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Vol. 70, No. 9, September
1997
Supreme Court Orders
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered a public hearing on Oct. 21 regarding
these petition subjects: law school graduation requirement
for Bar admission on examination; and the expunction of
court records.
Expunction of Court Records
In the Matter of the Amendment of Supreme Court Rules: (Proposed) Chapter
74 - Expunction of Court Records
Order 97-07
On May 30, 1997, the Supreme Court's Records Management Committee filed
a petition seeking the creation of a rule to provide that when a statute
or court order requires that a court record be expunged, the clerk of the
court shall remove any paper index and nonfinancial court record, place
it in the case file and seal the case file. In the case of automated records,
the clerk of court is to electronically remove any automated nonfinancial
record, except the case number. The proposed rule would further provide
that destruction of expunged court records be in accordance with the provisions
of SCR Chapter 72.
IT IS ORDERED that a public hearing on the petition shall be held in
the Supreme Court Room in the State Capitol, Madison, Wis., on Oct. 21,
1997, at 1:30 p.m.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the court's conference in the matter shall
be held promptly following the public hearing.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that notice of the hearing be given by a single
publication of a copy of this order and of the petition in the official
state newspaper and in an official publication of the State Bar of Wisconsin
not more than 60 days nor less than 30 days before the date of the hearing.
Dated at Madison, Wis., this 15th day of July, 1997.
By the court:
Marilyn L. Graves,
Clerk of Court
Bar Admission on Examination
In the Matter of the Amendment of Supreme Court Rules: SCR 40.04(1)
- Law School Graduation Requirement for Bar Admission on Examination
Order 97-09
On Feb. 14, 1997, the Massachusetts School of Law (MSL) filed petitions
with the court and with the Board of Bar Examiners (Board) seeking a waiver
for its graduates under SCR 40.10 of the requirement in SCR 40.04(1) that
an applicant for bar admission attempting to satisfy the legal competence
requirement by bar examination has been awarded a first professional degree
in law from a law school that is approved by the American Bar Association
at the time of the applicant's graduation. MSL asserted that it has not
been approved by the American Bar Association.
In that proceeding, Case No. 97-0484-BA, the Board denied the petition
for waiver, stating that, while one of its functions is to review the applications
of individuals seeking bar admission and certify to this court those individuals
who meet the requirements set forth in the bar admission rules, SCR chapter
40, it is not the Board's function to review and certify curricula and programs
of law schools that are not approved by the American Bar Association. On
April 25, 1997, MSL filed a petition seeking review of the Board's denial
of its petition for waiver and, pursuant to the court's orders, the Board
filed a response and MSL filed a reply.
Based on the matters set forth in the petition for waiver filed with
the court and with the Board, the petition for review of the Board's adverse
decision, and the briefs of the parties, the issue presented for determination
is not whether a waiver of the bar admission requirement of graduation from
an ABA-approved law school to write the Wisconsin bar examination should
be granted to any and all graduates of MSL; rather, it is whether that bar
admission rule should be amended to permit graduates of a non-ABA-approved
law school - MSL and, perhaps, others - to satisfy the legal competence
requirement for bar admission by writing successfully the Wisconsin bar
examination. Accordingly, the court deems MSL's petition for waiver to constitute
a petition for the amendment of SCR 40.04(1) as follows:
(1) An applicant who has been awarded a first professional degree in
law from a law school that is fully or provisionally approved by the American
Bar Association or from the Massachusetts School of Law at the time of the
applicant's graduation shall satisfy the legal competence requirement by
presenting to the clerk certification of the board that the applicant has
passed an examination administered by the board covering all or part of
the subject matter areas of law specified in SCR 40.03(2)(a).
It is appropriate, then, that the petition for review be dismissed,
MSL's original petition be filed as a request for rule amendment, and a
public hearing be held on the petition to afford interested persons to present
their views, in person or in writing.
IT IS ORDERED that the petition for review in Case No. 97-0484-BA is
dismissed and the petition filed by the Massachusetts School of Law on Feb.
14, 1997, is docketed as rule amendment petition No. 97-09.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a public hearing on the petition shall be
held in the Supreme Court Room in the State Capitol, Madison, Wis., on Oct.
21, 1997, at 1:30 p.m.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the court's conference in the matter shall
be held promptly following the public hearing.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that notice of the hearing be given by a single
publication of a copy of this order and of the petition in the official
state newspaper and in an official publication of the State Bar of Wisconsin
not more than 60 days nor less than 30 days before the date of the hearing.
Dated at Madison, Wis., this 15th day of July, 1997.
By the court:
Marilyn L. Graves,
Clerk of Court | 