Thread: Another Character & Fitness Dilemma

Hello, all. I'm a law student planning to take the bar exam in Florida. I've never been arrested for anything and I have no criminal record, only a few minor traffic infractions (speeding tickets). Yet, as I attempt to answer all the questions on the Florida bar exam truthfully, I find myself remembering several unfortunate incidents from my past that I am afraid will keep me from passing Florida's apparently stringent Character & Fitness examination. I can't tell if the horrible feeling in my gut is justified or if I'm over-reacting, and after scouring the internet for information I've stumbled upon this forum in the hopes of getting some advice.

Both the incidents that concern me happened in my first two years of undergraduate study, and both revolve around the consequences of being involved with a girl who, to say the least, was bad for me. The first incident happened at the end of my first year of college (2003). After getting into an argument with my significant other, I consumed several bottles of beer and became intoxicated (under age, obviously) in my dorm room. After getting drunk I wandered across campus to visit a friend in the hopes of crying on a shoulder. My friend was concerned for my safety and notified her RA of my inebriation; the RA escorted me back to my dorm room and that was the end of it. I assume that the RA was required to record this incident somewhere, but I was never subjected to any disciplinary action aside from an e-mail the following day indicating that my own RA application would have to be denied due to the incident.

The second incident happened roughly a year later during the spring semester of my sophomore year (2004). After my girlfriend casually mentioned over AIM that she was cheating on me - with another girl - I became seriously upset, and (understandably) I decided to end the relationship with her. Rather than see her in person, which I never wanted to do again, I sent a strongly-worded e-mail which, as you can imagine, contained a variety of vulgarities. The e-mail was not threatening in any way; it was merely an expression of my outrage and my intent to conclude our rather destructive relationship once and for all. I fully intended on never seeing her again (and I never did). But that's not the end of the story, unfortunately. A few weeks later I was summoned to see the Dean of Students, who claimed that the e-mail, in conjunction with some other pieces of evidence, constituted sexual harassment. As a result I was issued an "Active Avoidance Order" to stay away from the girl in question, which I complied with fully. I was not issued any probation, suspension or any other disciplinary action, nor was I asked to leave the school. At the end of that semester I even transferred schools to get away from the situation once and for all, in the hopes of starting fresh.

After reflecting on both of these incidents and conducting research on what exactly constitutes poor character and fitness in Florida, I can't tell whether or not this is a big problem. Most of the cases I read about online in which an applicant has problems passing the character and fitness portion of the Florida Bar Exam involve serious misconduct in the form of criminal conviction and the concealing of those convictions. As I said before, I have no criminal record and I intend to keep it that way. But the two above incidents don't exactly speak well for my moral character. The horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach is only worsened by the fact that I did not disclose either of these incidents on my application to law school, which I hear is a big no-no. Upon examination of my law school application, I fully and truthfully answered all the questions on it, but the application asked only about criminal convictions, having been suspended/expelled/placed on probation by a school, and being asked to leave a school. The law school application did not ask about violations of student conduct codes or ask about minor disciplinary actions. If it had, I would have certainly disclosed the information.

So, here I am asking for your opinions. I can't tell if I'm being silly or if I have legitimate concerns. Thanks in advance for responses.

Hi,
I hope I can help ease your anxiety and shed some light on your situation. I was an investigator with FL Board of Bar Examiners for almost five years so what I'm telling you is based on direct, professional experience. First let me say that these two incidents alone are not going to result in your denial of admission to the Florida Bar. Regarding the "Active Avoidance Order", I consider that a form of discipline and would definitely disclose it. I wouldn't worry about the first incident as I'm sure, from your account, you were never subjected to dsiciplinary proceedings (I was on my school's residence hall judicial board) because you did not indicate you were presented with any disciplinary charges from the school and didn't appear before a residence hall judicial board.I do believe that you should err on the side of caution and amend your application to disclose both incidents. Your schools will be contacted and you don't want the Board to find out about questionable incidents from the school instead of from you. I don't know what other issues you may have, but based on this, I'm sure you'll be fine. If you have any other questions or concerns about the character and fitness process in FL, you can email me, Nikko Evans, at nevans@flbarapp.com or visit my website Home. Thanks and good luck.