Cason, Application of
| Decision Date | 09 September 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 39167,Docket No. 26,39167 |
| Citation | 249 Ga. 806,294 S.E.2d 520 |
| Parties | In re Application of Theresa D. Tate CASON. Admission |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Theresa D. Tate Cason, pro se.
Ben G. Estes, Bar Examiner, Atlanta, Kathryn Allen, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
Theresa D. Tate Cason applied to the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants for certification of fitness to practice law. In her application, in response to the instruction "List all criminal proceedings (other than traffic violations) in which you have been a party", she listed the following:
Date Designation and Nature of Disposition
Address of Court Proceedings
-------- ----------------- ----------------- ------------------
3/5/68 Jacksonville, FL Insulting Officer $25.00 fine
12/12/70 Tallahassee, FL Assault Innocent-dismissed
3/28/74 Jacksonville, FL Shoplifting $250.00 fine
6/27/74 Atlanta, GA Theft by Taking Probation
9/8/74 Atlanta, GA Theft of Services Dismissed
10/9/74 Atlanta, GA Simple Battery First Offender
6/14/76 Atlanta, GA Theft by Taking $100.00 Fine
12/1/76 Atlanta, GA Theft Shoplifting Dismissed
1/15/77 Miami, Hialeah FL Theft $200.00 Fine
12 months
probation
9/8/78 Atlanta, GA Trespass Dismissed
4/ /80 Atlanta, GA Firearm No Permit Dismissed
The application was submitted under oath.
After investigation, the Board determined that Ms. Cason's application should be tentatively denied. When she was notified, she requested a formal hearing and the specifications against her were then issued.
Applicant was charged, inter alia, with the eleven offenses listed above, plus making false and misleading statements by (1) failing to disclose that on March 30, 1971, she was arrested for petty larceny (shoplifting), in Tallahassee, Florida, and was subsequently convicted and forfeited bail; (2) failing to disclose that in connection with the January 15, 1977, arrest for theft in Hialeah, Florida (listed above), she was also charged with resisting arrest for which she was convicted; and (3) failing to reveal in connection with the March 28, 1974, shoplifting charge in Jacksonville, that she forfeited bond for failure to appear rather than being fined (as stated above). As for the three failures to disclose, applicant was charged generally with having made false and misleading statements under oath thereby demonstrating not only lack of candor but also disregard for the significance of an oath. As for the eleven offenses listed on her application plus the March 30, 1971, charge in Tallahassee, the specifications alleged that the pattern of arrests and convictions indicated a continuous and continuing disrespect for the law and the legal system.
In her answer, applicant admitted committing the offenses described above and denied the remaining allegations.
The hearing officer found that the applicant has the burden of proving her moral character and fitness 1 and that she failed to show that she had been candid on her application and failed to demonstrate that she has been rehabilitated. The hearing officer's recommendation that the applicant not now be certified to stand the bar examination was approved by the Board. Applicant appeals.
Our decision is not based upon the specification that the application was false and misleading in that applicant failed to disclose that she had in the past been known by other names for the reason that no finding of fact was made as to this specification. We base our decision on the hearing officer's other findings and conclusions.
Our decision is not based upon those specifications of criminal charges which were dismissed because it has not been shown that applicant was in fact guilty of those charges. 2 Applicant admittedly was guilty of seven offenses, from March 3, 1968, to January 15, 1977. 3
Where an applicant for admission to the bar has a criminal record, his or her burden of establishing present good moral character takes on the added weight of proving full and complete rehabilitation subsequent to conviction, and it is only fitting that proof of rehabilitation be by clear and convincing evidence. Application of Davis, 380 Ohio St.2d 273, 313 N.E.2d 363, 364-365 (1974); see also Application of David H., 283 Md. 632, 392 A.2d 83, 87 (1978). Any effort made before the Board to evade full disclosure of all pertinent information concerning the past may be considered by the Board as evidence of lack of full and complete rehabilitation. Application of Davis, supra. 4
For bar fitness purposes, rehabilitation is the reestablishment of the reputation of a person by his or her restoration to a useful and constructive place in society. See Webster's Third International Dictionary (Unabridged) (1967). Payment of the fine or service of the sentence imposed, and not committing further crimes, standing alone, do not prove rehabilitation. Merely showing that an individual is now living as and doing those things he or she should have done throughout life, although necessary to prove rehabilitation, does not prove that the individual has undertaken a useful and constructive place in society. Positive action showing rehabilitation may be evidenced by such things as a person's occupation, religion, or community service. The requirement of positive action is appropriate for applicants for admission to the bar because service to one's community is an implied obligation of members of the...
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Prager, Matter of
...conviction of a felony is on the applicant. See Matter of MacKenzie, S.J.C. No. 81764 (December 22, 1983). See also In re Cason, 249 Ga. 806, 807-808, 294 S.E.2d 520 (1982); In re Application of Davis, 38 Ohio St.2d 273, 275, 313 N.E.2d 363 (1974) (Davis I ); Matter of Jaffee, 311 Or. 159, ......
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In re Application of Wiesner
...past problems are no longer manifest and his life has changed in such a manner that their recurrence is unlikely ( In re Cason, 249 Ga. 806, 294 S.E.2d 520 [1982]; Carr, Note The Effect of Prior Criminal Conduct on the Admission to Practice Law: The Move to More Flexible Admission Standards......
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In re Manville
...Rehabilitation Factor, 52 B. Examiner, Feb. 1983, at 11. 14. Accord In re Belsher, 689 P.2d at 1083; In re Application of Cason, 249 Ga. 805, 807, 294 S.E.2d 520, 522 (1982) (per curiam); Application of Allan S., 387 A.2d at 275. 15. In re Belsher, 689 P.2d at 1083; Application of Allan S.,......
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Matter of GLS
...the protection of the public. See, e.g., Murphy v. State Board of Law Examiners, 429 F.Supp. 16, 18 (E.D.Pa.1977); In re Cason, 249 Ga. 806, 294 S.E.2d 520, 523 (Ga.1982); Pushinsky v. West Virginia Board of Law Examiners, 266 S.E.2d 444, 450 (W.Va.1980); Bar Association v. Marshall, 269 Md......
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Professionalism Page
...271 Ga. 473 (1999). [21] In re Yunker, 2011 Ga. Lexis 662 (Ga. Sept. 12, 2011). [22] In re Ringstaff, 288 Ga. 21(2011). [23] In re Cason, 249 Ga. 806 (1982); In re J.W.N., 266 Ga. 58 (1995). [24] In re Lee, 275 Ga. 763 (2002). [25] In re Cason, 249 Ga. 806, 808 (1982). [26] In re Lee, 275 G......
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May 2008 - Disciplinary Opinions
..."the reestablishment of the reputation of a person by his or her restoration to a useful and constructive place in society." In re Cason, 294 S.E.2d 520, 522 1982). It has also been defined as "regeneration," denoting an overwhelming change in the applicant's state of mind. In re Cantrell, ......
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Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge: Disciplinary Opinions - October 2007
...Avrom Robin, Character and Fitness Requirements for Bar Admission in New York, 13 Touro L. Rev. 569, 583 (1997) (quoting In re Cason, 249 Ga. 806, 294 S.E.2d 520, 522-23 (1982). Other factors that are considered are the applicant's age at the time of the offense and the likelihood that the ......
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From the Courts Colorado Disciplinary Cases - October 2008 - Disciplinary Opinions
..."the reestablishment of the reputation of a person by his or her restoration to a useful and constructive place in society." In re Cason, 294 S.E.2d 520, 522 (Ga. 1982). It has also been defined as "regeneration," denoting an overwhelming change in the applicant's state of mind. In re Cantr......