Thanks to an announcement made last month, it sounds like graduates of non-ABA approved law schools will eventually have more options when it comes to choosing a jurisdiction to practice in. The Minnesota Supreme Court signaled that it intends to allow some graduates of law schools not accredited by the American Bar Association to take the Minnesota Bar Exam.
In response to a petition filed with the Court in April 2009 and review of the Board of Bar Examiners’ report on this petition, the Court determined that it will consider an amendment to the Rules for Admission to the Bar that would permit a licensed attorney who has successfully practiced law in another U.S. jurisdiction for a substantial number of years to sit for the Minnesota bar exam despite having not graduated from ABA accredited law school.
The Board must file the proposed rule amendment with the Court by Sept. 30, 2010, and then it will be scheduled for public comment and hearing.
What do you think about these possible changes? How does it affect graduates of non-ABA approved law schools? What are its affects on the goal to establish an education standard, competency, bar admission, and the current job market? Share your comments!
North Carolina released results of the July 2010 bar exam to students. Pass/fail letters were mailed from Raleigh on Friday, August 27th, 2010. The list of passing students is arranged alphabetically by last name at the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners website. It can be accessed by clicking this link, then “Exam Results” on the left side, and then selecting “July 2010.” Please note there are a number of people who passed the bar exam, but have NOT yet taken or passed the MPRE and are not on the list. A total of 1046 takers sat for the July 2010 exam. Congratulations to all the successful 2010 candidates!
Congress passed a bill prohibiting the president from granting a pardon to any person who had not served at least one-third of the sentence imposed by the court which convicted that person. The President vetoed the bill claiming that it was unconstitutional. Nevertheless, Congress passed it over the President’s veto by a two-thirds vote of each house.
This act of Congress is:
A. Constitutional, because it was enacted over the President’s veto by a two-thirds vote of each house.
B. Constitutional, because it is a necessary and proper means of carrying out the powers of Congress.
C. Unconstitutional, because it interferes with the plenary power of the President to grant pardons.
D. Unconstitutional, because a presidential veto based upon constitutional grounds may be overridden only with the concurrence of three-fourths of the state legislatures.
