Our firm is pleased to represent you to determine whether you, a bar applicant, if deemed morally unfit by the Bar Association’s Character and Fitness Committee in New York where you were convicted of felony murder, have a realistic chance of successfully appealing that decision. In light of the analysis that follows, we are of the opinion that the Court of Appeals will rule in your favor and find that you have, in fact, been sufficiently rehabilitated over the passage of time to satisfy the moral character and fitness requirement for lawyers seeking admission to the bar.
After assessment of the information supplied by your letter, we understand that you began to engage in trivial criminal activity at the age of five. By the time you were nine years old, you had become affiliated with a gang. During the gang’s commission of serious crimes, you often played the role of a lookout. At the age of eighteen, you acted as the lookout while other gang members used violence to intimidate Mr. Ende. While the intention was never to gravely injure Mr. Ende, another gang member stabbed him in the chest after being met with resistance. Due to your involvement, you were arrested and charged with felony murder. Your lawyer advised you to enter a plea of not guilty. Nonetheless, you plead guilty as you saw no defense for your actions. You were sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Mr. Ende.
In addition, we understand that you actively avoided trouble while incarcerated. You refrained from partaking in drug and gang activities. After a year of being incarcerated, you signed up for classes to earn your high school diploma. You went on to earn a degree in English, a degree in social work, and a Master’s in social work. Your clean record and education allowed you to obtain trusted work positions within the prison. While working at the Warden’s office, you helped coordinate inmate release dates with outside organizations to aid their transition from prison to society. After serving 20 years, you were paroled and released. Since then, you have held permanent employment at the offices of Former Inmate Reentry Tree. Your work aims to lower the recidivism rates of former inmates. David Lewis, the President of FIR Tree, suggested the organization could use a lawyer. Despite recognizing the challenges that an ex-convict could encounter in his quest to gain admission to the bar, Lewis believes you are fit for the job.
Finally, as your letter suggests, we understand that in the 15 years since your release, you have not been accused of any violation of law. Instead, you have pursued a productive life and maintained that lifestyle over the passage of time. You have taken measures to atone for your past actions and implement them into your daily life. Despite Mr. Ende’s children’s reluctance to accept your offer, you continue to deposit 10% of your monthly salary in a bank account designated for them. As a result of your personal progress, two people have put their reputation on the line to write in support of your admission to the bar.
If any aspect of the facts stated above are incorrect or sufficiently lacking in substance, please inform us, adequate comprehension of the facts is of upmost importance to the evaluation of your case.
To determine that your chances of being admitted to the bar on appeal were realistic, we applied New York Judiciary Law § 90 and the standards set by the Court of Appeals in the case of In re Wiesner. Under New York Judiciary Law § 90 (1)(a), a bar applicant will be admitted to practice where they have passed the bar examination and after the Appellate Division’s is satisfied that the applicant possesses the character and general fitness required to practice law. Since the statute does not include a particular set of standards for bar applicants with a criminal record, the Appellate Court must evaluate an applicant’s record to determine the potential risk that the applicant will violate the privilege of trust and responsibility that is central to an attorney’s sense of professional status. To evaluate that risk, we must rely on the standards promoted by the American Bar Association which are illustrated in the case of In re Wiesner. In the evaluation of Neal Eugene Wiesner, the Appellate Court examines the age of the applicant at the time of the commission of the crime, whether the crime was recent, whether the information about the conduct is reliable, the seriousness of the crime, underlying factors, the consequence of its commission, evidence of successful rehabilitation, whether the applicant has made contributions to society. applicant’s honesty during the application process, whether they omitted information, or made material misrepresentation.
In order to best predict the outcome of your appeal, we must understand how the standards promoted by the American Bar Association were applied by the court in In re Wiesner to conclude that he now possessed the moral character and fitness of someone worthy to practice law. Wiesner was 20 years old when he was charged with multiple, serious felonies. He didn’t argue the seriousness of his actions but presented a recollection of events that fundamentally differed from that of his victim. After being released from prison, he was admitted to law school and passed the bar in 1994. In 2009, approximately 30 years after Wiesner was convicted, the Court of Appeals granted his 10th motion to renew his application for bar admission in New York. The recognition of his ability to practice in other jurisdictions, the accomplishments he had achieved, and the testimony in support of his admission were all facts the court considered when deciding that his pursuit of a productive life over the past 30 years was a clear indicator that he was successfully rehabilitated and his character no longer included the negative traits that led to his commission of past crimes.
Many facts of Wiesner’s case are relatable to yours. As time goes on, the court’s ability to acknowledge whether a person has been rehabilitated can be corroborated by their actions subsequent to their release, the testimony of a reliable source, and their efforts towards the overall benefit of society. The court should find that the length of time between the age when a crime was committed and the age when an applicant seeks admission to the New York bar have equal significance to the determination of the outcome in both Wiesner’s case and yours. In evaluating the seriousness of your acts, the court will find that your conduct was undeniably grave and that a man is dead because of it. Despite not yielding the knife that killed Mr. Ende and being advised not to do so by your attorneys, you plead guilty to felony murder which shows your willingness to accept responsibility for the result your actions. A year after you began serving your 20-year sentence, you began your pursuit to obtain a more productive purpose in life. As an effort to better yourself, you enrolled in education classes where you earned a degree in English and one in Social Work along with a Master’s degree in social work. During your sentence, you applied your newly acquired education to aid the Warden’s office in pairing inmates being released with transitional organizations. After being paroled, you continue to work towards the benefit of the greater good by helping former prisoners transition into society through your work at FIR Tree. Over the course of the last 15 years, you have avoided all legal trouble and aided other prisoners in doing the same. Those writing in support for your admission to the bar have witnessed your personal growth since your release. Since your conviction, you have taken the initiative to rehabilitate yourself. As evidenced by your clean prison record, lack of additional arrests since you were released, and the goals you have undertaken and accomplished in pursuit of improving yourself, we believe that you should not have difficulty being found of moral character and fitness by the Court of Appeals.
If the Court of Appeals applies the standards relating to the character and fitness of an applicant convicted of a felony as promoted by the American Bar Association in a similar manner as they did in In re Wiesner, the court should find that you possess the moral character and fitness to practice law in the state of New York. If the Court of Appeals is satisfied with their determination that you possess the moral character and fitness required of attorneys and you receive passing results on the bar examination, Judiciary Law § 90 (1) (a) states that you shall be admitted to practice law in New York.
The next steps for your case are to wait for the results of the bar examination and the decision of the Character and Fitness Committee to arrive. We cannot proceed if you do not receive a passing score on the bar examination. On the other hand, there will be no reason to proceed with the appeal should the Committee decide that you possess the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in New York upon the initial review of your application.
I have scheduled an appointment to see you on October 22, 2018 at 10:30am. During that meeting, I would like additional information on the crimes you were arrested for prior to being convicted of felony murder. Specifically, I would like for you reflect on why juvenile detention made you a more accomplished criminal upon release while being sentenced to felony murder had the opposite effect. While this information shouldn’t alter my prediction of how the Court of Appeals will decide, it could be useful to explain the reasons that inspired you to successfully rehabilitate yourself.
Do not hesitate to contact our firm if you have any questions regarding the information and analysis provided in this letter. Rest assured that our firm is proud to represent you in your quest to practice law in New York. We appreciate being trusted to advise you on this matter.