Who can be a Florida lawyer?

The sad saga of Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio, as documented in the July 1 News, prompts me to castigate the entire law education and admissions systems in Florida.

Here is a man who graduated from a Florida high school, was a National Honor Society scholar at New College in Sarasota, graduated from there, was accepted by and enrolled in the Florida State University College of Law, graduated from there with honors, applied for the Florida bar examination, was accepted by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners to take the exam, passed the exam, and now is before the Florida Supreme Court due to some really high-handed charade perpetuated by the Board of Bar Examiners.

Mr. Godinez-Samperio never hid his immigration status and was accepted by Florida State University College of Law. Did those erudite admissions counselors think that he just wanted to go to law school and never practice? Did they care, or did they just want his money? When Mr. Godinez-Samperio applied to take the Florida bar exam, did those erudite counselors who pass on everyone's application think that he was doing that as a joke? His immigration status was never called into question until he passed the bar examination. Now, and only now, does the board see a dilemma. But there really isn't one.

There is more than just a tinge of fraud here. The law school accepted him. The board approved his application. He passed the examination. The fraud lies in leading him along the garden path, and now, only now, at the end of the line, they throw up a straw man to block his admission. The board does not come into this case with clean hands.

To make matters worse, the Department of Justice weighs in to say that federal law prevents Florida from granting Mr. Godinez-Samperio a law license even though he passed the bar examination. Did anyone think that 8 U.S.C. [section] 1621 violates the Ninth and/or 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution due to Congress' overreaching into an area not enumerated as a legislative power of the Congress and, therefore, reserved to the states?

I also wonder how the Department of Justice thinks it has standing to enter into this case. The DOJ is not an amicus curia? The DOJ wishes to intervene when there is no need to do so. Any federal law can be brought to the attention of the court by any party wishing to do so.

Unfortunately, I don't see any arguments raising the issues I have raised here.

George Boyer Vashon was admitted posthumously to the Pennsylvania...