An interesting story from the New York Post and Reuters. Neal Wiesner, a University of New York Law School graduate who passed the New York bar exam in 1994 and in his 50s, has finally been given the green light to practice in New York after being repeatedly denied his bar membership due to character and fitness issues relating to his criminal conduct, including attempted murder and a domestic incident, in the 1980s.
Wiesner, who has previously been admitted in New Jersey and in federal court, was given the "ok" by the Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, where witness testimony played a significant factor in the decision. The court stated in its opinion, "[c]rediting his witnesses and taking into account his postrelease conduct and achievements, the manner in which he makes himself available to help individuals and his contributions to the betterment of society—matters to which all witnesses have attested—as well as the absence of conduct contrary to the ethics governing the legal profession over an extensive period of time, it is manifest that petitioner has rehabilitated himself to such an extent that he satisfies the character and fitness requirement."
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