Not A Misdirected Hippie

The Ohio Supreme Court is considering an appeal from a report and recommendation to deny bar admission to a convicted felon.

The Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness filed its report on September 5, 2014.

Libretti is 51 years old. He is second in his class at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and is well liked by his fellow students and professors. He is scheduled to graduate in December 2014. There is no doubt that he is talented, intelligent, and hard-working.’ The question to be answered by the Board is whether Libretti currently has the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications to become a member of the bar.

Applicant’s criminal activity began when he was in college at the University of Denver and spanned the years of 1983 through 1990. Libretti was a drug dealer – initially selling marijuana and then moving on to dealing in cocaine. His activities were not that of some misdirected hippie: When he was indicted in January 1992, one of the charges was brought under the “Kingpin” statute – meaning he was an organizer, manager, or supervisor of a criminal enterprise. Conviction under the Kingpin Statute carried a minimum sentence of twenty years with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

He was released from prison after 16 years and thereafter engaged in the sale of spice.

He was indicted and acquitted of selling methamphetamine after his release.

The Citizens’ Institute for Law and Public Policy has filed a brief in support of the applicant.

Amici curiae respectfully request the Court consider all the issues raised above in its evaluation of applicants with a felony conviction, and that it approve those applicants unconditionally in the absence of any present conduct rationally related to the practice of law that would prevent them from effectively practicing as a licensed attorney subsequent to passing the bar examination.

In light of the information presented, the Institute would also urge that applicants with felony records who will not be unconditionally approved to sit for the bar examination be given a deferral of between six months and two years whenever possible, during which they would be expected to continue to demonstrate behavior consistent with the fitness standards established by Gov. Bar R. I and, if deemed appropriate by the Court, to cure any concerns raised during the character and fitness process, rather than being forever precluded from sitting for the examination.

Oral aergument is scheduled for February 25, 2015. The pleadings index is linked here. (Mike Frisch)