I can weigh in here. I was recently approved after having more than 10 criminal misdemeanor charges resulting in more than five misdemeanor convictions. One was related to alcohol. Most of the rest were related to arguing with or running from cops. I also made other poor choices that resulted in job terminations. The process was emotionally challenging and effortful. It took me roughly 2 years from the date I applied for C+F and roughly 20 months after I passed the bar exam to be approved.davidsimani wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:49 pm
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Hey, I am currently in a similar situation. Have you made any progress with the CA Bar and do you have any advice you can share about the process? Thanks in Advance!
In my view, the best thing someone with a past like us can do is hire an attorney (and the RIGHT attorney) before filing any C+F paperwork. This can avoid certain issues on the front end. If you've already filed, hire one now. Be wary of certain attorneys operating in this space--some are of low quality and offer "one size fits all" advice. Avoid those attorneys. Try not to fret too much over requests for additional information from the bar--this is essentially a formality for anyone who has something in their past.
In a broader sense, all or most of the concerns voiced in this thread previously are founded, in my opinion. This process does disadvantage people with a past. It is, arguably, disproportionate to most of the infractions that lead to heightened scrutiny and delay. However, it is potentially surmountable for almost everyone with both short and long lists of prior indiscretions. In my opinion, it remains our duty as current and future members of the California bar to seek reform of this prejudicial process. In my opinion, our best avenue for reform are the public California bar meetings where there is time for public comment on internal bar association operations.
I think our leading argument for reform--and the one that will reduce the greatest source of harm to formerly justice involved applicants--is focusing on the lack of efficiency in the moral character determination process. There is little reason or justification why even applicants with spotless records must wait 6+ months for a moral character determination when studying for and passing the bar exam takes half that time. No other states (save for perhaps Florida) face such delays. New York is much more efficient.
In many ways, California leads the nation in technological advancement and industry. We should seek to address the problem, in my opinion, by encouraging adoption of a system that sends applicants without criminal records through an automated system that green lights them without the months and months of bottle-necked delay brought upon by a dozen or so human bar C+F investigators. Freeing up the C+F investigators to focus on only those candidates (like us) with justice-involved pasts would enable them to pass everyone through (both the spotless applicants and the blemished applicants) in a much more efficient and orderly fashion.
I sympathize with anyone who is subjected to this experience and I wish you the best.