Should convicted felons be allowed to practice law? Does it make a difference what type of felony the candidate committed? Is a crime involving violence more acceptable than one reflecting a candidate’s moral turpitude? Does the age of the commission of the felony matter? This is a debate that has raged on for decades and is sure to get even more divided now that the population is over saturated with attorneys. Law schools are churning out more attorneys than Big Law can absorb. Many who argue that law schools are operating as economical systems as opposed to educational institutions opine that convicted felons should not be allowed into the practice of law because practicing law unlike other occupations is a moral calling where persons of the upmost impeccable character should be allowed into this elite establishment. Under the Rules of Professional Conduct a person may be allowed to practice law if they can show that they have been rehabilitated.  

What does rehabilitation actually mean? To the Board on Character and Fitness the standard is subjective; therefore, you have a panel of people deciding whether a person deserves to practice law. For purposes of the Bar rehabilitation is the reestablishment of the reputation of a person by his or her restoration to a useful and constructive place in society. See Webster's Third International Dictionary (Unabridged) (1967). Payment of the fine or service of the sentence imposed, and not committing further crimes, standing alone do not prove rehabilitation. Merely showing that an individual is now living as and doing those things he or she should have done throughout life, although necessary to prove rehabilitation, does not prove that the individual has undertaken a useful and constructive place in society. Positive action showing rehabilitation may be evidenced by such things as a person's occupation, religion, or community service. The requirement of positive action is appropriate for applicants for admission to the bar because service to one's community is an implied obligation of members of the bar. See 241 Ga. 643, 654; Rule 3-102, EC 2-2.38. The factor also may vary from state to state. In Florida you can take the Bar Examination before submitting a Character and Fitness Application; however, in Georgia a law school graduate must past the Bar Examination first and then send for a Character and Fitness Application.

            On the other side are advocates who feel that convicted felons who have paid their debts to society not only deserve a second chance but are entitled to one. Proponents strongly feel that the profession of law has long been too elitist and closed off to people that can most relate to the very people that the law seek to protect. Are these proponents correct? Can convicted felons relate better to someone facing criminal allegations? Or are the pontificators with contrary opinions correct, and convicted felons not to be trusted because of compromised moral characteristics? Either way, this will be a debate that is sure to intensify.