Law, Business and Society 11th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 19

In 1999 Matthew Hale, a law school graduate, was denied a license to practice law in Illinois because Hale is an avowed racist and the leader of a white supremacist group. A state panel assessed the character and general fitness of all those who had passed the bar exam and graduated from law school and decided that Hale's active racism disqualified him. Illinois is one of 32 states with character and fitness standards. Hale appealed on First Amendment grounds, among others. Should Hale be excluded from the practice of law, or should we let the market decide his fitness Explain.