When it comes to bar admission, law students who aspire to join the profession can justifiably question whether Florida law means what it says. Serious tensions exist between the Rules of the Florida Supreme Court Regulating Admission to the Bar and the other transparency, free speech, privacy and judicial funding requirements of the Florida Constitution. The bar examiners have a long-standing, restrictive, and regulatory view of themselves as a constitutional safeguard protecting the public from potentially dangerous attorney aspirants, but the Supreme Court of Florida cannot and should not exempt its agents from the State Constitution.
Open government initiatives, online announcements, and periodic reports can enhance transparency and public understanding. Vague character rules can be rewritten. Individual freedoms of speech and thought can be respected. Needless invasions of personal privacy can be avoided through reevaluation of the financial and mental health inquiries. Burdensome fees can be reduced, and the public at large should contribute to the bar admissions budget. Florida’s principles of ethics and professionalism direct that the voices of the legal community should be heard in our effort to self-govern and administer the justice system.
In most cases, today’s bar applicant is tomorrow’s lawyer. For these applicants, the actions taken by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners create first impressions of the entire legal system. A constitutionally-questionable process is not a good beginning. The Florida Supreme Court, its bar examiner agents, the members of the Florida Bar, the professors and institutions working in legal education – and yes, the future members of the profession – all need to honor our oaths.