Lisa Hartline was in and out of North Central and South Central Regional Jails multiple times from 2002 to 2006 on various drug and tax charges. She served four-and-a-half months in North Central Regional Jail in 2005 for a felony possession with intent to deliver cocaine.
She couldn’t afford the $50,000 bond the court set, so she waited for her trial in jail. The court eventually released her on home confinement and then dropped the charges a year later because of a lack of evidence.
In 2006, she was ready to make a change. She studied psychology at West Virginia University before being admitted to the WVU School of Law.
The West Virginia Bar is not required to grant a person their legal license when they pass the state bar exam. Due to Hartline’s extensive criminal history, they could have denied her due to what they can deem a lack of moral fitness.
The oversight committee reviewed Hartline’s case and granted her the right to practice under a probationary period, which will end in fall of 2020. Hartline currently works as an attorney at Legal Aid West Virginia in Wheeling.