The State Bar seeks public comment on amendments related to Moral Character.
Deadline: January 31, 2023
Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly and can also be used to upload your comment letter and/or other attachments.
The proposed rule revisions generally reflect the themes of codifying current practice, ensuring consistency within the rules, clarifying areas of confusion for applicants, modifying definitions to be clearer and more accurate, eliminating or modifying inconsistent, inaccurate, or unnecessary rules, and transitioning to gender-neutral pronouns.
18-month application update: A positive moral character determination is valid for 36 months. During the validity period and before an applicant is admitted to practice law in California, applicants have a continuing duty to provide additional or new information relevant to their moral character to the Office of Admissions. Experience has shown that applicants do not always remember to inform—or perhaps sometimes intentionally do not inform—the Office of Admissions of events that might impact their moral character. Proposed rule 4.50(C) codifies a current practice to ensure that the State Bar has the information necessary to meet its public protection obligation by prompting applicants to provide updated or new information 18 months after the issuance of a positive determination. If an applicant fails to provide the requested information, the positive determination will be suspended, but may be reinstated once the information has been received.
Definitions and clarifying amendments: The Committee proposes to amend rule 4.3 to include a definition of the term “informal conference,” and to reflect the fact that the State Bar primarily sends information to applicants by “electronic transmission,” rather than via the US mail. Amendments are also proposed to rules 4.44(B) and 4.47(B) to eliminate rules related to procedures that are separately governed by the Rules of Procedure of the State Bar of California.
Conforming amendments are proposed to rules 4.42 and 4.50 regarding the obligation of applicants to notify the Office of Admissions of changes or new information relevant to the application.
The proposed changes to rules 4.43 and 4.45(B)-(C) provide clarity for the applicants as to status updates the State Bar is required to provide and the events that cause an application to be deemed abandoned.
The Supreme Court will be considering approval of amendments to eliminate the five-year expiration date on a passing bar exam score, which contains revisions to two rules (Rule 4.51 and 4.52) also proposed to be amended by this rules package. As a result, Attachment A reflects the changes sought if the prior rule package does not get approved by the Supreme Court and Attachment B contains the proposed amendments to the moral character rules that incorporate those other amendments.
These rules were recommended for circulation by the Committee of Bar Examiners and approved for circulation by the Board of Trustees. When presented to the Board, this rule proposal was packaged with changes to other rules regarding Admissions. This request is only seeking input on the rules of the State Bar that relate to Moral Character. The other rule changes are circulating separately.
None
The agenda item comprehensively describing the revisions to the Moral Character rules and related rule changes is posted here.
(These are the rule changes for which public comment is sought)
This item was approved by the Board of Trustees for circulation for public comment as part of a package of several rules proposals which are each being circulated separately. That more condensed description of the moral character rule proposal is available here.
Board of Trustees
January 31, 2023