Should Dwayne Betts Be Admitted to the Connecticut Bar?
Even though I believe that Dwayne Betts should be admitted to the Connecticut Bar, or that of any other state where he applies; I'm not signing the Change.org petition someone forwarded to me. Here is what that petition says:
Dwayne Betts paid his dues to society for stealing a car when he was 16 years old, serving 8 years in prison. Instead of returning to a life of crime, Dwayne went on to become an award-winning poet, graduated from Yale Law School, and passed the Connecticut bar exam.
Sadly, the state bar has now provisionally denied him admission based on a 20-year-old conviction.
But if we don't allow people with criminal records to re-enter society after serving their terms (through employment, housing, education, or voting), how can we be surprised when they reoffend?
As a fellow Yale graduate and a Commissioner for the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department, I know that what Dwayne has accomplished is no easy feat. He took advantage of every opportunity we give juvenile offenders to help them make positive choices. But instead of celebrating his accomplishments, he's being told he can't become a lawyer because of a mistake he made 20 years ago.
Let's tell the Connecticut Bar that Dwayne's redemptive work should be rewarded, not punished.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/09/opinion/admit-this-ex-con-to-the-connecticut-bar.html
To clarify, if the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee were to have already denied his application, I'd have gladly signed a petition to support Mr. Better. That is not what has happened...yet.
To describe what Mr. Betts did as "stealing a car" is misleading. He carjacked a man at gunpoint and took the man's car. He went on to use that man's credit cards for a "shopping trip" the following day.
There is no question that this man is completely rehabilitated and has earned every possible "second chance." But the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee, which is a separate organization from the State Bar itself, has not actually denied his application. They are doing, what they have done in the past and are allowed to do under state law, is to require anyone who has been convicted of a felony to "...prove with clear and convincing evidence that he is of good moral character and fit to practice law."
The law in Connecticut is that anyone who was convicted of a felony loses the presumption of fitness to practice the law. That's a fair and appropriate position. Convicted felons who want to practice law should be required to demonstrate that they are fully rehabilitated before being admitted to the bar and become officers of the court.
Let's let the process work. If the Bar Examining Committee were to deny Mr. Betts admission to the bar, then the system did not work and we need to sign petitions, write elected officials and make a fuss. To fuss before the final word is in, is premature at best.
Dwayne Betts paid his dues to society for stealing a car when he was 16 years old, serving 8 years in prison. Instead of returning to a life of crime, Dwayne went on to become an award-winning poet, graduated from Yale Law School, and passed the Connecticut bar exam.
Sadly, the state bar has now provisionally denied him admission based on a 20-year-old conviction.
But if we don't allow people with criminal records to re-enter society after serving their terms (through employment, housing, education, or voting), how can we be surprised when they reoffend?
As a fellow Yale graduate and a Commissioner for the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department, I know that what Dwayne has accomplished is no easy feat. He took advantage of every opportunity we give juvenile offenders to help them make positive choices. But instead of celebrating his accomplishments, he's being told he can't become a lawyer because of a mistake he made 20 years ago.
Let's tell the Connecticut Bar that Dwayne's redemptive work should be rewarded, not punished.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/09/opinion/admit-this-ex-con-to-the-connecticut-bar.html
To clarify, if the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee were to have already denied his application, I'd have gladly signed a petition to support Mr. Better. That is not what has happened...yet.
To describe what Mr. Betts did as "stealing a car" is misleading. He carjacked a man at gunpoint and took the man's car. He went on to use that man's credit cards for a "shopping trip" the following day.
There is no question that this man is completely rehabilitated and has earned every possible "second chance." But the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee, which is a separate organization from the State Bar itself, has not actually denied his application. They are doing, what they have done in the past and are allowed to do under state law, is to require anyone who has been convicted of a felony to "...prove with clear and convincing evidence that he is of good moral character and fit to practice law."
The law in Connecticut is that anyone who was convicted of a felony loses the presumption of fitness to practice the law. That's a fair and appropriate position. Convicted felons who want to practice law should be required to demonstrate that they are fully rehabilitated before being admitted to the bar and become officers of the court.
Let's let the process work. If the Bar Examining Committee were to deny Mr. Betts admission to the bar, then the system did not work and we need to sign petitions, write elected officials and make a fuss. To fuss before the final word is in, is premature at best.
posted by me at 9:50 AM
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