In re DeBartolo
488 N.E.2d 947, 111 Ill.2d 1 (1986)
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Rule of Law:
An applicant for admission to the bar must demonstrate good moral character and general fitness, and a failure to do so may be established by a pattern of conduct that includes a lack of candor on the bar application, a disregard for the law, and misrepresentation.
Facts:
- Sometime in 1977, Frederick Francis DeBartolo asked to borrow a classmate's police badge and gun, falsely claiming he had left his own at home and needed them to arrest individuals he saw smoking marijuana.
- On a separate occasion, DeBartolo admitted to an investigator that he had falsely represented himself as a police officer while in a tavern with friends.
- While attending law school, DeBartolo accumulated between 200 and 400 parking tickets.
- During the several years preceding his bar application, DeBartolo lived at five different addresses in Chicago, in addition to his parents' home.
- On his sworn bar application, DeBartolo incorrectly stated he had attended St. Ignatius High School from 1970 to 1974, when he had actually attended Proviso West from 1971 to 1975.
- On the same application, DeBartolo omitted his five Chicago residences, listing only his parents' home in Westchester as his residence for the preceding 10 years, despite having used the other addresses on official documents.
- A number of relatives, lawyers, and friends testified on DeBartolo's behalf, attesting to his integrity and stability.
Procedural Posture:
- Frederick Francis DeBartolo graduated from law school and passed the Illinois bar examination.
- DeBartolo submitted a sworn 'Questionnaire and Statement of Applicant' to the Committee on Character and Fitness for the First Judicial District.
- The Committee investigated DeBartolo's application and informed him in August 1982 that it had decided to refuse to certify his character and fitness.
- DeBartolo requested and was granted a hearing before the Committee, where testimony was presented.
- Following the hearing, the Committee again voted to refuse certification and issued a written report of its findings.
- DeBartolo filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Illinois, the state's highest court, seeking relief from the Committee's refusal to certify.
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Issue:
Does a bar applicant's pattern of conduct, including providing false and incomplete information on their bar application, amassing hundreds of parking tickets, and misrepresenting themself as a police officer, demonstrate a lack of the good moral character and general fitness necessary for the practice of law?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Miller
Yes. A bar applicant's pattern of conduct, including providing false and incomplete information on their bar application, amassing hundreds of parking tickets, and misrepresenting themself as a police officer, demonstrates a lack of the good moral character and general fitness necessary for the practice of law. The court emphasized the critical importance of candor and completeness on the bar application, stating that DeBartolo's failure to provide accurate information about his education and residences 'betrays a lack of concern for the truth' and frustrates the committee’s essential function. This lack of candor, combined with his disregard for the law evidenced by the multitude of parking tickets and his misrepresentations as a police officer, forms a pattern of conduct that supports the committee's refusal to certify him. The court held that while the refusal was warranted, it does not necessarily constitute a permanent bar to the practice of law, and the petitioner may reapply for admission.
Analysis:
This case underscores that the character and fitness evaluation for bar admission is a holistic inquiry where a pattern of seemingly disparate acts can collectively demonstrate unfitness. It establishes that a lack of candor on the application itself can be as damaging as the underlying conduct an applicant might be trying to conceal. The decision serves as a significant precedent and a warning to future applicants that truthfulness and completeness in the application process are paramount. However, by allowing for the possibility of reapplication, the court affirms the legal profession's belief in rehabilitation, suggesting that a finding of a lack of fitness is not necessarily a permanent disqualification.
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