In re R.M.W., No. 05-MC-409.

• Court: United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. United States District Court (Maryland)
• Writing for the Court: Legg
• Citation: 428 F.Supp.2d 389
• Parties: In the Matter of R.M.W. Applicant In the Matter of S.G.P. Applicant
• Decision Date: 21 April 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-MC-409.,No. 06-MC-116.

428 F.Supp.2d 389 In the Matter of R.M.W. Applicant
In the Matter of S.G.P. Applicant No. 05-MC-409. No. 06-MC-116. United States District Court, D. Maryland. April 21, 2006.

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medical certifications should be submitted; (11) whether the petitioner recognizes the wrongfulness and seriousness of the professional misconduct for which discipline was imposed; (12) whether the petitioner currently has the requisite honesty and integrity to practice law; (13) the opinions of character witnesses about the applicant's moral fitness; (14) whether the petitioner has kept informed about recent developments in the law and is competent to practice law; (15) any other re-admissions to the bar since the petitioner's disbarment, any opinion and order relative to same should be submitted; and (16) any other matter that the petitioner may deem relevant to the application or that may be specifically requested by the court. OPINION AND ORDER

LEGG, Chief Judge.

Two pending applications for membership in our Bar give the Court occasion to consider the factors that should bear upon the application of individuals who have been convicted of felony offenses. In one case, the applicant is seeking admission to the Court's Bar for the first time; in the other, the applicant seeks reinstatement after having been disbarred from membership.

The Local Rules of the Court clearly address the procedure for reinstatement that applies when an applicant has been suspended or disbarred. See Local Rule 705.4.¹ Less widely known perhaps is that a decision of this Court entered in 1984 addresses the requirements for first-time admission to the Court's Bar of a federally convicted felon. In In The Matter of G.L.S., 586 F.Supp. 375 (D.Md.1984), the Court, in an en banc opinion, denied the petition for admission of an attorney who had been convicted of armed robbery in this Court and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving 6 years in various penal institutions, the attorney had entered college and law school and was eventually admitted to practice by the Court of Appeals of Maryland.

After noting that admission to the bar of the highest state court of Maryland did not automatically require admission to the Bar of this Court, but acknowledging that deference was certainly due the state court's decision, the Court found that the ambiguity of the applicant's answers as well as the fact of his federal conviction weighed heavily against his application. The Court held that "there is at least a rebuttable presumption that an applicant to this bar, who is an unpardoned convicted felon, is not of good character." Id. at 379.

The Court also noted that a mechanism existed to investigate the private and professional character of federally convicted felons, namely specifically federal pardon procedures. "[E]xhaustion [of such procedures] will provide the Court with an investigative mechanism it otherwise lacks." Id. at 380.

The Court therefore concluded "that federal convicted felons must apply for and exhaust the pardon procedures of the Department of Justice prior to applying for admission to the bar of this Court," Id. Accordingly, the application of G.L.S. for admission to the bar was denied.

Arguably G.L.S. applies only to first-time admissions to the bar, whereas applications for reinstatement are regulated by Local Rule 705.4. The latter does set forth specific criteria for attorneys seeking reinstatement of their membership, and

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provides that they "shall have the burden of demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that [they] have the moral qualifications, competency and learning in the law required for admission to practice law before this Court and that [their] resumption of the practice will not be detrimental to the integrity and standing of the bar or to the administration of justice, or subversive of the public interest." Local Rule 705.4.c. Nevertheless, it remains unclear as to attorneys seeking reinstatement whether the rule trumps the rationale of G.L.S. that...