Appell, Application of, 7430
| Decision Date | 30 June 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 7430,7430 |
| Citation | 116 N.H. 400,359 A.2d 634 |
| Parties | Application of Leonard APPELL. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Stanley, Tardif & Shapiro, Concord (R. Peter Shapiro, Concord, orally), for applicant.
Donald W. Stever, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., by brief and orally, opposed.
The applicant Leonard Appell sought admission to the bar of New Hampshire following the report of the Board of Bar Examiners to this court on September 3, 1975, that Appell was among those who received a passing rank in the July 1975 examinations for admission to the bar. Following receipt of several written objections to his admission to the bar, the applicant was notified thereof and furnished copies. Thereafter counsel for the applicant advised the court that complaints which prompted certain objections had been satisfied, and on December 30, 1975, sought admission of the applicant to the bar.
By order dated January 26, 1976, Griffith, J., was appointed to hear the interested parties. Following hearing on February 5, 1976, the single justice reproted his findings and recommendations to the court on April 8, 1976. The report recommended that admission of Appell to the bar be denied 'at this time' with permission to reapply two years from the date of the report. Arguments on the reprot were heard at the June 1976 session of the court.
The record discloses that the applicant, age 37, was graduated from Boston University, and obtained his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1972, following a four-year course. In 1972, and succeeding years, he was unsuccessful in passing the New Hampshire bar examinations, until 1975. During that period he was engaged in the construction business in New Hampshire, and in other business activities both in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The report of the single justice contained findings concerning the applicant's difficulties in business practices during this period. It found the applicant 'qualified as competent to practice law' but concluded that his 'violations of various statutes and regulations indicate at best a careless failure to determine the legality of his actions and at worst an arrogant disregard of the law.' The justice was 'unable to find on the basis of (the applicant's) actions that he possesses the high character required of members of the bar' and recommended that he be denied admission to the bar at this time 'but that he be permitted to apply again two years from the date of this report.' (April 8, 1976).
It is settled law that the burden of establishing his fitness to practice law rests upon the applicant. Hallinan v. Committee of Bar Examiners, 65 Cal.2d 447, 55 Cla.Rptr. 228, 421 P.2d 76 (1966); see Konigsberg v. State Bar, 353 U.S. 252, 264, 77 S.Ct. 722, 1 L.Ed.2d 810 (1957). In this respect the case differs from the disciplinary proceedings against established lawyers upon which the applicant relies, where the burden of proof falls upon...
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Belsher, In re
...Nall v. Board of Bar Examiners, 98 N.M. 172, 646 P.2d 1236 (1982); In re Greenberg, 126 Ariz. 290, 614 P.2d 832 (1980); In re Appell, 116 N.H. 400, 359 A.2d 634 (1976); In re Bowen, 84 Nev. 681, 447 P.2d 658 (1968); Hallinan v. Committee of Bar Examiners, 65 Cal.2d 447, 421 P.2d 76, 55 Cal.......
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...character." RSA 311:2 (1995). The burden of proving his or her "good moral character" lies with the applicant. Application of Appell, 116 N.H. 400, 401, 359 A.2d 634, 636 (1976); Sup.Ct.R. 42(5)(f). Although the applicant maintains that he may prove his fitness to practice law by a mere pre......
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In re Bar Applicant Adm-2004-176
...admission." Sup.Ct. R. 42(5)(a). The burden of establishing fitness to practice law rests upon the applicant. Application of Appell, 116 N.H. 400, 401, 359 A.2d 634 (1976). The applicant must prove good moral character and fitness by clear and convincing evidence. Application of T.J.S., 141......