THE COMMITTEE OF BAR EXAMINERS OF THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA
A meeting of the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California convened in closed session at 12:40 p.m., Friday, December 12, 2014, in a meeting room at the State Bar offices in San Francisco, California, Patricia P. White, Chair, presiding. Officers and members present were: Patricia P. White, Chair; Lee H. Wallach, Vice-Chair; James H. Aguirre, Traci C. Belmore, James A. Bolton, Ph.D., Michelle Domingo, Karen M. Goodman, Erika Hiramatsu, KV Kumar, Alexander Lawrence, Martha Pruden-Hamiter, Sandhya Ramadas, Sandra L. Salazar, M.D., Larry Sheingold, Jeanne C. Vanderhoff, Patricia M. Villalobos, and Alan S. Yochelson, Members. Member Joel S. Miliband was absent. State Bar staff members in attendance were Gayle E. Murphy, Senior Director, Admissions, Gina Crawford, Director for Administration, Debra Murphy Lawson, Director for Moral Character Determinations, George C. Leal, Director for Educational Standards, Lisa Jeong Cummins, Director for Examinations, Greg S. Shin, Director for Operations and Management, Kim Wong, Administrative Specialist, and Rachel S. Grunberg, Senior Assistant General Counsel. Also in attendance was Dr. Roger Bolus, Ph.D. The session concluded at 1:40 p.m., at which time meetings of the Committee’s subcommittees were held. The meeting was reconvened into closed session at 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, 2014. All Committee members and staff in attendance on Friday were present on Saturday, excluding Members James Aguirre, Alexander Lawrence and Martha Pruden-Hamiter. Also in attendance were members of the Examination Development and Grading Team: Sarah Cohen, Christopher Frick, Thomas Haran, David Kelley, Dennis Peter Maio, Laura Meyers, Amanda Roze, and Paul Webb. The meeting went into open session at 10:10 a.m., at which time Member Aguirre joined the meeting and the members of Examination Development and Grading Team left the meeting. The meeting went into closed session at 10:25 a.m. and was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.
It was moved, seconded and unanimously carried that the Committee’s gratitude be extended to the State Bar of California Office of Admissions employees Nathalie Hope, Becky Romero, and Erica Tripp for their twenty years of outstanding service and that the following citations be prepared and presented to them:
It was by common consent agreed that the October and November 2014 Key Indicators for the Office of Admissions/Committee of Bar Examiners be received and filed.
It was by common consent agreed that the schedule for the Jan. 30 and 31, 2015 Committee Meeting, which will be held at The Embassy Suites Napa Valley in Napa, California, be received and filed.
It was by common consent agreed that a conference call meeting of the Subcommittee on Examinations be scheduled tentatively for noon on Jan, 14, 2015 to consider testing accommodation appeals filed in connection with administration of the February 2015 California Bar Examination.
2014 – 2015 Subcommittee Goals It was by common consent agreed that the approval of 2014 – 2015 goals for the Subcommittee on Examinations be approved.
It was by common consent agreed that the approval of 2014 – 2015 goals for the Subcommittee on Operations and Management be approved.
It was by common consent agreed that the Financial Analysis Report as of Sept. 30, 2014 for the Admissions Fund, be received and filed.
It was by common consent agreed that the report on costs for administering the October 2014 First-Year Law Students’ Examination be received and filed.
It was moved, seconded and duly carried that the request submitted by Alliant International University (Alliant) on behalf of San Francisco Law School, pursuant to Rule 4.164, for modification of a Major Change request previously approved by the Committee relating to the proposed acquisition of Alliant and San Francisco Law School by Arist Educational System, in place of University Ventures Fund, be received and filed; and that the Subcommittee on Educational Standards’ decision to grant the request be affirmed.
It was moved, seconded and duly carried that the Periodic Inspection Report of California Southern Law School (CSLS), which visit was conducted on April 2-4, 2014 by Mr. John Trunick, Educational Standards Consultant, be received and filed; that the response filed by on behalf of the law school by Registrar Brian Rich be received and filed; that all recommended mandatory actions, except for the recommendation that the first-year grades of students who pass the First-Year Law Students’ Examination be included in the calculation of their subsequent grade point averages, and all suggested actions be adopted; that the registration of CSLS be continued; and that the next periodic inspection of the law school be scheduled for the spring of 2019, unless an earlier inspection is found by the Committee to be necessary.
It was moved, seconded and duly carried that the Periodic Inspection Report of Taft Law School, which visit was conducted on April 15-16, 2014 by Ms. Joy Strayer, Educational Standards Consultant to the Committee of Bar Examiners, be received and filed; that the response filed by on behalf of the school by Dean Strouse be received and filed; that the recommended mandatory and suggested actions be adopted; that registration of TLS be continued; and that the next periodic inspection of the law school be scheduled for the spring of 2019, unless an earlier inspection is found by the committee to be necessary.
It was moved, seconded and duly carried that the Petition for a Waiver of Guideline 7.11 submitted by the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law, which seeks the Committee’s approval to permit the law school to offer three first-year classes using distance-learning technology for a total of five semester units in its 2015 spring curriculum be received and filed; that the request for a waiver be granted; and that following implementation of the new program, a confidential report to the Committee, which discusses the benefits and detriments of the use of such technology in the teaching courses in the first year study of law, be submitted.
It was moved, seconded and duly carried, that the request submitted by San Joaquin College of Law in its 2014 Annual Compliance Report for a waiver of Guideline 6.6 (Externship, Clinical, Law Review and Similar Programs) of the Guidelines for Accredited Law School Rules, which would permit the school to offer credit for a maximum of 14 units of practical legal experience through externships and participation in the law school’s law clinic, be received and filed; and that the request for a waiver be granted.
It was by common consent agreed that the approval of 2014 – 2015 goals for the Subcommittee on Educational Standards be approved.
It was moved, seconded and duly carried that the following proposed amendments to the Admissions Rules be approved in principle; that a request be submitted to the Board Committee on Admissions and Education to circulate the proposed amendments for a 45-day public comment period; and that following the period of public comment any comments received and a final version of the proposed amendments be submitted to the Committee for consideration:
(A) An applicant notified of an adverse determination of moral character may file a request for hearing on the determination with the State Bar Court in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the State Bar on Moral Character Proceedings. The request must be filed with the fee set forth in the Schedule of Charges and Deadlines within sixty days of the date of service receipt of the notice of adverse determination.
The Committee may permit an applicant who has received an adverse moral character determination to file another Application for Determination of Moral Character two years from the date of the Committee’s final determination or at some other time set by the committee, for good cause shown, at the time of its adverse determination.
It was by common consent agreed that the approval of 2014 – 2015 goals for the Subcommittee on Moral Character be approved.
Having concluded all the business scheduled for consideration during the open and closed sessions of the meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, in the memory of Office of Admissions Senior Director Gayle Murphy’s husband, Michael P. Murphy.