Opinion ID: 1901518
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Requisite Legal Training

Text: ¶ 25. Morrison, a graduate of the Oklahoma City University Law School, testified that during the period of his disbarment he has read various legal journals, articles and statutes concerning matters of legal interest to him. Morrison indicated that living in Minnesota made access to Mississippi legal issues difficult. However, Morrison did testify that on occasion he would visit a local law school library and peruse materials relating to the law in Mississippi. The requirement of legal training will be sufficiently satisfied if Morrison takes and passes the Mississippi Bar exam. ¶ 26. Six years have passed since his disbarment and Morrison now petitions for reinstatement of his license to practice law. Since his disbarment, he has lived in his home state of Minnesota and asserts he has performed all of the requirements necessary for reinstatement. The burden of proving that he has rehabilitated himself and reestablished the requisite moral character sufficient to entitle him to reinstatement is upon the petitioner. In re Parsons, 797 So.2d 203 (Miss.2000). ¶ 27. The Bar neither supports nor opposes Morrison's petition for reinstatement. The question before this Court is whether Morrison has sufficiently rehabilitated his conduct and character since disbarment. We declared the importance of demonstrating sufficient rehabilitation before reinstating the license of a disbarred attorney in In re Tucker, 656 So.2d 799, 805 (Miss.1995), as follows: The legal profession has come a long way from the days when attorneys were automatically presumed honorable. The quality and reputation of the Mississippi Bar and the public interest which it serves warrant stringent standards for reinstatement following disbarment. This Court remains firm in its resolve that one who has acted in a manner sufficiently egregious to warrant disbarment must clearly show a rehabilitation of character before reinstatement to the privilege of practicing law. Compromise of the standards to which attorneys are held will surely cripple the profession, with concomitant harm to the public. ¶ 28. We find that Morrison has failed to satisfy us that he has effectively rehabilitated himself to the point that he should enjoy a license to practice law. In re Massey, 722 So.2d 452, 453 (Miss.1998). In coming to this conclusion, we note the seriousness of his offense. While the felony embezzlement charges were dismissed or nolle prosequied, these were felony level charges involving fraud, deceit, and dishonesty, which he also attempted to hide from an investigation. Secondly, Morrison has essentially no civic, church, or charitable involvement. The letters of recommendation are skeletal, one to three sentence generalizations, without objective substance to be persuasive as to the issue of his character rehabilitation. Morrison presents very little relevant evidence that he has met the requisite rehabilitation for reinstatement of his license to practice law.