The Ky. Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from a convicted sex offender to take the bar exam and become a practicing lawyer.
The seven justices on Thursday unanimously rejected a rehearing in the case of Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith.
The case is the first of its kind in Kentucky. The court in December declined Hamilton-Smith's bid and a move by the state Office of Bar Admissions to create and endorse a blanket rule that would have kept all registered sex offenders from gaining access to the bar.
Hamilton-Smith was convicted of a charge related to child pornography in 2007. He graduated in the top third of his class from the University of Kentucky law school but has not been allowed to take the bar exam.
