Cecily Zamora
Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are both lawyers by profession. Bill Clinton was fined and disbarred over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, while Hillary Clinton's Arkansas law license was suspended in 2002 due to failure to complete a continuing education requirement. In 2019, after 17 years of suspension, Hillary Clinton's license to practice law in Arkansas was reinstated. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, became eligible to seek reinstatement of his license in 2006 but had not applied to do so as of 2013.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Bill Clinton's license to practice law | Suspended for five years in 2001 due to the Monica Lewinsky scandal; eligible for reinstatement since 2006 but has not applied |
| Hillary Clinton's license to practice law in Arkansas | Suspended in 2002 due to failure to complete continuing education requirements; reinstated in 2019 |
| Hillary Clinton's license to practice law outside of Arkansas | Inactive since 2002 due to her career shift to politics, but not disbarred or otherwise sanctioned |
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What You'll Learn
Bill Clinton's law license suspension
Clinton's Arkansas law license was suspended for five years, and he was also fined $25,000. This was agreed to as a form of plea bargain to bring an end to the Lewinsky investigation, in which he could have faced charges for contempt. The suspension and fine were imposed by the Arkansas State Supreme Court.
The Lewinsky scandal involved allegations that Clinton had lied under oath in the Paula Corbin Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. As a result of the scandal, Clinton faced impeachment and was fined $90,686 for lying in the Paula Jones case. He also paid an $850,000 settlement to Jones, although this money did not come from the settlement check, which Clinton did not cash. Instead, the president drew about $375,000 from his and Hillary Clinton's personal funds and got the remaining $475,000 from an insurance policy.
Clinton's suspension and fine were the result of a deal struck with Robert Ray, the Whitewater prosecutor, who promised not to prosecute the president when he left office if Clinton agreed to the suspension. This deal was made during a White House meeting and helped to spare Clinton the prospect of indictment.
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Hillary Clinton's Arkansas law license suspension
Hillary Clinton's Arkansas law license was suspended in March 2002 due to her failure to complete continuing education requirements. This occurred while she held a seat in the U.S. Senate, and after which she served as U.S. Secretary of State. Neither of these offices required her to maintain her law license, nor was it necessary for her presidential campaign, so her license remained inactive.
Clinton was admitted to the Arkansas bar in October 1973 and was a partner in the Rose Law Firm when her husband, Bill Clinton, ran for president. Her last appearance of record in an Arkansas court was in May 1992, in a civil case before the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
There were rumours that Clinton had been disbarred and stripped of her license to practice law due to professional misconduct, but these are false. Her license simply lapsed in 2002, and this was not due to any form of sanction.
In March 2019, Clinton's license to practice law in Arkansas was reinstated after 17 years of suspension. As she had been admitted to the bar more than 40 years ago and was older than 70, she was no longer required under Arkansas rules to meet Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements.
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Clinton v. Jones
On May 6, 1994, former Arkansas state employee Paula Corbin Jones filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against then-U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Arkansas State Police Officer Danny Ferguson. Jones alleged that on May 8, 1991, Clinton, then Governor of Arkansas, had made "abhorrent" sexual advances toward her, and that her rejection of those advances led to punishment by her supervisors.
The initial suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, sought civil damages from the President. Clinton requested to dismiss the case on the grounds of presidential immunity, which was approved in July 1994. In December 1994, Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled that a sitting president could not be sued, postponing the trial until after Clinton's presidency. However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in favor of Jones, stating that the President is subject to the same laws as all other members of society.
On April 1, 1998, Judge Wright granted summary judgment to Clinton, ruling that Jones could not prove she was injured personally or in her career. However, the testimony of Monica Lewinsky during the trial led to the revelation of tapes that gave rise to the Lewinsky scandal, resulting in criminal charges and an impeachment proceeding against Clinton.
On April 12, 1999, Wright found Clinton in contempt of court for providing "intentionally false" testimony in the case. He was fined $90,000 and the case was referred to the Arkansas Supreme Court's Committee on Professional Conduct as Clinton possessed an Arkansas law license. This eventually led to the suspension of his Arkansas law license in April 2000 and his U.S. Supreme Court law license in October 2001. On November 9, 2001, Clinton opted to resign from the Supreme Court Bar, surrendering his license, rather than face disbarment.
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President Clinton's immunity from civil law litigation
In the United States, the President does not have immunity from civil law litigation for acts done before taking office and unrelated to the office. This was established in the landmark Supreme Court case Clinton v. Jones (1997).
In this case, Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual harassment suit against then-US President Bill Clinton. Jones alleged that Clinton, while Governor of Arkansas, had propositioned her. She also claimed that Arkansas Police Officer Danny Ferguson had taken her to Clinton's hotel room and told Clinton that Jones had offered to be his mistress.
Initially, Jones's lawsuit was postponed until after Clinton's presidency, under the theory that a sitting President is immune from civil suit during their time in office. However, Clinton's appeal to the United States Court of Appeals was ruled in favor of Jones, establishing that the President is subject to the same laws as all other members of society.
As a result of the Clinton v. Jones case, President Clinton faced several legal consequences, including being fined, disbarred, and suspended from practising law before the US Supreme Court. He also paid an $850,000 settlement to Paula Jones and a $25,000 fine related to the case.
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The Monica Lewinsky scandal
Tripp secretly taped some of her conversations with Lewinsky and, in January 1998, discovered that Lewinsky had sworn an affidavit in the Paula Jones case, denying a relationship with Clinton. Tripp delivered these tapes to Ken Starr, who was already investigating Clinton on other matters. Starr's report, published in October 1998, described Clinton and Lewinsky's encounters in explicit detail and put forth 11 possible grounds for impeachment.
In July 1998, Lewinsky received transactional immunity in exchange for grand jury testimony concerning her relationship with Clinton. She also turned over a semen-stained blue dress, which provided unambiguous circumstantial evidence of the relationship, despite Clinton's official denials. On August 17, 1998, Clinton testified before a grand jury and confessed to having engaged in “inappropriate intimate physical contact" with Lewinsky. That evening, he gave a nationally televised statement, admitting that his relationship with Lewinsky was "not appropriate".
The House of Representatives impeached Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice, but he was acquitted by the Senate and went on to finish his second term in office with strong public approval ratings. Clinton also agreed to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit for $850,000, although he admitted no wrongdoing. As a result of the scandal, Clinton faced legal consequences, including a $25,000 fine and a five-year suspension of his Arkansas law license. He also resigned from the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Bill Clinton was disbarred and lost his license to practice law due to the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In 2006, he became eligible to seek reinstatement of his license but has not applied to do so as of 2013.
Hillary Clinton's license to practice law in Arkansas was suspended in 2002 due to failure to meet continuing education requirements. However, her license was reinstated in 2019 after 17 years of suspension.
Yes, Bill Clinton faced several other consequences. He was fined $25,000, paid an $850,000 settlement, and was suspended from the Arkansas law license for five years.
No, the lapsed status of Hillary Clinton's license was not related to professional misconduct or disbarment. It was due to her failure to complete a continuing education requirement.
Bill Clinton lost his license due to his involvement in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He was also accused of lying under oath in the Paula Corbin Jones sexual harassment lawsuit.
