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Newsflash: Terrorists Should Not Expect to be Admitted to the Bar

By Deanne Katz, Esq. on September 05, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The job market is tough for lawyers but if you've been convicted of terrorism at any time in the past you may as well just give up on being admitted to the Bar.

If you think this advice is just too obvious you've probably got a good handle on the whole 'moral character' thing. But not everyone is so prepared.

Meet Parminder Singh Saini. His story isn't new but it should make feel better about your own chances of being admitted to the Bar come November.

Back in 2009, Saini was hoping to be admitted to practice law in Canada. But he had a few problems.

One of the issues is that Saini forged documents to gain entry to Canada when he entered the country in 1995. He was discovered several months later and ordered deported, according to The Toronto Star.

The battle over whether to deport him went on for 15 years. During that time he got his law degree from University of Windsor.

If that was his only hurdle, Saini might have been admitted. But illegal entry was the least of his problems.

The reason Canada wanted to get rid of him was his involvement in terrorist activities back in 1984.

Yes, our subject Mr. Saini hijacked a plane in India. During the hijacking he fired several shots and threatened to throw people out of the plane, reports Lowering the Bar.

That incident earned him 10 years in prison before he was released and pardoned.

Still the Canadian government wasn't having any of it. They denied his application to practice law and deported him back to India in 2010.

Apparently just graduating isn't enough these days.

There are some things you can get away with on a moral character application like underage drinking and minor arrests. Unauthorized entry into the country could be one of them depending on the circumstances, such as refugees or those seeking asylum.

Hijacking a plane falls squarely on the list of things that will probably never be allowed.

Lawyers get a bad enough rap as it is. While this issue happened in Canada, we can't see the American Bar Association admitting terrorists to practice law anytime soon.

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