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In re Krule12/1/2000
Agenda 15-September 2000.
Jerome Krule petitioned this court for review of the most recent recommendation by the Committee on Character and Fitness (the Committee) that he not be certified for admission to the bar. 166 Ill. 2d R. 708(d). After the Committee filed its response, we allowed Krule's petition and permitted the parties to present oral argument. For the reasons that follow, Krule's application for admission to the bar is denied.
Jerome Krule graduated from the John Marshall Law School in 1994. In 1995, the Committee on Character and Fitness (the Committee) voted not to recommend certification of Krule for admission to the practice of law. In reaching that decision, the Committee was most concerned with Krule's participation in an insurance fraud scheme which resulted in his conviction of a felony in 1988. The Committee felt that Krule was less than candid in describing his role in the scheme and he had not adequately demonstrated that he was rehabilitated. The Committee also expressed concern over Krule's apparent lack of candor in failing to apprise his law school of three previous misdemeanor convictions.
Krule sought a new hearing in 1996. Because his request was made prior to expiration of the requisite two-year waiting period following the Committee's 1995 decision, it was denied. Bar Admission Rule 9.1. Krule then filed another petition for a new hearing in 1998. This time the Committee granted the petition, and the hearing panel convened a new hearing in the case in March of 1999.
After taking evidence, the hearing panel concluded that Krule had failed to meet his burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he possesses the requisite moral character and general fitness to practice law. The hearing panel further concluded that Krule had once again failed to show that he had been sufficiently rehabilitated. Based on these conclusions, the Committee adhered to its original decision and voted not to recommend certification of Krule.
In undertaking our review of the Committee's decision, we begin by noting that the final judgment regarding admission of an applicant to the practice of law rests with this court. As a general rule, a determination by the Committee on Character and Fitness concerning the character and fitness of an applicant neither binds this court nor limits our authority to take action. In re Loss, 119 Ill. 2d 186, 192 (1987). We have also held, however, that where a hearing panel concludes that a petitioner does not possess the good moral character and general fitness necessary for the practice of law and recommends that certification be denied, as was the case here, this court will not reverse unless that recommendation was arbitrary. In re Glenville, 139 Ill. 2d 242, 252 (1990).
The criminal conviction which led to the original denial of Krule's certification arose from a scheme he facilitated to systematically defraud insurance companies. At the time, Krule was a licensed insurance professional. He testified that he contacted an attorney named George Anderson to "go into business with him in personal injury ." The business worked this way.
Anderson owned some taxi cabs, and Krule took a job in his office. When one of the taxi drivers was involved in an accident, Krule would arrange for him to see a Dr. Starkman. With Krule's knowledge and complicity, Starkman would deliberately generate inflated bills containing charges for services that were not necessary or were not performed. Krule, in turn, would submit the fraudulent bills to insurance companies for reimbursement. Krule engaged in this activity from August of 1986 through February of 1987. During this period he submitted score
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