David H., Application of

• Decision Date: 23 October 1978
• Parties: Application of DAVID H. for admission to the Bar of Maryland.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 632

283 Md. 632

392 A.2d 83

Application of DAVID H. for admission to the Bar of Maryland.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Oct. 23, 1978.

David H., pro se.

Argued before MURPHY, C. J., and SMITH, DIGGES, LEVINE, ^* ELDRIDGE, ORTH and COLE, JJ.

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

Whether the applicant in this case possesses the requisite moral character fitness that would justify his admission to the Bar of Maryland is the question here presented for our determination.

The Character Committee for the Third Judicial Circuit, after an evidentiary hearing held pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Maryland, concluded that the applicant did not possess the requisite moral character and so advised the State Board of Law Examiners. At the applicant's request, the Board, acting pursuant to Rule 4, held a de novo evidentiary hearing and concluded, contrary to the Character Committee, that the applicant had demonstrated his good moral character. The Board recommended that we approve his admission. We set the matter for a hearing before the full Court, at which time the applicant appeared, without counsel, and was extensively questioned.

The record discloses that the applicant filed his application for admission to the Bar of Maryland on March 25, 1976. His Character Questionnaire revealed that he had been charged with five criminal offenses. The first charge, in July of 1968, was for breaking and entering an apartment in a complex in which the applicant held a summer position. He was then 18 years of age. The court found him not guilty of the offense and the arrest record was later expunged. The second charge, in March of 1970, was for an alleged assault and battery upon the applicant's father, growing out of a family dispute. The applicant was then 19 years old and a college student. The charge was later dropped and the arrest record expunged.

In April of 1971, when the applicant was 20 and a senior in college, he was charged with aiding and abetting shoplifting. As to this offense, the applicant testified before the Character Committee and the Board that he had driven two young men with whom he was only casually acquainted to a store at their request and agreed to wait for them. Shortly thereafter, he observed the two men running from the store carrying a TV set, being pursued by several other individuals. The applicant said he was "dumbfounded" by what he observed and had "no idea what was going on." He was scared and began to drive away from the scene. One of the fleeing young men, however, jumped into the applicant's car and told him to drive away, which he did. The applicant was later arrested and charged with participation in the offense. He said that he explained to the police that he was not involved in the crime and the charge against him was later nol-prossed. The applicant testified for the State at the trial of his two acquaintances, and identified them as the individuals he had driven to the store. The applicant subsequently sought to have the arrest record expunged, but his petition was denied.

In October of 1971, when the applicant was 21 years of age and a senior in college, he was charged with stealing a watchband worth $12.95 from a department store. His plea of nolo contendere to the offense was accepted by the court. He was placed on supervised probation for one year and required to report to his probation officer each month. He admitted his guilt of this offense at the hearings before the Character Committee and the Board. He also admitted that "every now and then" he had stolen other items from stores, for which he was never charged. Some of the stolen items were for his own use, he said, while others he gave away or sold.

While on probation for the theft offense, the applicant, in February of 1972 after he had graduated from college was charged with attempting to steal a tape deck from an automobile. Concerning this incident, the applicant testified before the Character Committee that he and a friend broke into the car by "jimmying" the lock, whereas he told the Board that the car he entered had been unlocked. In any event, the police observed the crime in progress and the applicant was arrested. He entered a plea of nolo contendere which once again was accepted by the court. He was fined $100, and his probationary status was continued. The applicant admitted both to the Character Committee and to the Board that on a number of earlier occasions he had broken into automobiles to steal tape decks. At the hearing before us, the applicant candidly admitted that "quite a few times" he had stolen items for which he had not been arrested. He said that his thefts from stores were less frequent than his thefts of tape decks from automobiles. As to the latter offenses, the applicant stated that he carried tools for disassembling the tape decks, and that to this extent at least the thefts were planned in advance.

The applicant testified at the hearings before the Character Committee and the Board that in July of 1972, following graduation from college, he was employed as a computer programmer by the Social Security Administration. In his application for employment he stated under oath that he had not been convicted of any criminal offenses. He explained that his negative answer to this inquiry was based upon advice of two different lawyers that the court's acceptance of his nolo contendere pleas did not result in convictions of the offenses charged. That the applicant had in fact been so advised by counsel was evidenced by letters received by the Board from each of the lawyers consulted. Shortly after he was employed, however, the applicant's employer, acting through the Civil Service Commission, sought to remove him from his position on the ground that he had made false representations as to his criminal record on his employment application. After several administrative hearings, the applicant was retained in his employment.

The applicant was admitted to law school as a night student in September of 1973. ¹ He had decided to seek admission to law school during his senior year at college and had taken his qualifying law school aptitude tests in the fall of 1971, prior to his arrests for the watchband theft and tape deck offense.

The applicant graduated from law school in December of 1976. He received several law school awards and honors. A number of letters from friends, law school administrators and teaching personnel, attesting to the applicant's good moral character, were received in evidence at the hearing before the Board. The record indicates that the applicant has not been involved in any criminal conduct since his arrest in early 1972.

The applicant told the Character Committee that his criminal conduct "was a result of my stupidity and immaturity." He said that he changed the direction of his life after he graduated from college and went to work, and that he was now fully rehabilitated. He gave the Committee this insight into his past criminal conduct:

"The more I think about it, what I come up with is, and I think all children steal, I think every child at one time or another takes something from a store, something along those lines, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred, he gets caught, and that stops him. I didn't get caught until I was twenty-one, twenty-two years old, and maybe the reason I didn't stop the first time is because not a whole lot happened. It was more of a slap on the wrist, and may be that's, really, all I can come up with for why I stopped then."

Testifying before the Board, the applicant attributed his rehabilitation to a "growing up process." He said that "getting caught was just the catalyst that turned me around," although he speculated that if he had not gotten caught, he might have continued his criminal activity.

In recommending the applicant's admission to the Bar, the Board said:

"The applicant was born on June 11, 1950, in the District of Columbia. After high school graduation, he attended American University in Washington from September, 1968, to December, 1971, where he was awarded a B.S. in Business Administration. He was a student at the University of Baltimore Law School from September, 1973, to his graduation in December 1976. At the University of Baltimore, he was given a Merit Award, the Dean Curtis Award, and was elected to Who's Who Among Students. (The applicant) is presently employed by the Social Security Administration as a computer programmer, and has been so employed since 1972.

"The Board's concern mirrors that of the Character Committee. What motivated the applicant to break the law, and what assurance does he give that the recurrence is unlikely? A review of the testimony before us will attest that we probed this. . . . The applicant has been candid and forthright. He characterizes his conduct leading to the arrests as stupid and immature. (Letter of 12/29/76). He rejects the broken-home syndrome. . . . Just as firmly he believes he has put all behind him and is set on a new course. . . . The year 1972 appears to be the turning point. There have been no criminal violations, other than minor traffic violations, since then. In 1972, he became gainfully employed for the first time. Also in 1972, he entered law school.

"While it is questionable that at the time of his criminal involvement (the applicant) had the requisite character to practice law in this State, the issue is whether there has been rehabilitation in the intervening time. Our conclusion is that while the applicant may have difficulty in articulating it, he fully understands that his conduct during the years 1968-1972 at times showed that he was morally weak, but at the same time we believe that he has overcome this. As to the likelihood of a recurrence, we are of the opinion that his actions since 1972 speak as elegantly, or more so, than his oral testimony, and that the risk is slight. In short, we are satisfied that (the applicant) has been...