On Tuesday, July 8, 2025, the Supreme Court of Ohio approved Bethany Joy Notestine’s application to register as a candidate for admission to the practice of law in Ohio and to take the July 2025 bar exam. The decision followed a thorough review of Notestine’s character, fitness, and moral qualifications by the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness, which concluded she met the necessary standards by clear and convincing evidence.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Bethany Joy Notestine,” with case no. 2025-0604.
Notestine, a West Chester, Ohio resident and expected 2025 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, applied for bar admission in November 2023, submitting a National Conference of Bar Examiners questionnaire. In March 2025, she applied to take the July 2025 bar exam. The Cincinnati Bar Association Admissions Committee interviewed her in October 2024, examining her past criminal conduct, which included drug-related offenses and a disorderly conduct conviction.
Notestine’s criminal history began with a minor misdemeanor for marijuana possession in July 2004, when she was 20. She described using marijuana to manage severe migraines, which led her to associate with drug dealers. In August 2005, she pleaded no contest to a fifth-degree felony charge of heroin possession in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, receiving two years of community control and a suspended driver’s license. Her community control was terminated in August 2007, and the conviction was later expunged, restoring her rights under Ohio law.
In July 2006, Notestine faced another minor misdemeanor for marijuana possession after federal agents investigated a conspiracy case involving her associates. In October 2006, she was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio for conspiracy to distribute, attempt to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute over one kilogram of heroin and an amount of cocaine. She pleaded guilty in May 2007 and was sentenced in April 2008 to ten years in prison, followed by six years of supervised release. Notestine served over seven years, was released to a halfway house in January 2014, and completed supervised release in June 2017.
During her incarceration, Notestine pursued self-improvement, completing a 500-hour drug-treatment program, an eight-week fitness and health course, and college courses through Ohio University’s mail-based program. She worked in a call center through the UNICOR reentry program, earning performance awards, and served as a peer leader in the drug-treatment program. After her release, she obtained a medical-massage license, certifications from the cosmetology board, and opened her own salon business.
Notestine resumed her education, enrolling in Ohio University’s online undergraduate program in 2019, later transferring to Sinclair Community College, and graduating from the University of Cincinnati in 2022. She began law school in August 2022, managing her salon business during her first year. In May 2023, she started a one-year fellowship with the Ohio Innocence Project, and in May 2024, she obtained a legal intern certificate, allowing her to work with the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office.
In 2017, Notestine faced a minor misdemeanor conviction for disorderly conduct following an altercation she described as a setup by her ex-boyfriend. She sought therapy afterward and expressed regret, stating she learned from the incident. The board noted her candor, rehabilitation efforts, and support system, including family and mentors, in recommending her approval.
The Supreme Court’s majority found that Notestine’s felony convictions, the most recent over 17 years ago, did not bar her admission. Notestine’s approval is contingent on meeting all other bar admission requirements.
The Disposition states:
“Upon consideration of the record and the applicable rules, we find Notestine has carried her burden of proving that she currently possesses the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law in Ohio. Accordingly, we approve Notestine’s character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law in Ohio, and permit her to sit for the July 2025 bar exam provided that all other application requirements, including but not limited to the requirements of Gov.Bar R. I(3)(E), have been satisfied.”
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
