CHICAGO — The fight against hatred and bigotry may never end, but one small chapter has apparently concluded.
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, refused to hear an appeal by Matthew Hale in his attempt to obtain a license to practice law in Illinois. Hale had argued that the state of Illinois violated his free speech rights by refusing him admission to the bar on grounds of his character.
Hale, head of the World Church of the Creator, was refused a license in Illinois last spring following a recommendation by the Illinois State Bar Association, a private association whose Committee of Character and Fitness certifies candidates for the Illinois Supreme Court. The committee did not certify Hale on grounds of poor moral character; final decisions on candidates, however, are made by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The World Church of the Creator, according to its Web site, promotes the religion of the white race. It’s “part and parcel of [the] religion to hate the Jews, blacks and other colored people,” according to the site; “hate for your enemies comes natural and is inevitable.”
The church was directly linked with a violent shooting rampage last summer when Benjamin Smith, a church member and apparent Hale protogé, reportedly went on a shooting rampage in Illinois and Indiana, killing two and injuring more than 10 others before taking his own life. The committee’s recommendation came before the violence, however.
Also linked to the church are Benjamin and James Williams, the two prime suspects in last summer’s arson attacks on three Sacramento-area synagogues.
Hale had taken his appeal to the Illinois State Supreme Court last November, but the court refused to hear the case.
Jewish community officials in Illinois commended Monday’s decision, albeit with tempered remarks.
“Anything that limit’s Matt Hale’s ability to earn income and to be validated in a profession as important as the law is important,” said Jay Tcath, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Chicago. “At the same time, he’ll use this setback to rally his troops, portraying himself yet again as a martyr, as a victim of the system, which he believes is controlled by Jews.”
Hale graduated from Southern Illinois University’s law school and passed the Illinois bar exam.
Richard Hirschhaut, Chicago regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, also praised the decision, but added that it “does not suggest that we will see any less of Matt Hale and his extremist activities in the future.”
Shortly after the committee’s recommendation against Hale, Smith reportedly drove through Chicago’s West Rogers Park, a densely Jewish neighborhood, at the beginning of Shabbat during the July 4 weekend last year and began a shooting spree that would last two days long, extending into Indiana. Smith eventually turned his gun on himself when he was cornered by police.
Hale’s Web site maintains that “World Church of the Creator neither condones violence or unlawful activities nor do we promote or incite them.” But Hirschhaut says Hale himself glorified last summer’s violence.
“He doesn’t condemn it. He’s led an effort to portray Benjamin Smith as a martyr. He sold T-shirts glorifying what Smith did,” said the ADL official.
The ADL had originally come out in favor of Hale’s admission to the bar on grounds of free speech, but changed its position following the shooting spree. Hale’s failure to repudiate the violence “legitimately calls into question his commitment to uphold the law,” read a statement issued Monday by the ADL’s Chicago region.
Unlike in most states, the Illinois State Bar Association does not admit or discipline attorneys; the state Supreme Court performs those functions directly. Only 30,000 of the approximately 70,000 attorneys in the state are even members of the association, according to its director of public affairs, David Anderson.
He also noted that Hale was not the only candidate the committee did not certify, though he admits Hale was the highest-profile case in recent years. Other grounds for non-certification, for example, include lying or incomplete disclosure.
In cases where the committee certifies the candidate, Anderson explained, no separate decision is made by the Illinois Supreme Court. In Hale’s case, following the committee’s decision not to certify, the court decided no hearing was warranted.