Some of you know that I petitioned the Alabama State Bar Association recently for reinstatement to the active practice of law. I traveled to Montgomery last Thursday for a hearing before the Disciplinary Review Board.
After an eight-hour hearing, the board decided to deny my petition for reinstatement. Obviously, this was not the result I wanted. The tone of questions from board members indicated that concerns remained about my federal convictions from 2004 and 2007.
Although we presented a variety of testimony and evidence to show the board a window of my professional and personal life since that time, it wasn't enough to satisfy the board to reinstate me.
Disappointment? Yes. Resentment? No. When I reapplied, and if I do again, it's with the realization that there are no guarantees. The active practice of law in the State of Alabama is a privilege, not a right. And once that privilege is taken from you, there's nothing automatic about having it restored.
I want to personally thank each person who either appeared on my behalf or wrote a letter of support to the State Bar. It's not easy to stick your neck out for someone who's been through difficulties in life, especially when he has a few enemies waiting to chop it off.
This reinstatement process wasn't about receiving special treatment. When I stood before a federal judge more than 12 years ago, he expressly stated that my status as a public official obligated him to treat my case more severely than it otherwise warranted. I've never asked for, nor received, any favored treatment.
My career as a prosecutor was filled daily with attorneys making pleas for their clients to receive a second (and, sometimes, third or fourth) chance. That's what I sought from the State Bar—a second chance. And the Board decided it wasn't ready to extend one to me.
All any of us can do on a daily basis is to live our lives in a way that maximizes respect for others, incorporates thanks to our Lord for our blessings and allows us to learn from bad decisions so we don't repeat them.
I'll continue to do that as well as I can.
There are many life blessings I'm thankful for. I have a wonderful girlfriend who's been with me three years. My parents, both near the age of 90, are still with me, and through our newspaper and radio stations I can help perform a public service while doing something I enjoy. I'm blessed with some loyal friends who've been through life's peaks and valleys with me. I work with very talented people, several of whom are close friends.
And on days when I'm feeling depressed, I have a portly 36-pound dog who loves me unconditionally and senses when I need a little extra support.
My life took a complete detour 13 years ago from the career path I'd worked to create. Whether returning to the practice of law is part of my future or not, that decision is out of my hands.
All I can do is live and work in a way that allows me to hold my head up at the end of the day. Unfortunately, life doesn't allow us to go back in time and undo the portions of our pasts we don't like. If it did, I'm not the only one who'd keep an eraser in my back pocket.
