Stephen Glass, Disgraced Former Journalist, Fights For California Law License (VIDEO)

SAN FRANCISCO — A former journalist who became the subject of a Hollywood movie after he was caught fabricating articles in the late 1990s is fighting to become a lawyer in California over the objections of a state bar committee.

Stephen Glass, whose ethical missteps at The New Republic and other magazines were recounted in the film "Shattered Glass" and an autobiographical novel, has challenged the bar committee's decision to deny him a license to practice law, the San Francisco Chronicle ( ) reported Monday. http://bit.ly/sfh2je

Glass attended law school at Georgetown University and passed California's bar exam in 2007. His application for an attorney's license was turned down by the state's Committee of Bar Examiners, which judged him morally unfit for his new profession.

But an independent state bar court ruled in Glass's favor in July and the California Supreme Court has since agreed to hear the committee's appeal. No date for oral arguments has been set.

The bar association's lawyers said in written filings that even though Glass' transgressions occurred when he was in his 20s, his attempts at atonement were inadequate and in some cases coincided with the publication of his novel. They faulted him for never compensating anyone who was hurt by his falsehoods.

Law and journalism "share common core values – trust, candor, veracity, honor, respect for others," Rachel Grunberg, a lawyer for the State Bar of California, told the Chronicle. "He violated every one of them."

The bar court that overruled the committee in July was persuaded, however, that Glass was genuinely repentant and had been rehabilitated. His appeal included character references from 22 witnesses, including two judges who had employed him, two psychiatrists, and Martin Peretz, who owned The New Republic when Glass' deception occurred.

In his own statement to the bar, Glass said he was "greatly ashamed and remorseful about my lying" but "forthright and candid about my years of misconduct."

Glass tried to become a lawyer in New York after he passed that state's bar exam in 2003, but withdrew his application when his request for moral character approval from the New York bar languished.

Now 39, Glass works as a law clerk at a Beverly Hills firm. His lawyers did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages for comment Monday.

Take a look at footage from a 2003 interview with Glass below:

Comments

[roald]

02:10 PM on 12/28/2011

The bar does not want him to be an attorney because he lied in the past yet they will not take away Orly Taitz's license for lying in the present. Does not make sense to me.

[DMSmith]

03:23 AM on 12/28/2011

I've used lawyers many times from small business matters to my very freedom to family trusts and in all cases TRUST was critical. Very critical.
Sad to say, I could never trust such a man as a lawyer. For what that's worth.

[Richcrafter]

02:14 AM on 12/28/2011

I'm complaining to Fitness and Character! Ugh!

[Richcrafter]

02:13 AM on 12/28/2011

What a psycho! Oh no!

[prthatrocks]

06:52 PM on 12/27/2011

You have to admit, he's perfectly qualified to be one of the 1% or a Republican candidate for president.

[corwin]

06:53 AM on 12/28/2011

Unfortunately for your (chuckle) thesis,
1)He worked for a left liberal journal,and
2) He's not very bright.
3) QED-won't be in the running.But,he did get into a top notch law school without affirmative action.So,he has that.

[dontwanna]

06:15 PM on 12/27/2011

Ugh. Please. Glass' lying and fabrications were extreme and if he is allowed into the Bar it just makes all lawyers look worse (and, no, enough with the jokes. We are not all sleezeball liars like this guy).

[tulsey]

05:12 PM on 12/27/2011

Since when is lying disqualification for a lawyer? Oh right, just don't get caught.

[xhawk2]

11:21 AM on 12/27/2011

Not much of a change.

[susanbsbi]

10:52 AM on 12/27/2011

What he did in his 20's, are being done by the same age group to day, in a different form. The gentleman has grown up and needs to be given a second chance.

[lesliebrodie]

08:09 AM on 12/27/2011

It is unfortunate that the state Bar of California -- an entity composed of fellow lawyers who self-govern -- chose to selectively target this man, while other lawyers like Thomas Girardi engage in grave misconduct (per findings of federal court -- Matter of In Re Girardi) and are otherwise untouchable due to huge contributions to "Diversity", among other factors. See http://tinyurl.com/czsrfco
Had Glass been a Black or Asian , he would have been admitted with no questions asked and viewed as "Role-Model", as was the case with Nathaniel Harrington Jr. See http://tinyurl.com/c59wnqt
Previously, Rachel Grunberg was instrumental in harassing quadriplegic applicant Sarah Granda, while all along engaging in a cover-up concerning non-profit charity CaliforniaALL. See: http://tinyurl.com/bw4dep5
The state Bar of California is controlled by large law-firms who ensure that their own are not disciplined or disbarred by having a "minority" representative on the RAD Committee -- the heart and soul of the State Bar. This led to many scandals and negative publicity which were different from the present media coverage.

[James De La Cruz]

12:02 PM on 12/27/2011

How about reporter Jayson Blair who fabricated stories similar to Stephen Glass? He may have written a book, but he was condemned, tarred, and feathered similarly to Stephen Glass.