Case Name: IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF JAMES G. FOR ADMISSION TO THE BAR OF MARYLAND
Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland
Jurisdiction: Maryland
Decision Date: 1983-08-04
Citations: 296 Md. 310
Docket Number: Misc. No. 1 (Adv.)
Parties: IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF JAMES G. FOR ADMISSION TO THE BAR OF MARYLAND
Judges: The cause was argued before Murphy, C. J., and Smith, Eldridge, Cole, Davidson, Rodowsky and Couch, JJ.
Reporter: Maryland Reports
Volume: 296
Pages: 310–324

Head Matter:
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF JAMES G. FOR ADMISSION TO THE BAR OF MARYLAND
[Misc. No. 1 (Adv.),
September Term, 1983.]
Decided August 4, 1983.
The cause was argued before Murphy, C. J., and Smith, Eldridge, Cole, Davidson, Rodowsky and Couch, JJ.
Richard A. Buddeke on behalf of applicant.

Opinion:
Murphy, C. J.,
delivered the opinion of the Court. Smith and Rodowsky, JJ., dissent. Smith, J., filed a dissenting opinion at page 317 infra, in which Rodowsky, J., concurs.
Whether the applicant in this case currently possesses the requisite moral character that would justify his admission to the Bar of Maryland is the issue before us for determination.
Because of applicant's past criminal record, the Character Committee for the Third Judicial Circuit held a hearing on October 21,1980, pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Maryland. The Committee recommended unanimously to the State Board of Law Examiners that the applicant not be admitted to the Maryland Bar. The Board subsequently conducted an evidentiary hearing on November 2, 1981. By a divided vote (3-2), the Board recommended to the Court that the applicant be admitted. We considered the matter at a hearing at which the applicant appeared and spoke on his own behalf. Because we conclude that the evidence is clear and convincing that the applicant has been completely rehabilitated and possesses present good moral character, we shall order his admission.
The applicant resided with his family in Chevy Chase, Maryland, for the first fifteen years of his life, then in Bethesda for four years, after which he moved to Baltimore in 1964, when the applicant was nineteen years of age. Although reared under relatively favorable economic conditions in affluent residential areas, the quality of applicant's home life was far from ideal. His parents, both of whom were attorneys, argued constantly, frequently escalating to a point of physical confrontation. Eventually, during 1959, there was a separation, apparently final, although no divorce action was initiated. Applicant, by his own choice, resided in his father's home until, in 1964, at age nineteen, he married.
Applicant's marital experiences have, similarly, been less than storybook in character. A son of his first marriage was born with Down's Syndrome in October of 1964. His wife was murdered in 1967, during an apparent attempted robbery of the tourist home which they managed. The applicant's' son ultimately was committed to institutional care as James was unable to provide proper care for him. The applicant remarried and has established a positive relationship with a stepson, although James and his second wife are currently separated.
During the six-month period from April to October, 1967, the applicant became involved in a series of bizarre criminal episodes which resulted in charges against him of conspiring to commit forgery, forgery and uttering, murder and accessory to commit murder, homicide and assault. The applicant pled nolo contendere to the charge of conspiracy to commit forgery of a bank check drawn by his mother, and, in September, 1968, he received a suspended sentence. He was found guilty of six counts of forgery and uttering arising out of the use of a misappropriated credit card and received a sentence of twenty months to five years incarceration. Full restitution was made prior to his arrest for this offense. Although arrested for murder and as an accessory to commit murder in the matter of the death of his first wife, the charges against James were dismissed without trial. Arrested on charges of homicide and assault arising out of a Halloween night stabbing of a gas station attendant by one of his companions, James was found not guilty. The applicant subsequently offered a plea of nolo contendere to simple assault, for which he received a suspended sentence.
The Halloween night stabbing incident occurred just after the applicant enrolled at the University of Baltimore Law School. As a result of his incarceration without bond until December, 1967, he was unable to continue at the law school. As a result of his conviction for forgery and uttering, James was incarcerated for twenty-one months from November, 1970, to August, 1972. The applicant earned a work-related commendation from prison officials during his incarceration and, from the time of his parole in August, 1972, until the present, the applicant has not been involved in any criminal activity.
James has worked continuously at a variety of jobs while simultaneously attending college and law school. He graduated from the University of Baltimore Law School in 1980, applied for admission to the Bar of Maryland on May 17,1980, and sat for and successfully passed the July, 1980, bar examination. He applied for admission to the Bar of the District of Columbia and was admitted in that jurisdiction after successfully passing the February, 1981, Bar examination. Prior to admission, James' present moral character fitness was favorably considered by the District of Columbia authorities. James has been actively practicing in that jurisdiction without incident for over two years since his admission.
We have said that no litmus test exists by which to determine whether an applicant possesses the good moral character requisite for admission to the Bar of Maryland. In re Application of A.T., 286 Md. 507, 408 A.2d 1023 (1979); In re Application of David H., 283 Md. 632, 392 A.2d 83 (1978). We summarized the analysis which must be undertaken in such a determination in In re Application of Allan S., 282 Md. 683, 387 A.2d 271 (1978). In that case, the applicant for admission had been arrested twice, once in 1966 for stealing a bottle of rum and again in 1971 for stealing a tape measure. After a hearing, the Character Committee concluded that the applicant had met the burden of proving that he was presently possessed of good moral character and recommended that he be admitted to the Bar of Maryland. The Board of Law Examiners, however, came to the contrary conclusion following a hearing and recommended that he not be admitted.
In the course of our determination that the applicant possessed the requisite moral character fitness for admission, we said:
"Where, as here, an applicant for admission to the Bar is shown to have committed a crime, the nature of the offense must be taken into consideration in determining whether his present moral character is good.... Although a prior conviction is not conclusive of a lack of present good moral character, particularly where the offense occurred a number of years previous to the applicant's request for admission, it adds to his burden of establishing present good character by requiring convincing proof of his full and complete rehabilitation.... Thus, a prior conviction must be taken into account in the overall measurement of character and considered in connection with other evidence of subsequent rehabilitation and present moral character.... It is not without significance in this regard, as bearing upon moral fitness, that an applicant for admission to the bar refuses to admit his criminal conduct....
The ultimate test of present moral character applicable to original admissions to the Bar, is whether, viewing the applicant's character in the period subsequent to his misconduct, he has so convincingly rehabilitated himself that it is proper that he become a member of a profession which must stand free from all suspicion.. . That the absence of good moral character in the past is secondary to the existence of good moral character in the present is a cardinal principle in considering applications for original admission to the Bar." Id. at 690. (Citations omitted.)
In applying these principles to the facts in Allan S., we said:
"[Applicant's first offense occurred in 1966, eleven years prior to the hearing before the Board; the 1971 offense occurred almost seven years prior to that hearing. While there can be no doubt that each of these offenses, though petty in nature, involved moral turpitude, the applicant readily admitted that he committed the crimes even though he was never tried or convicted of either of them. In this respect, he was most candid with the Board and we cannot agree, in view of the record in this case, that the applicant did not admit that his acts were morally wrong and indefensible. On the contrary, he did so repeatedly, both before the Character Committee and the Board, and we are satisfied that he is deeply distressed that he participated in such conduct.
In undertaking to prove his good moral character, the applicant was largely limited to the production of opinion evidenced by those who know him. And letters attesting to his good character are entitled to respectful consideration.... The record before us contains letters from a number of members of the legal and lay community, all to the effect that the applicant presently possesses the good moral character required of a member of the Maryland Bar. One letter, from a former Securities Commissioner of Maryland, for whom the applicant has worked as a law clerk, contains a particularly strong endorsement of his present good moral character and he testified to the same effect at the hearing. Other similarly impressive expressions of unqualified trust in applicant's moral character are also in evidence.
There was no evidence in the record even remotely suggesting that the applicant has been involved in any misconduct in the years following the 1971 theft offense. The inference to be drawn is that during this interim period there has been a decided improvement in the applicant's conduct and behavior." Id. at 691-92. (Citations omitted.)
On the basis of the evidence presented, we held that Allan S. met the burden of proving his rehabilitation and present good moral character and we admitted him to the Bar of Maryland.
The principles enunciated in Allan S. have been applied in subsequent cases; see, for example, In re Application of G.L.S., 292 Md. 378, 439 A.2d 1107 (1982); In re Application of A.T., 286 Md. 507, 408 A.2d 1023 (1979); In re Application of David H., 283 Md. 632, 392 A.2d 83 (1978). In arriving at our own evaluation of the applicant's present moral character, we note that his criminal offenses all occurred within a six-month period in 1967, sixteen years ago, when the applicant was twenty-one years of age. A substantial and significant amount of time has thus passed since the criminal conduct occurred.
There can be no doubt that the applicant's criminal transgressions were serious and involved moral turpitude. The applicant has readily admitted his responsibility for and his participation in the crimes in which he was involved and his remorse is fully evident and genuine.
There are numerous letters in the record from members of the legal and lay community which evidence James' rehabilitation, all attesting to the fact that he is presently possessed of good moral character. Business associates and former employers, in particular, have high praise for the applicant and hold him in high esteem. A member of the District of Columbia Bar with whom the applicant shared office space testified before the Board of Law Examiners in regard to the applicant's trustworthiness:
"Q. Do you personally trust him?
A. Definitely, I trust him with anything he desires. He has the use of my office, all the equipment. There's money laying around the office, bonds. I have in my safe certificates of deposit and what have you. He has access to it, goes in the safe. He has no problem there whatsoever, I trust him implicitly, yes."
In addition, the record indicates that the applicant has been ethically discharging his duties as an attorney and member of the District of Columbia Bar for over two years.
Giving due consideration to the nature of the offenses for which the applicant was convicted, the time of their commission, the circumstances involved, the fact that the burden rests upon the applicant to prove his good moral character, and, most importantly, the convincing evidence of the applicant's rehabilitation, we think he has established that he has the present good moral character to permit him to be granted the privilege of admission to the Bar of Maryland.
It is so ordered.