Maine Chance Denied

A justice of the Maine Supreme Court has agreed with the conclusions of the Board of Bar Examiners and denied admission on character and fitness grounds to an applicant who had passed the July 2010 bar examination. The applicant had previously failed the Massachusetts bar exam.

The applicant was licensed to practice medicine in 1988. He engaged in sexual misconduct with a patient. He had used inappropriate litigation tactics in a variety of matters, which the justice characterized as a “continuing theme” over a period of many years. He also lied about the status of his medical license in seeking work.

The justice also noted that the applicant was “frequently disorganized and unfocused” and had “unusual levels of anger and belligerence.” These traits were displayed in the admissions process as well as in other aspects of the applicant’s life:

What stands out is that [applicant] is willing, when the stakes are high, to say or do almost anything to get the result he wants, even if it involves bullying a witness, or attempting to bully an adversary or even an adjudicatory body

(Mike Frisch)