In re Application of Converse
Nebraska Supreme Court
602 N.W.2d 500 (1999)
Law school graduate Paul Converse (plaintiff) engaged in a repeated pattern of confrontational behavior toward law school administrators, faculty, and students over perceived slights and grievances, personally attacking and attempting to intimidate and humiliate his perceived adversaries (at times with sexually inappropriate overtones) and publicizing these disputes to the media, courts, and the bar association; the Nebraska State Bar Commission (defendant), after a hearing uncovering this pattern, denied his application to sit for the bar exam based on deficient moral character, and Converse appealed, arguing the denial improperly penalized First Amendment-protected speech.
Whether a state bar commission may deny an applicant admission to the bar based on inappropriate conduct, even if that conduct might otherwise be protected by the First Amendment.