Character & Fitness

Why is Character and Fitness Important?

A student who enters Chase College of Law has started the journey into the legal profession. As a member of the legal profession, one is charged with fulfilling the obligations of trust, responsibility, and professionalism to the clients, bar, colleagues and the public. A member of the bar must be able to exercise good judgment, maintain a high degree of honesty and integrity, avoid illegal, dishonest, fraudulent or deceitful conduct, and avoid acts which exhibit disregard for the health, safety and welfare of others. Therefore, the legal profession requires that a person must demonstrate good moral character and a fitness to practice law. Good moral character and fitness include qualities of honesty, responsibility, integrity, trustworthiness, mental and emotional competence, respect for the rights of others and the law.

The Admissions Process: Failure to Disclose and its Implications.

The first step of the journey into the legal profession begins with completing the application for admission to law school. On the law school application, there are 5 questions related directly to an applicant’s character and fitness. The questions are as follows:

  1. Have you ever been arrested, charged or cited for any violation of the law? (This includes, but is not limited to, all felonies, misdemeanors, juvenile offenses, expunged records, arrests, charges, citations and fines including traffic offenses regardless of final disposition.) 
  2. Have you ever been accused of cheating, plagiarism or any other violation of a student conduct code, or been placed on probation, suspended, asked to withdraw or dismissed from any school or other educational program for either academic or non-academic reasons?
  3. Have you ever been discharged or asked to resign from any employment?
  4. Has any government or administrative agency, including military authorities, ever taken any administrative disciplinary action against you?
  5. Have you ever been a plaintiff or defendant in any civil or criminal legal proceeding? (This includes all  proceedings other than those disclosed in questions 1-4.)

You must review each question fully and answer truthfully. Full disclosure is the standard and failure to disclose or respond truthfully can affect you in the following ways.

If it is determined that you failed to answer the questions completely and truthfully, this lack of candor may result in revocation of the offer of admission and dismissal from the College of Law.

The Office of Bar Admissions may decide that a student who has graduated from law school and applied to take the bar examination lacks candor. The Office of Bar Admissions may delay or deny the application to take the bar examination if it discovers that the applicant failed to be truthful on the law school application.

Candor is the quality of being honest and straightforward. It is a critical measure of a person’s character and fitness. A lack of candor in answering the character and fitness questions on the law school application is often more serious than the actual event requiring disclosure.

Continuing Responsibility as a Law Student

A student has a continuing obligation to immediately report to the law school if any answer on the law school application is inaccurate, becomes inaccurate or if the student recalls information that should have been disclosed on the original application. A Chase student, prior to graduation, will have attended a Professionalism Program, attended an Orientation about character and fitness, taken a class on Professional Responsibility and have had an opportunity to attend a presentation by the Office of Bar Admissions. Thus, the Office of Bar Admissions is less likely to be sympathetic to an applicant who states “I didn’t know I was supposed to disclose that.”

Applying to Take The Bar Examination

Each state will have its own rules and regulations regarding admission to the bar. It is an applicant’s responsibility to be familiar with these rules. All states will require a character and fitness evaluation. The questions asked on the bar application will be similar to those asked on the law school application. Many states will conduct a background investigation on all applicants, including obtaining a credit report; therefore, it is nearly impossible to hide information from them.

The Office of Bar Admissions will also request a copy of the law school application and record. This is where many applicants get into trouble if they have not fully disclosed information to the law school. Again, it is often the lack of candor that raises serious concerns rather than the actual matter itself. Attending law school is a major investment of time, money and resources. Do not let your commitment to joining the profession be sidetracked by your lack of candor.

For more information about the character and fitness requirements and essential eligibility requirements for the practice of law in states around our region, please visit the following websites.

What Should I Do?

As you complete the application for admission, you should:

  1. Read each question carefully and thoroughly. Note that some questions require disclosure of civil matters not just criminal matters.
  2. Do your own investigative work into your background. Ask family, friends and others who may be familiar with your background to provide information. You may even check with courts in the places you have lived to see if any records exist. Remember, just because you can’t find a record does not mean the event did not take place. You must disclose.
  3. Contact the Office of Admissions at 859-572-5841 if you are having trouble understanding what the question is asking and what should be disclosed.
  4. If the question must be answered yes, then provide as much information about the event(s) as possible. You should be specific as to dates, circumstances surrounding the event, the final disposition, and what steps you have taken to ensure it will not happen again.
  5. When in doubt, DISCLOSE.
  6. Do not wait until a later date to inform the law school. This will appear as dishonest and deceptive which is often far worse than the actual event.
  7. For all schools you are applying to make sure you have answered their question as it has been asked. Do not take the “one response fits all” approach.

Examples of what Applicants Fail to Disclose

The most common examples of what applicants fail to disclose are listed below. Remember, this is just a partial listing.

  • Alcohol related offenses such as DUI, public intoxication and open container citations.
  • Evictions and other landlord/tenant related actions.
  • Financial actions such as bad checks, debt collections and bankruptcy.
  • Violations that only resulted in paying a fine.
  • Military disciplinary actions.
  • Juvenile offenses.
  • Student honor code violations such as plagiarism.
  • Expunged records.
  • Family related proceedings such divorce, child custody and child support.
  • Civil proceedings and actions where you have been a plaintiff or defendant.

Frequently Asked Questions

My lawyer tells me it won’t show up on my record or advises me not to answer. What should I do?
You must always disclose. The bar examiners will do a thorough search and will find information. If it happened, disclose it.
I was on academic probation, but it is not listed on my transcript. Why should I disclose this information?
You must disclose all instances of academic suspension and probation, regardless of whether or not it is on the transcript. If you know it happened and do not disclose the information, then you are demonstrating dishonesty which will usually be a greater offense than the academic issue itself.
I have received speeding tickets before but it has been a long time. I have requested my driving record, but they aren’t all listed. What do I do?
Give as much information as possible. If you can recall the year and an estimate of how many you have had, it is a good start. Also, include a statement that you can not find any other information and what you have done to locate the information.
I am worried that if I disclose, the admissions committee will deny me or the Office of Bar Admissions will not let me practice law. Should I wait to see if I get in first?
No, this is a very bad choice. Choosing not to disclose something is dishonest. If you have failed to disclose information, this choice may result in revocation of the offer of admission, dismissal from law school, or denial to take the bar examination. If there is an event that is troubling to you, contact the Office of Admission. It is better to do so than to explain later why you did not disclose. Even minor matters can become serious when an applicant has been dishonest.
What if I was found not guilty or the charges were dropped?
You must give this information. Question 1 clearly asks for any citations, charges and arrests. You will have the opportunity to inform us of the not guilty verdict or dismissal of charges in the explanation you provide.
I don’t understand the question and when I asked my parents they said not to worry about it. Were they wrong?
Yes. Your parents, friends, pre-law advisor and attorney may mean well with their advice, but often they do not understand the seriousness of answering the questions truthfully. If you do not understand the question, you must contact the Office of Admission at the school who is asking the questions. At Chase, the contact is 859.572.5841.
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it wasn’t my fault. I think it is unfair that I got arrested for it.
Often times applicants believe what happened wasn’t their fault or the police officers had it out for them or the professor did not like them. However, if you must answer yes, then it has to be disclosed. In the explanation, you do get to provide information about the circumstances surrounding the event. Be careful, though, a quality of good moral character and fitness is responsibility. So you may want to evaluate your responsibility in the incident rather than point fingers.

Still have questions?

If you still have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Office of Admissions at folger@nku.edu or call 859.572.5841.