Michigan Compiled Laws
236-1961-9 - Chapter 9 Attorneys and Counselors (600.901...600.949)
Section 600.934 - Qualifications for Admission to Bar; "Good Moral Character" Defined; Election to Use Multistate Bar Examination Scaled Score; Disclosure of Score.

Sec. 934.
(1) An individual is qualified for admission to the bar of this state if he or she proves to the satisfaction of the board of law examiners that he or she is an individual of good moral character, is 18 years of age or older, has the required general education, learning in the law, and fitness and ability to enable him or her to practice law in the courts of record of this state, and that he or she intends in good faith to practice or teach law in this state. Additional requirements concerning the qualifications for admission are contained in subsequent sections of this chapter. For purposes of this subsection, good moral character is determined by the board of law examiners and 1974 PA 381, MCL 338.41 to 338.47, does not apply to that determination.
(2) An individual may elect to use the multistate bar examination scaled score that he or she achieved on a multistate bar examination administered in another state or territory when applying for admission to the bar of this state, but only if all of the following are met:
(a) The score that the individual elects to use was achieved on a multistate examination administered within the 3 years immediately preceding the multistate bar examination in this state for which the individual would otherwise sit.
(b) The individual achieved a passing grade on the bar examination of which the multistate examination the score of which the individual elects to use was a part.
(c) The multistate examination the score of which the individual elects to use was administered in a state or territory that provides a reciprocal right to elect to use the score achieved on the multistate examination administered in this state to Michigan residents who are seeking admission to the bar of that state or territory.
(d) The individual earns a grade on the essay portion of the bar examination that when combined with the transferred multistate scaled score constitutes a passing grade for that bar examination.
(e) The individual otherwise meets all requirements for admission to the bar of this state.
(3) The state board of law examiners shall disclose to an individual who elects under subsection (2) to transfer the multistate bar examination scaled score achieved on an examination administered in another state or territory the score the individual achieved as soon as that score is received by the board regardless of whether the individual could have obtained that score in the jurisdiction in which the examination was administered. This subsection does not require disclosure by the board of the score achieved on a multistate bar examination administered in another state or territory until the scores achieved on that examination administered in Michigan are released.
(4) An individual who elects to use a multistate bar examination scaled score as described in subsection (2) shall not receive a portable uniform bar examination score.
(5) As used in this section:
(a) "Portable uniform bar examination score" means a uniform bar examination score achieved in another jurisdiction for purposes of admission to the bar that meets this state's multistate bar examination minimum passing score as established by the board of law examiners.
(b) "Uniform bar examination" means the examination as defined and administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
History: 1961, Act 236, Eff. Jan. 1, 1963 ;-- Am. 1972, Act 87, Imd. Eff. Mar. 20, 1972 ;-- Am. 1978, Act 289, Eff. July 10, 1978 ;-- Am. 1980, Act 271, Imd. Eff. Oct. 6, 1980 ;-- Am. 2000, Act 112, Imd. Eff. May 24, 2000 ;-- Am. 2004, Act 558, Imd. Eff. Jan. 3, 2005 ;-- Am. 2020, Act 369, Eff. Apr. 4, 2021 ;-- Am. 2022, Act 59, Imd. Eff. Apr. 7, 2022 Constitutionality: Requirement of United States citizenship as a necessary prerequisite for the admission to the practice of law constitutes denial of equal protection of the law under Const 1963, art I, § 2, and US Const, am XIV, § 1. In re Houlahan, 389 Mich 665; 209 NW2d 250 (1973), decided prior to the 1978 amendment.

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