The Florida Board of Bar Examiners (FBBE) claims on its website that it is protecting the public. However, there is little evidence, if any, to support that. While the FBBE markets itself as a righteous institution, what the FBBE does not disclose is that hundreds upon hundreds of Florida attorneys are disciplined every year, all of whom were initially found to have good character (click here). The FBBE's character evaluations simply do not work for their stated purpose.
The Florida Supreme Court has acknowledged in Florida Board of Bar Examiners Re: L.M.S., 647 So.2d 838, 839 (Fla. 1994) that "...there is no litmus test by which to determine whether an applicant for admission to the Bar possesses good moral character..." As described below, the FBBE is left to make admissions recommendations on an ad hoc basis armed with a plethora of published decisions from the Florida Supreme Court preserving the FBBE's administrative latitude.
No one disputes that lawyers should possess good character. However, there are constitutional methods, and unconstitutional methods, of evaluating applicants' character and unfortunately the FBBE has chosen the latter to target certain applicants for illegitimate reasons. To see how the FBBE abuses the character & fitness process, the starting point is the body of rules governing the FBBE and the lack of objective criteria to guide the exercise of administrative discretion. (click here).
Rule 3-11 articulates "disqualifying conduct" for applicants. Notice that Rule 3-11 uses the word "may". Specifically, the "revelation or discovery of any of the" items listed in Rule 3-11 "may constitute a basis for denial of admission." If this is not unbridled discretion enough, Rule 3-11 concludes with a catch-all provision, something that evokes constitutional doubts of the utmost gravity. Specifically, subrule (n) provides that "any other conduct which reflects adversely upon the character or fitness of the applicant" may be grounds for denial. This, quite frankly, has led to abuses.
Significant problems arise when any group of officials are free to act without limiting principles to guide the exercise of administrative discretion. For example, even though Florida law requires the FBBE to disclose exculpatory information in its possession, this procedure has most assuredly been abused (click here). Additionally, Florida licensing officials make admissions decision based upon information not provided to applicants, which clearly violates federal law (click here). Finally, FloridaBarWatch recently discovered that as a matter of routine practice, the prosecutor of the FBBE's specifications secretly drafts the Board's opinion following a formal hearing (click here).
Because none of the FBBE's decisions are published, the Florida Supreme Court is in control of what information about the FBBE's practices should be made public or kept secret. Only select admissions decisions of the Florida Supreme Court are published, thereby shrouding the FBBE's admissions decision-making from public scrutiny. Further, because of the embarrassment that most applicants feel after being labeled morally unfit, few individuals come forward to expose dishonesty and bias in the system.
FloridaBarWatch has been established to educate the public about the dishonesty and bias within the Florida licensing system and encourage those abused by the process to come forward. Unless people speak-out, the system will never change.