Court Opinion

ID: 9570056
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:19:44.631197+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:04:46.709903
License: Public Domain

DAVID T. PROSSER, J.
¶ 61. (concurring). This case raises troubling questions about our procedures for reviewing an applicant's request for admission to the Wisconsin bar.
¶ 62. Under SCR ch. 40, the Board of Bar Examiners screens each applicant. A candidate must satisfy the legal competence requirements set out in SCR 40.03, SCR 40.04, or SCR 40.05, and also satisfy the character and fitness requirements in SCR 40.06. The burden is on the applicant. The Board certifies its favorable findings to this court.
¶ 63. The Board is in a delicate position, when certification of an applicant's character presents a close call. In re Bar Admission of Rippl, 2002 WI 15, ¶ 3, 250 Wis. 2d 519, 523, 639 N.W.2d 553. "If the Board admits a questionable candidate, that admission effectively deprives this court of the opportunity to review the Board's decision because, obviously, a successful applicant will not seek review of the Board's decision." Id. On the other hand, if the Board declines to certify a questionable candidate, it opens itself to reversal on appeal and even to published criticism.
¶ 64. This criticism is linked to our standard of review. We adopt the Board's findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. Majority op. at ¶ 20. However, if the court comes to a different ultimate conclusion on *182admission, we are almost bound to take issue with the Board's findings of fact. This puts the Board in not only a delicate position but also a vulnerable position. If the Board certified all applicants regardless of their indiscretions, it would never be reversed or criticized, for the court would be oblivious to what was happening. The Board's dilemma is disconcerting.
¶ 65. In this case, I concur in the judgment that Tara J. Vanderperren should be admitted to practice law in Wisconsin. In my view, the applicant clearly established her competence: she was graduated from a recognized law school and then passed the Minnesota, Florida, and Wisconsin bar examinations. In addition, she is admitted to practice in Minnesota. With respect to her character and fitness, the incidents described are serious but they are mostly youthful excesses and mistakes, and cannot block her admission forever. All in all, I believe the applicant deserves the benefit of the doubt. She should have the opportunity to begin the practice of law with a clean slate — with an understanding of the importance that courts attach to character and ethics and a warning that this court has a long memory.
¶ 66. I reach this conclusion without criticism of our Board. I write separately to emphasize that the Board was doing its job to protect the bar and the public when it flagged this case.
¶ 67. I am authorized to state that Justices JONE WILCOX and ANN WALSH BRADLEY join this opinion.