| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="WebPreferences" |
|---|
-- AndrewMcCormick - 13 Nov 2009 | | | George Sharswood, in An Essay on Professional Ethics, 1884, demonstrates the shift from wishing to eliminate the legal profession to a desire to hold it to a high standard, "the things we hold dearest on earth... we confide to the integrity of our legal counsellors[sic] and advocates. Their character must be not only without a stain, but without suspicion." Lawyers became an established fixture of American commerce, and character and fitness standards were present if unused. | |
<
< | During 18th and 19th centuries, bar examinations were orally administered before a judge, and according The Troubling Rise of the Legal Profession's Good Moral Character "in the entire nineteenth century, there were virtually no reported instances in which applicants were banned for their character." (Comment on notes not played? Thelonious Monk? Look to the importance of "reported instances"?) | >
> | During 18th and 19th centuries, bar examinations were orally administered before a judge, and according The Troubling Rise of the Legal Profession's Good Moral Character "in the entire nineteenth century, there were virtually no reported instances in which applicants were banned for their character." Obviously, this invites questions regarding "reported instances". | | | | |
<
< | End of 19th and beginning of 20th century saw formalization and stiffening, but number of those denied entry for character reasons remained very small. In 1878 the ABA formed in New York, including formalizing rules for character, "Court of Appeals fixed requirements for preliminary education and proof of character" and required that "as a condition precedent to admission to the Bar, the character of
each applicant will be subjected to a scrutiny which will be genuine and not perfunctory." (Smith, Admission to the Bar in New York, 16 Yale L.J. (1907), attached below as 16_YLJ_514). Before that time, there was no code of ethics and education remained informal. See generally, The ABA's Bar History page. | >
> | The end of 19th and beginning of 20th century saw formalization and stiffening of policies, but number of those denied entry for character reasons remained very small. In 1878 the ABA formed in New York, including formalizing rules for character, "Court of Appeals fixed requirements for preliminary education and proof of character" and required that "as a condition precedent to admission to the Bar, the character of each applicant will be subjected to a scrutiny which will be genuine and not perfunctory." (Smith, Admission to the Bar in New York, 16 Yale L.J. (1907), attached below as 16_YLJ_514). Before that time, there was no code of ethics and education remained informal. See generally, The ABA's Bar History page. | | | | | | Despite their small number, the cases present cases offer points of interest. | |
<
< | Schware v. Board, 353 U.S. 232 involves a New Mexico man's denied entry to the bar on account of failing to show "good moral character." In question was, among minor crimes, his eight year membership in the communist party, from 1932-1940. The Court established in an 8-0 opinion that character and fitness requirements must comport with the Due Process Clause, and that party membership did not show bad character, especially over a decade later. | >
> | Schware v. Board, 353 U.S. 232 involved a New Mexico man's denied entry to the bar on account of failing to show "good moral character." Among other minor crimes, his eight year membership in the communist party, from 1932-1940, was the major concern. The Court established in an 8-0 opinion that character and fitness requirements must comport with the Due Process Clause, and that party membership did not show bad character, especially over a decade later. | | | In Re Application of Stewart - PDF? , 112 Ohio St. 3d 415, was a recent Ohio case to the point of my initial interest; there, the court affirmed the character and fitness board's decision that debt combined with sketchy disclosure was enough to deny admission to the bar. |
|