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For people who don't understand, they are denying him admission based on his decision to stay on at the public defender instead of quiting and finding likely no

For people who don't understand, they are denying him admission based on his decision to stay on at the public defender instead of quiting and finding likely nonexistent higher paying work to service his exorbitant albeit average student loan debt. This is completely unacceptable micromanaging by the Ohio Supreme Court here and if I were the guy I would keep fighting this. Character and fitness deals merely with a person's honesty and likelihood of not abusing the legal system; not his personal decisions regarding his personal finances that are in no way unusual for a law school graduate. Apparently the members of the OSC graduated 40 years ago when law school tuition was $400/yr. This case is ridiculous; there must be thousands of people in his exact position who passed readily.

ig1 16y ago
From the article it seems that he's made no payment on his loan at all, even though he had a job and no substantial outgoings, but rather defaulted. He tried to declare bankruptcy to clear his loan rather than trying to pay it off. That is an attempt to abuse the legal system.
- tptacek 16y ago
  I don't understand your comment. Student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy.
  - lmkg 16y ago
    They cannot. He was trying to anyways. Quoting the article which is quoting the court: The applicant testified that during the pendency of the bankruptcy proceeding, the payments on his student loan obligation would be greatly reduced. ... the panel observed that the only debt that could be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding would be the applicant’s $16,500 in consumer debt, as the applicant’s $170,000 in student loans are nondischargeable in bankruptcy.
jasonlotito 16y ago
> they are denying him admission based on his decision to stay on at the public defender instead of quiting and finding likely nonexistent higher paying work to service his exorbitant albeit average student loan debt. That's incorrect. It's because he's not... "seeking full-time employment, which he acknowledges would give him a better opportunity to pay his obligations and possibly qualify him for an additional deferment of his student-loan obligation." So, he admits that he could do a better job at paying his obligations and could also not default on his loan obligations. In other words... He has already admitted that he has chosen not to work to pay back his loans.
- cma 16y ago
  That isn't illegal or immoral.
  - thebooktocome 16y ago
    True, but the theory behind character and fitness tests is that if he is desperate for money with which to repay his debts, he may be more susceptible to coercion, blackmail, and criminal elements.
    - pyre 16y ago
      Ah, so the rich automatically have 'character and fitness' and are immune to corruption. Makes sense.
  - ericd 16y ago
    I would say it's immoral to ignore your debt obligations, yes. He went through a program that cost a lot of money, and which he promised to pay for over time. He's not a victim here. One can't always choose to do whatever they prefer, especially when in debt to others. There are many startup lawyers who bill >$400/hour, and I'm sure even the lowest paid lawyers who aren't public defenders make a fairly respectable salary. Paying off 150k of student debt on the kinds of timelines those things are usually on isn't outrageous.
rprasad 16y ago
Not quite accurate. The problem was that the dude wasn't trying to seek full-time employment as a public defender. Lawyers working for the public/non-profit sectors are granted loan forbearance of all student debt (including student debt not related to law school) after working full-time for 10 years for government agencies/non-profits/military. However, part-time work does not apply to this 10-year period. So, he would not have needed to change jobs, only his commitment to his current job.

ig1 16y ago

From the article it seems that he's made no payment on his loan at all, even though he had a job and no substantial outgoings, but rather defaulted. He tried to declare bankruptcy to clear his loan rather than trying to pay it off. That is an attempt to abuse the legal system.

tptacek 16y ago
I don't understand your comment. Student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy.
- lmkg 16y ago
  They cannot. He was trying to anyways. Quoting the article which is quoting the court: The applicant testified that during the pendency of the bankruptcy proceeding, the payments on his student loan obligation would be greatly reduced. ... the panel observed that the only debt that could be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding would be the applicant’s $16,500 in consumer debt, as the applicant’s $170,000 in student loans are nondischargeable in bankruptcy.

jasonlotito 16y ago

> they are denying him admission based on his decision to stay on at the public defender instead of quiting and finding likely nonexistent higher paying work to service his exorbitant albeit average student loan debt. That's incorrect. It's because he's not... "seeking full-time employment, which he acknowledges would give him a better opportunity to pay his obligations and possibly qualify him for an additional deferment of his student-loan obligation." So, he admits that he could do a better job at paying his obligations and could also not default on his loan obligations. In other words... He has already admitted that he has chosen not to work to pay back his loans.

cma 16y ago
That isn't illegal or immoral.
- thebooktocome 16y ago
  True, but the theory behind character and fitness tests is that if he is desperate for money with which to repay his debts, he may be more susceptible to coercion, blackmail, and criminal elements.
  - pyre 16y ago
    Ah, so the rich automatically have 'character and fitness' and are immune to corruption. Makes sense.
- ericd 16y ago
  I would say it's immoral to ignore your debt obligations, yes. He went through a program that cost a lot of money, and which he promised to pay for over time. He's not a victim here. One can't always choose to do whatever they prefer, especially when in debt to others. There are many startup lawyers who bill >$400/hour, and I'm sure even the lowest paid lawyers who aren't public defenders make a fairly respectable salary. Paying off 150k of student debt on the kinds of timelines those things are usually on isn't outrageous.

rprasad 16y ago

Not quite accurate. The problem was that the dude wasn't trying to seek full-time employment as a public defender. Lawyers working for the public/non-profit sectors are granted loan forbearance of all student debt (including student debt not related to law school) after working full-time for 10 years for government agencies/non-profits/military. However, part-time work does not apply to this 10-year period. So, he would not have needed to change jobs, only his commitment to his current job.