THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501160060
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
A federal court this week will hear the case of a woman denied her license to practice law in Virginia because she refused to answer a question about her mental health on the license application.
The case scheduled for trial Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria is being watched by mental health advocates, licensing boards and professionals nationwide. It is one of the first to be heard in a wave of litigation across the nation that challenges inquiries about mental health on licensing applications for lawyers, doctors, nurses and other professionals.
Julie Ann Clark, 38, of Springfield was treated several years ago for depression. So when filling out her application for a law license, she balked at Question 20-B.
``Have you within the past five years been treated or counseled for any mental, emotional or nervous disorders?'' it asked. Clark refused to answer.
``Counseling is a very private matter,'' she said. ``It just doesn't seem to have anything to do with my ability to practice law.''
The Virginia Board of Bar Examiners disagreed and refused to issue her a license. Board officials and the state attorney general's office declined to comment on the case, but they have outlined their defense in a series of pretrial court papers.
``It is not the function of bar examiners just to give and grade bar exams,'' wrote Assistant Attorney General Peter R. Messitt. ``They must also asses an applicant's fitness to practice law, and mental and emotional stability is part of that assessment.''
Board officials also contend that the questions about mental health are important because applicants should not be asked to judge whether they are fit to practice law. Relying on an applicant's evaluation of any possible impairment could make it easier for would-be lawyers to conceal information, according to the officials' court papers.
The board, which handles 2,000 applications annually, said 47 people in the last two years acknowledged getting counseling, and none was turned away.
But those who have had treatment or counseling typically are required to provide more information and release their medical records. Critics say such a practice is an unfair intrusion.
``Nothing is more intensely personal and private than one's own thoughts and emotions in times of emotional or psychological distress,'' said Victor M. Glasberg, one of Clark's attorneys.
``Private treatment should be private treatment,'' said James H. Scully Jr., deputy medical director of the American Psychiatric Association. ``It doesn't matter what it's for. The question is, `Can you do the job?' ''
Erica Moesser, president of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, said mental health questions are not out of bounds.
``As licensing boards, we're interested in who the person is now and who they're going to be predictively in the future,'' she said. ``Who you've been in the last five years is probably relevant to who you're going to be in the next five.''
The Justice Department, which is helping Clark, has supported other professionals fighting similar battles in other states. It has filed briefs on behalf of applicants who have sued the Florida Board of Examiners and the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners.
Clark worked full time and attended George Mason University's law school at night, graduating in 1993. She passed the state bar examination nearly a year ago. She now works for a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington that protects the rights of disabled people.
She said she hopes her trial will accomplish two goals: reducing stigmas about mental illness and winning a precedent-setting court order to remove mental health questions from the bar application.
KEYWORDS: MENTAL ILLNESS DEPRESSION VIRGINIA BAR ASSOCIATION LAWYER
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