Applicant’s Failure To Participate In Character Review Dooms Admission For Now

The Ohio Supreme Court denied an application for bar admission on character and fitness grounds

Myers initially applied to take the February 2013 bar examination but failed to receive final approval of his character and fitness in time to take that test. He subsequently reapplied to take the July 2013 exam. The admissions committee of the Cincinnati Bar Association reviewed Myers’s application and interviewed him. Despite some concerns about his debts and his admission that he lied to a former employer about completing an assignment, the admissions committee found that he possessed the character, fitness, and moral qualifications required for admission to the practice law and recommended that his character and fitness be approved.

The board reviewed Myers’s application and determined, however, that his work history with the employer to whom he lied and his neglect of financial responsibility warranted further review of his character and fitness.

A panel was appointed to review the application but

The panel chair attempted to contact Myers several times by e-mail in an attempt to schedule a prehearing telephone conference but received no response. The chair eventually reached Myers and scheduled the conference for September 20, 2013. During the conference, the panel chair granted Myers’s request to continue the hearing so that he could have additional time to address certain issues relevant to his character and fitness. Another prehearing telephone conference was held on April 14, 2014, at which Myers again requested and was granted additional time. After a few months, in an attempt to schedule the hearing, the panel chair sent Myers two e-mails and a certified letter, which was signed for. Though the letter advised Myers that failure to respond could result in a recommendation from the panel that his character and fitness be disapproved, he did not respond. The director of bar admissions also attempted to contact Myers by telephone several times but was unsuccessful.

The applicant may reapply for admission on conditions set by the court. (Mike Frisch)