There are few cases where there is broad social acceptance for the government to cast judgments on one's life in a way that directly affects that person's livelihood. Practicing as an attorney is one such example. Attorneys must pass through the pearly gates of judgment in order to get a license to practice law.
In California, this amounts to three things:
taking and passing the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE),
taking and passing the California Bar Exam (current cost: $529 + $119 laptop fee), and
applying for and receiving a positive determination of your moral character.
The latter involves filling out an application (currently 37 pages), paying the $431 fee (plus an additional amount for a live scan fingerprint), then waiting about 6 months for the Bar to determine if you're hiding anything and thus not determined to be of acceptable moral character.
For anyone following it, my moral character (applied for on May 10, 2005 and determined on Sept. 29, 2005) has now expired. I guess that in the eyes of the Bar examiners, I can't stay a good person for long.
¶ 12:43 PM
