LAW WITHOUT
GOVERNOR'S CHAPTER
SIGNATURE
182
JUNE 8, 2025 PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 349 - L.D. 530
An Act to Eliminate a Rebuttable Presumption Against the Admission of
Certain Applicants to the Bar
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §805-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 1993, c. 643, §1, is further
amended to read:
A. Produces satisfactory evidence of good moral character.;
(1) The fact that an applicant has been convicted as an adult of a crime that is
punishable by imprisonment of one year or more in this State or in another state or
jurisdiction of the United States raises a presumption that the applicant has not met
this requirement. This presumption may be rebutted by proof that a lawful pardon
has been obtained, that extraordinary circumstances surrounded the commission of
the crime or that a reasonable amount of time has passed since the applicant's
conviction and completion of sentence and there is evidence of complete
rehabilitation based on the applicant's subsequent history.
(2) Nothing in subparagraph (1) precludes the board or the Supreme Judicial Court
from considering a conviction as a basis for disqualification under this paragraph;
Page 1 - 132LR2182(03)


Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 182: 4.805