Fla. Panel Seeks Stricter Bar-Admission Rules, No Second Chance for Felons
A report by a group reviewing Florida bar admission standards for the first time in 15 years has called for a number of changes, including a permanent bar on readmission for any lawyer who is convicted of a felony.
At present, lawyers can be readmitted once their civil rights are restored, notes a Florida Bar News article on the recommendations by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners Character and Fitness Commission.
“When people ask, ‘How is it you can be a lawyer and a judge as a convicted felon, but I can’t teach school? Or you can’t be a police officer.’ How does one answer that?” says Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis, who appointed the commission in June 2008. “That police officer is going to come into my courtroom, if I am a judge, and he couldn’t be that officer if he had a felony.”
The commission also recommended better supervision of those conditionally readmitted because of prior drug, alcohol or mental health issues, and extending the maximum amount of time that a Florida lawyer can be suspended from practice from three years to five years.
The 15-member group is chaired by Senior Judge Alan Schwartz of the 3rd District Court of Appeal.
