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Proposal for one-year diploma for legal justice legal professionals rejected by Arizona Supreme Court docket
September 25, 2025, 9:27 am CDT
A proposal to permit graduates of a particular one-year program to prosecute or symbolize legal defendants has been rejected by the Arizona Supreme Court docket. (Picture from Shutterstock)
A proposal to permit graduates of a particular one-year program to prosecute or symbolize legal defendants has been rejected by the Arizona Supreme Court docket.
The proposal by Arizona’s Administrative Workplace of the Courts would have created a grasp of authorized research diploma that focuses on programs wanted to observe legal legislation, report Capitol Media Providers by way of KAWC and Reuters. Graduates with a minimal B grade common who cross particular licensing exams would have been allowed to work in legal legislation.
Dave Byers, the director of the executive workplace, instructed Reuters that the proposal that he superior obtained “appreciable pushback from the stakeholders.”
His plan was axed earlier than preparation of a proper proposal or a pilot program to check it.
The thought was meant to ship extra folks into rural areas to observe legal legislation. Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer instructed Capitol Media Providers that the state supreme court docket acknowledged the unfilled want, significantly in rural areas, and that’s the reason it instructed Byers to discover the proposal.
She acknowledged, nonetheless, that she had doubts concerning the plan, given the Sixth Modification’s assure of proper to competent counsel.
One different answer to the lawyer scarcity, already within the works, is a four-year, part-time path to a legislation diploma provided on-line on the Arizona State College School of Regulation. The varsity will supply this system starting in January.
One other program, already adopted, permits those that come inside 10 factors of a passing rating on the bar examination to get a legislation license after two years of supervised observe ready with authorities or a nonprofit or in a rural space.
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