The original research includes:
- A survey of 88 individuals with criminal records that asked questions about access to the legal profession;
- An analysis of the moral character disclosure statements of all 20 American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited law schools in California;
- Interviews with admissions officers from 10 of those law schools;
- Interviews with student services officers from seven of those law schools;
- A review of moral character requirements in all 50 states;
- Interviews with current and former California State Bar officials and California CBE members;
- Interviews with California law school graduates with a criminal record, some of whom were admitted and some of whom were denied admission to the California State Bar;
- Interviews with California lawyers who advise on California State Bar moral character determinations; and
- A 2018 Roundtable discussion whose participants included a range of current and former California State Bar, National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), and ABA officials; individuals who attended law school and were admitted to a state bar after being incarcerated; California law school admissions and student services officers; and academics.