applicant’s failure to list arrests held de minimus omissions; admitted
How later courts described this case
- applicant’s failure to list arrests held de minimus omissions; admitted
- “moral turpitude” indicates lack of good character
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
McCOMB, J.
I dissent. An examination of the record and a reading of the majority opinion discloses to me ample evidence to sustain the action of respondent in refusing to certify petitioner to this court for admission to practice law in California.
An attorney’s oath requires him “to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, and faithfully to discharge the duties of any [sic] attorney at law. ...” (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6067.) It is the duty of an attorney to support the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6068, subd. (a).) At one time petitioner stated that he would take the oath without reservation and would observe it; on the other hand, he stated that everybody has an obligation to uphold the law “to a certain extent,” and that there are some laws that are manifestly unjust which he didn’t think anybody had an obligation to uphold. The record discloses that petitioner believes and acts upon the belief that it is right to violate the law in order to achieve some end strongly believed by him to be socially or politically desirable. 1
One of the grounds for respondent’s refusal to certify petitioner was that “the record as a whole establishes that he lacks *475 candor and truthfulness. ’ ’ The majority is of the opinion that since petitioner revealed an extensive list of arrests, his failure to make complete disclosure of all the facts called for on his application for permission to take the bar examination must be regarded as de minimis. In my opinion, the members of the subcommittee and the Committee of Bar Examiners before whom petitioner appeared were in a better position than we are to pass upon the truthfulness of his testimony, and I agree with their recommendation.
As the majority opinion points out, p. 457), petitioner was asked, "Well, with regard to the overriding consideration (and I understand that you feel that this is an overriding consideration) of civil rights and the United States Constitution, is it your position that you feel it proper to violate a law if this is necessary in order to gain these other ends? To enforce civil rights of other people." Petitioner responded as follows:
"I feel that there are instances where, when you have tried all the other resorts ... In other words, I wouldn’t think it would be right for us just to go down to the Sheraton-Palaee and sit down and say (you know) ‘We are here to talk about hiring Negro employees’; but when we have tried to negotiate, when we have tried to picket and have tried all the other things and they won’t even talk to us, I think then, in those circumstances, that the people are justified in going in and sitting-in.
I think that really (and theoretically) they are not breaking the law. That is not a violation of the law. But I think, even if they should nonetheless be instructed and have to go to jail for it ... if it was me, I would be willing to do it. I mean, I guess I will eventually have to spend some time for what we did there at the Sheraton-Palaee and the ‘Auto Bow’ and so on; but I feel that because it made so much progress in terms of the civil rights problem in this city, that I’m willing to pay that price for it. Even if it isn’t reversed. ’ ’