Ethics

Sometime in the mid-1970s, the deans of New York law schools were summoned to a meeting with the leadership of the N.Y. Character and Fitness Committee.  The agenda was a proposal to enhance the exclusionary powers of the committee.  At the beginning of the meeting, I moved that the C&FC be abolished.  That motion got nowhere (I don?t think it got a second), but neither did the committee?s proposal to expand its powers.

During the course of the meeting, I learned about the case of a young woman who had been denied admittance by the committee.  The reason for her exclusion from the bar on grounds of C&F was the following part of her interview by the C&F examiner:

Q: Do you live alone?

A: No.

Q: Do you live with a man or a woman?

A: With a man.

Q: Are you married to him?

A: No.

The young woman was ultimately admitted, but only after she had had to retain a retired federal judge (a Judge Tyler?) to represent her to get the exclusion reversed.

After the meeting, I gave a ride home to the then chairman of the committee.  ?That was a disturbing story about that young woman,? I said.  ?Yes,? he agreed, ?and the whole thing was so unnecessary.? 

And then he added, ?I mean, why did she have to give all those smart-ass answers.?