In Re Application of Floyd Edmond WEBB, III, 2013 R.I. LEXIS 7

Webb, III applied to sit for the Rhode Island bar after law school graduation in 2008.
He disclosed issues in his applications but failed to fully disclose certain prior arrests, traffic issues, and civil litigation.
The committee repeatedly requested information and conducted multiple hearings (five hearings between 2009 and 2010, plus later sessions) to assess candor and fitness.
Two 1999 and 2006 incidents involved confrontations with police; some charges were dismissed, others pled to lesser offenses; some records were expunged.
A 2012 undisclosed arrest for leaving the scene of an accident surfaced just before the Court’s consideration, leading to renewed concerns about candor and reporting duties.
The Committee recommended denial of Webb’s admission; Webb petitioned for review, arguing lack of abuse of discretion and merit to conditional admission; the Court denied relief and adopted the Committee’s recommendation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Committee abused its discretion in denying admission	Webb; lack of abuse, claims sufficient candor	Committee; thorough investigation supports denial	No abuse; denial upheld
Whether Webb met Rule 3(f) good character burden	Webb maintained good faith disclosures	Webb lacked candor and failed to disclose	Webb failed to prove good character by clear and convincing evidence
Impact of undisclosed 2012 arrest on admissibility	Arrest disclosure was not required	Arrest undisclosed violated continuing duty to amend	Undisclosed arrest fatal to application and supports denial

In re Roots, 762 A.2d 1163 (R.I. 2000) (standard for reviewing committee decisions; abuse of discretion if not well founded)
In re Capace, 110 R.I. 254, 291 A.2d 632 (R.I. 1972) (policies governing attorney character fitness and review)
In re Testa, 489 A.2d 331 (R.I. 1985) (ethics and candor considerations in character determinations)