School of sharks? Bar fitness requirements of good moral character and the role of law schools

Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, The, Spring 2001 by McCulley, Elizabeth Gepford

Another difficulty arises when the student is already admitted to law school and has answered the law school application questions by the time the bar registration, with more elaborate questions, takes place. The student may have already answered the more lenient law school application question in the negative. The bar application clarifies that an alcohol-related traffic offense is not minor long after the student filled out his or her law school application. If the applicant answers "no" to the law school crime question, but "yes" to the bar's crime question, the applicant might worry that the state bar commission will determine the he or she has misrepresented information. Conversely, even though the bar's question is more stringent and more explicit, the applicant may decide that consistency is important and answer the bar's question in the negative. Applicants will be left to invoke their own interpretations of critical terms relating to character and fitness. Simple explanations can alleviate the uncertainty surrounding application questions.

In contrast to the approach of Missouri law schools, the University of Kansas School of Law ("KU") asks applicants "[h]ave you even been charged with a felony, misdemeanor, or infraction, or traffic violation involving alcohol or a controlled substance?"131 KU's application clearly alerts an applicant that even alcohol or drug related charges need to be disclosed. Other jurisdictions are also including language advising that alcohol related arrests, or DUI specifically, must be disclosed.132

Many law schools not only advise students that alcohol and drug-related offenses are not minor, but also that sealed or expunged offenses must be disclosed.133 A lay person who has not yet acquired a legal education might not understand that those charges which have been sealed or expunged may still require disclosure. For instance, consider an applicant who had an alcohol-related traffic offense years ago that resulted in a small fine or some sort of suspended sentence discharged after successful probation resulting in an expunged or sealed record. It is doubtful that a law school applicant understands the requirements of candor and disclosure without a clear statement by the law school requiring disclosure. An applicant could rely on information provided by an attorney at the time of disposition that expunged offenses are treated as if they never happened.134 Law schools should clearly notify potential students whether sealed or expunged charges should be disclosed on the law school application.

Due to the confusion over ambiguity of admission questions and its misconduct and irregularities caseload, the Law School Admissions Council has proposed "more consistency among law school applications."135 Law schools will be better served if they clearly define on their application forms what constitutes criminal conduct needing disclosure.

An unambiguous statement clearly requiring disclosure of certain specifically defined offenses on a law school application will enable bar authorities to determine, with greater clarity, if a lack of disclosure evidences a lack of candor. Many law schools also inform students of their duty to update and notify the law school of criminal convictions after submission of a law school application.136 Students will benefit from unambiguous disclosure requirements because those students who did not realize that an alcohol-related offense was not minor will now disclose the offense. Such requirements will also more clearly subject those students who do not disclose - even though they realize the offense is not minor -- to misconduct charges. Students and law schools would both benefit by clear and unambiguous questions.