Application of Knight

McDonald, J. Alonya Renee Knight has applied for admission to the Maryland Bar. We must decide whether to grant her application in light of the adverse recommendations of the State Board of Law Examiners ("Board") and the Character Committee for the Seventh Appellate Circuit ("Committee"). The Board determined in a 3-2 vote, as did the Committee unanimously, that she has failed to show that she currently has the "good moral character and fitness for the practice of law" required for admission. Upon our independent review of the record, we agree with the Board majority and the Committee, and deny her application for the reasons set forth below.

I Background A. Meeting the Character and Fitness Requirement for Admission to the Bar 1. The Requirement Both this Court and the General Assembly, which have reached a "comfortable accommodation" in the regulation of the practice of law in Maryland, 1 require that one who wishes to engage in that practice satisfy a character and fitness requirement as a prerequisite to admission to the Bar. This Court requires that an applicant for admission to the Maryland Bar demonstrate "the applicant's good moral character and fitness for the practice of law." Maryland Rule 19-204(d). 2 Similarly, the Legislature has specified that "[a]n applicant shall be of good character and reputation." Maryland Code, Business Occupations & Professions Article, § 10-207(b). 3 This Court has identified the character and fitness requirement as a preeminent criterion for admission to the Maryland Bar. "[O]ur obligation [is] to the public and to the legal profession to assure that applicants seeking original admission to the Bar possess the requisite moral character and fitness to conduct the affairs of others both in and out of court.

No attribute in a lawyer is more important than good moral character; indeed, it is absolutely essential to the preservation of our legal system and the integrity of the courts." Application of Allan S ., 282 Md. 683 , 689, 387 A.2d 271 (1978). Every American jurisdiction imposes a similar requirement for admission to the bar. The lineage of character and fitness standards for attorneys can be traced back to both ancient Rome and medieval England. See Deborah L. Rhode, Moral Character as a Professional Credential , 94 Yale L.J. 491 , 493 (1984).

In theory, a requirement of "good moral character" should protect the public from lawyers who are likely to engage in unethical conduct. Michael K. McChrystal, A Structural Analysis of the Good Moral Character Requirement for Bar Admission , 60 Notre Dame L. Rev. 67 (1984). Thus, when an applicant is rejected for failing to meet that requirement, one should be able to articulate a rational connection between the basis of that rejection and standards for the practice of law. 4 Id . at 68. It is easy to say that "good moral character and fitness to practice law" is essential for admission to the Bar, but it is less easy to say what that standard is.

It is a quality elusive of precise definition and often unrelated to credentials, achievement, or past missteps. Although a full definition of character and fitness may be beyond our descriptive powers, candor and forthrightness are clearly its foundation. In re Meyerson , 190 Md. 671 , 687, 59 A.2d 489 (1948) ("No 'moral character qualification for Bar membership' is more important than truthfulness and candor"). The failure of an applicant to the Bar to demonstrate those character traits in his or her application is a warning sign that the applicant may be unable to conduct a legal practice in accordance with the rules of professional conduct. 5 Thus, the burden is placed on the applicant to demonstrate those traits.

A failure to be candid and forthright in the bar admission process itself is particularly likely to result in denial of an application. McChrystal, 60 Notre Dame L. Rev. at 78. 2. The Process To assess whether an applicant to the Bar meets the character and fitness requirement, the Court has established a character committee in each appellate circuit to investigate each application for admission and to provide a recommendation to the Board as to whether the applicant meets that requirement. Maryland Rules 19-103, 19-204(a)(1).

The Board in turn reviews the work of the character committee and makes its own recommendation to this Court as to whether the candidate satisfies that requirement. Maryland Rule 19-204(b). The Court then makes an independent final decision as to whether the applicant satisfies the requirement. Maryland Rule 19-204(c).

At each stage of the process, the applicant is entitled to a hearing if it appears that there are grounds for denying admission to the Bar. Maryland Rule 19-204(a)-(c). The hearings before a character committee and the Board are conducted on the record and may include testimony and other evidence. The Court's evaluation of the applicant is based on the record developed before the committee and the Board; the hearing before the Court may include oral argument on behalf of the applicant.

At all times, the applicant bears the burden of proving his or her "good moral character and fitness for the practice of law." Maryland Rule 19-204(d). The character inquiry is an assessment made at the time of application rather than at the time of any past misconduct. For example, an applicant who committed a serious crime in the past may satisfy the character and fitness requirement with a showing that the applicant "convincingly rehabilitated" himself or herself. Compare Application of A.T ., 286 Md. 507 , 516, 408 A.2d 1023 (1979) (granting application after concluding that rehabilitation shown) with Application of David H ., 283 Md. 632 , 641, 392 A.2d 83 (1978) (denying application after concluding that rehabilitation "not ... sufficiently demonstrated").

A determination that an applicant has not borne the burden of demonstrating good moral character and fitness to practice law is not necessarily a death knell as to the applicant's quest to become a lawyer. Otherwise, a disbarred attorney would have no hope of ever obtaining readmission. This Court has allowed for the possibility of readmission of a disbarred attorney upon a showing of good character. See Maryland Rule 19-752(h) (among other things, disbarred attorney must satisfy character and competence requirements as a prerequisite to reinstatement); In re Meyerson , 190 Md. at 675 , 59 A.2d 489 (character requirements for original admission to the Bar and for reinstatement after disbarment are "expressions of the same principles").

Thus, our focus is on the present and we cannot, and do not, say whether, if ever, an applicant who fails on an initial application may satisfy the character requirement in the future. B. The Application and Evaluation of Ms. Knight 1. Application After the dissolution of what she described as a troubled and abusive marriage, Alonya Renee Knight graduated from college and, in October 2016, at age 45, from the David A. Clarke School of Law of the University of the District of Columbia. In December of that year, she submitted her application to take the Maryland bar exam.

In that application, she acknowledged her "duty to respond fully and candidly to each question or required disclosure," as well as her duty to update her responses to ensure that they remained accurate up to the time of admission to the Bar. Ms. Knight sat for and passed the February 2017 bar exam. 2. Character Committee Investigation and Hearing The Board referred Ms. Knight's application to the Committee and flagged certain matters, including her answers to questions about delinquent accounts, civil actions, criminal proceedings, and terminations of past employment. The Committee member designated to investigate her application interviewed Ms. Knight on May 19, 2017.

A number of discrepancies soon became apparent. After a thorough investigation and some contentious follow-up communications from Ms. Knight during May and June 2017, the Committee investigator forwarded a detailed 20-page report to the full Committee in July 2017. That report detailed among other things: • Five civil actions against Ms. Knight in Maryland courts and two civil actions against her in the District of Columbia Superior Court during the period from 1997 through 2012 were not disclosed in her application. In an interview with the investigator, Ms. Knight professed to be unaware of these lawsuits and stated that information concerning some of the earlier actions may have been withheld from her by her former husband (from whom she was divorced in 2003), who she said had been abusive toward her. 6 • A tort action filed in the District of Columbia Superior Court in 2010 in which Ms. Knight was the plaintiff was not disclosed in her application.

In the interview with the investigator, Ms. Knight speculated that the action related to an automobile accident and had been filed by an attorney on her behalf, but stated that she had no notice of the action and had never appeared in court (although she apparently had signed interrogatories as part of the discovery in the case). • Two misdemeanor criminal actions charging, respectively, theft and battery that were filed against Ms. Knight in 1994 had been disclosed in her application. Ms. Knight professed to remember little about the theft case, although she had apparently been arrested during that prosecution. Both cases were eventually placed on the stet docket. • While Ms. Knight disclosed various traffic citations in her original application, she failed to initially disclose a pending citation that had resulted in suspension of her driving privileges. • Ms. Knight failed to accurately describe in her application the circumstances under which she left an internship at an organization called Melwood in April 2015. In her application, she stated that she had left that job because "job term ended" and because she thought it was an invasion of her privacy to take a mandated drug test.

Upon checking with that employer, the investigator discovered that Ms. Knight had in fact failed a drug test. When confronted with that information by the investigator, Ms. Knight said that she had likely failed the drug test because she was taking an opioid pain reliever for a medical condition and that, when Melwood asked for details after she failed the test, she decided not to provide information concerning her medical history and left the position. She told the investigator that she had since had surgery to correct the underlying medical condition and was no longer taking the opioid pain reliever. • Ms. Knight similarly failed to accurately describe in her application why she had left a job with the District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance. In her application she stated that she had left that job "to attend law school full time." Upon checking with the Department, the investigator learned that Ms. Knight had left that job after receiving advance written notice of a proposed suspension for "insubordination and misfeasance." 7 When confronted by the investigator with that information, Ms. Knight stated that she had been threatened with physical violence by another employee at the Department and had decided to leave that employment rather than return to what she viewed as a hostile environment. • While Ms. Knight disclosed certain delinquent debts in her application, she claimed that she was not obligated to pay one of those debts (in an amount of approximately $ 7,000) because it was for a medication she never received, but was apparently unable to provide any documentation that the creditor had forgiven the debt. • As disclosed in the credit report submitted with her application, Ms. Knight had various overdue accounts. • As disclosed in her application, Ms. Knight had not paid all undisputed tax obligations to the IRS. • After the investigator was unable to obtain a certification from the University of Maryland University College ("UMUC") concerning Ms. Knight's undergraduate and graduate studies at UMUC, Ms. Knight eventually disclosed that she had failed to complete her master's degree program, had received a failing grade, had been placed on academic suspension by the school, and had later been placed on "academic dismissal" when she attempted to repeat courses and received a failing grade in 2017.

When the investigator asked for additional information concerning the academic suspension and dismissal and an explanation why Ms. Knight had disclosed neither in her application and initial character interview, Ms. Knight explained that preparation for the bar exam had interfered with her effort to complete her master's program at UMUC. The investigator was perplexed by this explanation as Ms. Knight had registered for a UMUC course that began just two weeks before the February 2017 bar exam and that was scheduled to continue through May 2017. In the course of attempting to obtain the certifications from UMUC, the investigator also discovered that there was a "financial hold" on Ms. Knight's account at UMUC. Ms. Knight attributed the situation to her loss of federal financial aid, but stated that she was unaware of that circumstance at the time she filed her bar application.

Ms. Knight claimed to be unaware of her status at UMUC at the time of her interview because she had not checked her email account to which UMUC had earlier notified her of her situation. (Ms. Knight eventually paid her debt to UMUC and the investigator eventually received the requested certifications of Ms. Knight's attendance from UMUC). Many of Ms. Knight's explanations of the various matters outlined above appeared not in her bar application itself, but