Stop asking law students about juvenile records, NY State bar says - Reuters
(Reuters) - New York should stop asking aspiring lawyers about their juvenile criminal records during the character and fitness review required for licensing, the New York State Bar Association said Monday.
Forcing law students to disclose information about sealed criminal records, juvenile delinquency, dismissed cases and non-pending arrests that didn’t lead to a conviction — which is covered in Question 26 of the New York bar application — is illegal and impedes efforts to improve diversity within the legal profession, according to a state bar report approved by its House of Delegates on Saturday.
It will be up to the New York Administrative Board of the Courts, which has the final say on lawyer licensing matters, to adopt any changes. The New York City Bar Association has also advocated amending the disclosure requirement.
Court officials are reviewing the issue, a court spokesman said Monday.
The state bar's report highlights racial disparities in arrest figures in New York, with Black residents accounting for 38% of total arrests despite making up 15% of the population — with a larger gap for drug crimes. Requiring disclosure of youthful interactions with the justice system can dissuade minority colleges students from pursuing law as a career, the report says.
The bar application isn't the first time many would-be lawyers in New York are forced to report past run-ins with the law. All but one of the 15 law schools in the state have similar requirements for admission, the report said.
“We have heard from deans and directors of law school admissions that people of color who want to become lawyers are reluctant to invest the considerable time and money to attend law school because they worry that they could be rejected for admission to the bar due to a police interaction,” said bar association president T. Andrew Brown.
Question 26 also runs afoul of the state Human Rights Law and the Family Court Act, the state bar report found.
The state courts' administrative board has shown a willingness to reform the character and fitness review process before. In 2020 it eliminated a question about mental health at the request of law students who said requiring disclosure discouraged people from seeking help.
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source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/stop-asking-law-students-about-juvenile-records-ny-state-bar-says-2022-01-24/
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