Belsher, In re

• Decision Date: 01 November 1984
• Docket Number: No. 1,1
• Citation: 102 Wn.2d 844,689 P.2d 1078
• Parties: In re Dennis BELSHER, Petitioner. Bar Applicant
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

Page 844

102 Wn.2d 844

689 P.2d 1078

In re Dennis BELSHER, Petitioner.

Bar Applicant No. 1.

Supreme Court of Washington,

En Banc.

Nov. 1, 1984.

Dennis Belsher by Frederick B. Hayes, Tacoma, for petitioner.

Washington State Bar Ass'n, Robert T. Farrell, Seattle, for respondent.

DORE, Justice.

Petitioner, Dennis Belsher, seeks admission to the bar association of the state of Washington. His application comes before this court for a determination of his moral fitness to practice law. We deny his application.

I

On March 12, 1973, in Boulder, Colorado, petitioner placed a homemade bomb in his parents' car. The bomb consisted of several sticks of dynamite and a timing device. The timing device was activated that same day, causing an explosion which demolished the Belshers' car. Belsher's mother and father, however, escaped injury by leaving the car a few seconds before the explosion.

Petitioner was arrested and admitted responsibility for the explosion. After a psychiatric examination by Dr. Charles Clark, petitioner was found to be competent to stand trial. On March 14, 1973, he was charged with two counts of attempted first degree murder and one count of first degree arson. A joint motion for deferred prosecution with 2 years supervised probation on the condition that petitioner undergo continuing psychiatric treatment was granted on November 26, 1973. Dr. Clark was selected as the treating psychiatrist.

In March 1974, it was discovered that petitioner had been manufacturing an illegal drug ingredient (amphetamine precursor) in his chemistry lab at the University of Colorado. He advised Dr. Clark that he was doing so in order to become an undercover agent for the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division of the Internal Revenue Service. About this same time, petitioner also attempted to purchase two pistols, using a friend's name. As a result of these incidents, petitioner was charged with attempt to manufacture dangerous drugs, conspiracy to manufacture dangerous drugs, and criminal impersonation. In addition, petitioner's deferred prosecution was revoked.

Pursuant to plea bargain arrangements, petitioner pleaded guilty on May 16, 1974 to three reduced charges: third degree assault, possession of a dangerous drug, and criminal simulation. All other charges, including those stemming from the bombing incident, were dismissed. Petitioner was placed on supervised probation to run until May 16, 1979. One of the conditions of the probation was that petitioner continue to see Dr. Clark.

In November 1974 petitioner applied to attend the University of Puget Sound Law School. One of the questions on the application form read "Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime?" Petitioner responded "yes" and attached the following explanation:

I was arrested and charged with attempt and conspiracy to manufacture dangerous drugs, and criminal impersonation on 11 April 1974.

With the cooperation of the District Attorney, I plead guilty to three misdemeanors and was placed on a five year probationary period beginning 16 May 1974.

The Deputy District Attorney who handled the case, Danial Hale, has given me permission to have the admissions committee contact him should further information be desired. His address is Mr. Daniel Hale, Court House Annex, P.O. Box 471, Boulder, Colorado 80302 Phone: 303-444-3776.

Board of Governors finding of fact 13.

In July of 1975, just prior to the time petitioner left Colorado to attend law school, petitioner's therapy with Dr. Clark was terminated by mutual agreement. Dr. Clark had been treating petitioner since 1973 for chronic paranoid schizophrenia. The treatment took two forms: (1) regular administration of Stelazine, an antipsychotic medication, and (2) regular counseling sessions. According to Dr. Clark, the Stelazine was designed to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia; the counseling sessions were to assist petitioner in identifying and avoiding stressful situations. In July 1975, Dr. Clark concluded that these forms of treatment were no longer needed.

Petitioner's probation was terminated 3 years early by court order in June 1976.

Upon graduating from law school in December 1977, petitioner applied to take the Washington State Bar Association examination in January 1978. Question 6 on the application read "Have you ever been charged, detained or arrested for violation of any laws, including minor traffic infractions? If so, state date, place, court, nature of charges and disposition thereof." Petitioner responded "yes" and provided the following explanation:

Sometime between June 1973 and June 1975, it seems to me that I plead guilty to two traffic tickets in Boulder Municipal Court, Boulder, Colorado.

Also, I was involved in various incidents between March 1973 and April 1974 in Boulder, Colorado, District Court--Boulder, Colorado. These incidents ultimately resulted in conviction of three misdemeanor violations in May 1974, a suspended sentence and a five year probationary period. The probation period was terminated after two years and two months, in June 1976, more than a year and a half ago.

Board of Governors finding of fact 15. In response to question 7 of his application, which read "Have you ever been charged with fraud in any proceeding?", petitioner responded "no". The crime of criminal simulation, however, contains fraud as an element.

Petitioner passed the 1978 winter bar exam. The bar conducted an investigation of petitioner's application. As part of that investigation, Dr. Clark was called upon to examine petitioner. After two 1-hour interviews with petitioner in August 1978, Dr. Clark responded to the question "Is Mr. Belsher going to be able to handle stress?" with the following observations:

My opinion would be, yes. I say that pretty straightforwardly and unequivocally. And I felt so at the time I wrote the various letters that he asked me to write to a number of schools, to law schools. It is true that he would certainly be under stress in law school and as a lawyer during trials, whatever. It was my impression that he had been through a lot of stress; he had dealt effectively and well with that stress and learned good techniques for dealing with stress. And on top of that, he, presumably, had also learned when he needed help, when the stress was getting out of hand. And with some two or two and a half years of psychotherapy behind him, with two different people, he, presumably, knows that help is readily available and is reasonably quickly effective.

Deposition of Clark, at 18-19. As to questions concerning the possibility of petitioner again becoming psychotic, Dr. Clark responded:

... I think it [the possibility] is low enough that I feel confident in saying that he should be able to function well as an attorney.

Deposition of Clark, at 20.

A formal hearing was held regarding petitioner's application in November 1978. Subsequent to the hearing, the Board of Governors recommended the application be denied. Petitioner withdrew his application.

Petitioner reapplied for admission in 1981, at which time the Board of Governors reversed its previous recommendation and forwarded the case to this court. The file was remanded and a request made for additional psychiatric evaluation. In December 1981, Dr. Robert Carney examined petitioner. Dr. Carney observed that petitioner was of above average intelligence and had good judgment ability but lacked psychological insight into his past behavior. Dr. Carney concluded:

In my considered medical opinion, Mr. Belsher can be most appropriately diagnosed as having Schizophrenia, paranoid type, in remission (295.35, DSM-III). This diagnosis implies that the person did have an active episode of schizophrenic illness which lasted in excess of six months, but now essentially free of signs of illness. Dr. Clark originally diagnosed Mr. Belsher as having no psychosis. Later in treatment, after testing and time, Dr. Clark diagnosed his illness as paranoid schizophrenia and used antipsychotic medication with improvement. Dr. Clark spent the most time with him and would be in the best position to make the diagnosis. It is highly unusual for a person to make such a remarkable recovery after an episode of schizophrenia, but it is generally agreed that remission is a possibility. In my opinion Mr. Belsher shows very subtle signs that have to do with constricted emotions, emotional distance in the interview, curious lack of apparent remorse, and a poor understanding of the impact of his behavior on other people. Considering these observations, a case could be made for the diagnosis of Schizophrenia, residual type, in which there are no prominent psychotic symptoms but some indicators of the illness.

Dr. Carney indicated that the prognosis for petitioner appeared good, noting that there had been a 7-year remission without an active phase of the illness.

We must now decide whether petitioner is to be admitted to the practice of law in this state.

II

In order to be admitted to the practice of law in our state, an applicant must "be of good moral character." APR 3(a), (formerly APR 2(B)(3)). The burden of demonstrating good moral character rests on the applicant. 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.Rptr. 228, (1966). The question before us in this case is whether petitioner has satisfied that burden.

A

Our task is made somewhat more difficult by the absence of reported decisions in this jurisdiction dealing with the nature of an initial applicant's burden to demonstrate good moral character. There are, however, several cases dealing with the burden faced by an applicant for reinstatement to the bar. In such cases, an applicant must show "that his reinstatement...