Transcending the Stigma of a Criminal Record: A Proposal to Reform State Bar Character and Fitness Evaluations

This Essay is rooted in the author’s experience as a formerly justice-involved in- dividual who overcame numerous barriers, including addiction and incarceration, to become an attorney. The Essay takes aim at one barrier in particular: state bar character and fitness evaluations. The author, whose bar application was initially rejected despite her extraordinary accomplishments as a law student, notes that the bar admissions process needlessly deters countless other formerly justice-involved individuals from attempting to join the legal profession, and argues that state bar associations should use a conditional approval process that informs such individuals whether the bar intends to admit them before they begin law school. This reform would benefit society at large, since formerly justice-involved individuals have unique and important contributions to make to the legal system.