A Montana lawyer who petitioned to have his license to practice be reinstated in Maine after he failed to pay registration fees was denied by the state Board of Overseers of the Bar.

Edwin R. Jonas III of Lakeside, Montana, had his license to practice suspended in Florida, New Jersey and Montana as a result of an acrimonious divorce. He was first admitted to the bar in Maine in 1987, but was administratively suspended in 1995 for failure to pay registration fees. Jonas argued to the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar that his failure to pay his registration stemmed from his divorce proceedings and said that his ex-wife had misappropriated funds.

After a hearing in April, the Maine board concluded that Jonas had not “established by clear and convincing evidence that he possessed the moral qualifications, competency, and learning in law required for admission to practice law in Maine,” according to a news release issued Wednesday by the Board of Overseers.

Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ellen Gorman wrote in her opinion: “When a person has demonstrated as little respect for the justice system as Jonas has over the last 25 years, I cannot conclude that it is likely that reinstatement will not be detrimental to the integrity and standing of the Bar, the administration of justice, or to the public interest.”

Jonas and his wife had an acrimonious divorce in New Jersey that was litigated for at least a decade starting in 1995 in which he hid financial and property assets from her and fled to the Cayman Islands with their three children. He also failed to pay spousal support and filed for bankruptcy in Montana, where he had moved. Jonas asserted that his actions stemmed from his belief that the courts were biased against him or corrupt, and that he suffered from depression and anxiety.

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