2d 55 (S.D. 2001)).<br />
346. Karnezis, supra note 324, at § 1 (citing In re Tedder, 374 S.E.2d 294 (S.C. 1988)).<br />
347. Blum, supra note 241, at § 14 (citing In re K.S.L., 495 S.E.2d 276, 276-77 (1998)).<br />
348. Id. (citing In re G.S., 433 A.2d 1159, 1161 (1981)). But see id. at § 18 (citing In re<br />
Howard C., 407 A.2d 1124 (Md. Ct. App. 1979)).<br />
349. Id. at § 14 (citing In re T.J.F., 770 So.2d 676, 678 (Fla. 2000)).<br />
350. Id. at §§ 15, 18 (citing In re Allan S., 387 A.2d 271 (Md. Ct. App. 1978); In re Davis, 403<br />
N.E.2d 189 (Ohio 1980); In re L. K. D., 397 So.2d 673 (Fla. 1981)).<br />
351. Id. at § 19 (citing In re Kapel, 717 N.E.2d 704, 704-05 (Ohio. 1999)).<br />
352. Blum, supra note 169, § 15(b) (citing In re N.W.R., 674 So.2d 729 (Fla. 1996)).<br />
353. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (4th 2000) available<br />
at http://www.bartleby.com/61/0/N0130000.html (last visited January 15, 2006). (“A declaration<br />
that <strong>the</strong> plaintiff in a civil case or <strong>the</strong> prosecutor in a criminal case will drop prosecution of all or<br />
part of a suit or indictment.”).<br />
354. T.J.F., 770 So.2d at 677.<br />
355. Answers.com, Les Miserables, available at http://www.answers.com/topic/les-mis-rables<br />
(last visited January 7, 2006) (“A novel by Victor Hugo. The central character, Jean Valjean, is<br />
sentenced to prison for stealing a single loaf of bread” in order to feed “his starving family.”).<br />
356. T.J.F., 770 So.2d at 677. (“T.J.F. submitted into evidence . . . an affidavit of her mo<strong>the</strong>r<br />
attesting to T.J.F.’s financial difficulty from 1994 to 1997” (<strong>the</strong> period of <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>fts)).