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'Fabulist' Glass may not practice law in California: court

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Stephen Glass, one of the most infamous fabricators in modern American journalism, has not demonstrated that he is fit to practice law and should not be admitted to the California bar, the state's top court ruled.
/ Source: Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Stephen Glass, one of the most infamous fabricators in modern American journalism, has not demonstrated that he is fit to practice law and should not be admitted to the California bar, the state's top court ruled.

In a unanimous opinion released on Monday, the California Supreme Court said Glass had not engaged in the kind of exemplary conduct over a long period of time that would make up for his earlier behavior as a journalist.

Glass was a magazine journalism phenomenon in the late 1990s, whose stories appeared in publications including Rolling Stone, Harper's and The New Republic. Eventually, Glass acknowledged that 42 articles were partially or wholly fabricated, according to a filing prepared by Glass's lawyers.

A lawyer for Glass, Jon Eisenberg, said Glass "appreciates the court's consideration of his application and respects the court's decision."

After his journalism career ended, Glass attended law school and applied to the California State Bar. The Committee on Bar Examiners, which requires that applicants "receive a positive moral character determination," rejected his application. Glass then appealed to a special court which granted the admission request.

The Committee on Bar Examiners challenged that ruling, and the California Supreme Court agreed to review it.

Glass wrote a fictionalized account of the events in the book "The Fabulist," and the movie "Shattered Glass" was based on his experience.

The case in the California Supreme Court is In re Stephen Randall Glass on Admission, S196374.

(Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Grant McCool)