Posted: Wednesday, 10 June 2009 11:55AM
Bar Them For Life
Steve Corbett Reporting
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
I’m not wrong too often. But I learn from my mistakes. So I’ve changed my mind on an issue about which I was convinced I was right.
Until this morning, I believed that lawyers who are convicted of or plead guilty to felonies should be able to regain their law licenses after being released from jail or the supervision of the court.
That’s how they make money, I reasoned. That’s how they make a living. That’s how the system works.
Now I realize that the system must change.
No longer should lawyer felons be allowed to step back into a courtroom or handle the practice of law, which amounts to handling a public trust. No longer should rogue lawyers who stole from clients or from the public trust be allowed to represent anybody in this nation of law. No longer should gangster counselors be permitted to stand before a judge in the honorable pursuit of the law.
If convicted of a felony, lawyers should forever be barred from the practice of law.
They should find another livelihood.
Lawyers must be held to a higher standard.
They must realize that they will forever be known in their communities as lawyers gone bad. For breaking the law they were once sworn to uphold, they must pay for the rest of their lives.
That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in rehabilitation.
I believe that people can change.
But some lines of work are licensed to ensure a higher standard. And if you break the law, you relinquish the right to ever again participate in that line of work.
The rule must apply to elected and appointed public officials as well. Even non-lawyers should be barred from ever holding public office again. Plead to or be found guilty of a felony and lose the privilege of holding office or working in a publicly-funded position.
I know a local lawyer who once dealt drugs and went to prison for his crimes. When he was released, he worked hard to have his law license returned. He’s now the solicitor for his hometown.
Some people might not even know that he’s an ex-convict.
Some people might not even care.
But some of us do.
I have every reason to believe that he’s a good citizen and good lawyer. I hope he’s a better person. And I wish him no harm.
But he should not be allowed to practice law.
The law actually allows lawbreakers to practice law.
That law must change.
No lawyer caught in the ongoing federal public corruption investigation in Northeastern Pennsylvania should ever again be allowed to practice law.
That goes for former Luzerne County president judges Mark Ciavarella and Mike Conahan.
Let the two gangster judges sell condos. Frankly, though, I don’t want these two thugs licensed to sell real estate, either. Even swamp land, for that matter.
Judicial co-conspirator Robert Powell should also not be allowed to ever again practice law.
Let him sell yachts or jet planes.
Let him suffer.
Let them all suffer.
Maybe then lawyers will realize that they hold an esteemed position in our society and that the consequences of crooked actions by lawyers will be dire.
You don’t need a law degree to see the logic of denying crooked lawyers the right to practice law.
Commit a felony and you won’t be able to obtain a law degree, either. Forget going to law school if you have a felony on your record.
I know a well-known local lawyer who was involved in several crimes before graduating from law school. Now he’s a well-respected member of the bar who defends other lawyers who break the law
Felonies are serious business.
Make the punishment fit the crime.
|
Corbett
E-Mail
Print
