State Bar: admission: license: moral character review: mental health medical records.

The State Bar Act provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation governed by a board of trustees. Existing law provides for the creation of an examining committee within the State Bar with specified powers, which include the power to examine applicants for admission to practice law. The act imposes specified requirements for a person to be certified to the Supreme Court for admission and a license to practice law, including a requirement that an applicant be of good moral character. This bill would prohibit the staff of the State Bar or members of the examining committee, in reviewing whether an applicant is of good moral character, from reviewing or considering the person's medical records relating to mental health, except as specified. The bill would prohibit the staff of the State Bar or members of the examining committee from requesting or seeking to review any medical records relating to mental health, including by obtaining the consent of the applicant to disclose the records, except as specified.