A divided Washington Supreme Court on Thursday approved a registered sex offender’s application to become an attorney in the state — though the man says he’s not sure he’ll wind up practicing law after all.
Zachary Leroy Stevens, 35, has been living in Arizona, where he attended law school and worked for a lawyer who represents American Indian tribes. He grew up in Utah, where he was convicted of voyeurism after sending child pornography to an undercover detective in 2006 at age 19 and where several years later he was arrested for drunken driving while on probation.
The dissenting justices, led by Justice Barbara Madsen, said they were concerned that Stevens had not completed his legal obligations — he must continue to register as a sex offender until 2024 at least; that he had not provided a current mental health evaluation; and that the Arizona bar had rejected his application, a factor that Washington should respect, they said.
Stevens applied to become a lawyer in Washington in 2019, after Arizona rejected his application. A Washington State Bar Association committee reviewed his petition and rejected it 6-5. He appealed to the Supreme Court.“I’ve been trying to get admitted to the practice of law for longer than I attended law school,” he said.
“I have a lot of options,” Stevens said. “The decision was extremely compassionately written, and it affords a lot of people opportunities that just weren’t available to them. Even if I don’t pursue the practice of law, I’m satisfied this court found merit in my case. More so than any other state, Washington has established parameters on what it takes to be admitted to the practice of law when you have a checkered background.
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