Section 9 - Failure to Meet Requirements; Review(A)Failure to Meet Requirements: Notice. In every instance in which the Committee determines that it will not certify an applicant for admission due to the applicant's failure to meet the requisites for admission as described in Section 3, the Committee shall notify the applicant in writing of such determination and the reasons therefor. Service of the Notice of Failure to Meet Requirements shall be made by mailing the notice to the applicant at the address provided in his or her application for admission to the Bar or such address as has been furnished by the applicant in writing to the Committee. The notice shall contain a certificate stating the date of mailing. As a courtesy to the applicant, and in addition to notice by mail, the Committee may also notify the applicant by e-mail, return receipt requested, at the e-mail address provided to the Committee by the applicant in his or her application for admission. [Repealed and reenacted effective August 1, 2008] (B)Review by the Court. An applicant who is aggrieved by the determination of the Committee may file a Petition for Admission to the Bar with the Court within thirty (30) days from the date of mailing of the notice. Such Petition shall be confidential as to the applicant's identity and shall only identify the applicant by the file number designated by the Committee. Any medical or other sensitive information shall be filed under seal. Failure to seek review within that thirty day period shall have the same effect as denial of admission by the Court under Subsection (D)(13). No appeal lies from an applicant's failure to satisfactorily complete the written examination as described in Sections 7 and 8 of this Rule, and the determination of the Committee relative to an applicant's test scores is final. [Amended effective February 1, 2014] (C)Service on Committee. A copy of the Petition for Admission shall be served on the Committee through its Chair. Service shall be accomplished by certified mail, return receipt requested. Proof of service shall be filed in the record. [Enacted effective August 1, 2008](D)Procedure in Supreme Court. The Court may, in its discretion, without taking further evidence, approve, modify or reject the Committee's determination, remand to the Committee for further action as the Court instructs, or appoint a Commissioner to take evidence and report to the Court. The Commissioner shall include in the report a recommendation as to whether the applicant has met the requirements for admission to the Bar. If the petition is filed prior to the applicant sitting for the written examination, the Court may allow the applicant to sit for the written examination and upon satisfactorily passing same, to apply to the Court for the appointment of a Commissioner. Should the Court appoint a Commissioner, the procedure shall be as follows: (1)Commissioner; Qualifications; Powers. The Court may appoint as a Commissioner any sitting or retired judge or any lawyer who has been engaged in the active practice of law as a member in good standing of the Bar for not less than ten (10) years. The Commissioner shall regulate the proceedings and shall have full authority to examine the parties in the cause upon oath, touching any matter whatsoever that is germane to the question of the applicant's good moral character and fitness. The Commissioner may require, by subpoena duces tecum, the production of all books, papers, writings, and other documents applicable thereto, and examine on oath all witnesses produced by the parties. He or she may cause the testimony of absent witnesses to be taken, as hereinafter provided, and direct the place where and the manner in which the matters requiring evidence shall be proved. He or she shall have the right to compel, by subpoena, the attendance of witnesses from any part of the state and, generally, to do all other acts and direct all other inquiries and proceedings in the matters which the Commissioner may deem necessary and proper to the justice and merits of the matter and the rights of the parties. The Commissioner shall have the right to certify parties, members of the Bar, or witnesses, to the Supreme Court for contempt of the Commissioner's authority. (2)Representation of Committee by the Attorney for Character and Fitness. In all matters in which a Commissioner is appointed by the Court, the Attorney for Character and Fitness shall represent the Committee in the proceedings before the Commissioner. (3)Status Conference. Upon the appointment of a Commissioner, a status conference including the Commissioner, the applicant and the Attorney for Character and Fitness shall be scheduled. At the conference the parties shall select a hearing date, discovery deadlines and dates to exchange witness and exhibit lists. The Commissioner may also address any other pre-hearing procedural matters and stipulations. (4)Notice of Hearing. The Commissioner shall issue or cause to be issued a Notice of Hearing to the parties which notice shall include the date, time and place of the hearing. The Notice of Hearing shall also notify the parties that the applicant bears the burden of proof at the hearing to establish by clear and convincing evidence that he or she meets the requirements for admission to the Bar of the State of Louisiana, that the applicant may be represented by counsel, may present evidence and may examine and cross-examine witnesses. The Notice shall also require that the parties submit pre-hearing memoranda. (5)Pre-Hearing Memoranda. Not less than ten days prior to the hearing the parties shall submit to the Commissioner pre-hearing memoranda which shall set forth the following information: (a) The names and addresses of witnesses and whether the testimony will be in person or by deposition; (b) A list of exhibits that will likely be introduced at the hearing; (c) Any anticipated evidentiary or legal issues which may be presented at the hearing; (d) Proposed findings of fact; and (e) Stipulations.(6)Hearing. The applicant bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he or she meets the requirements for admission to the Bar. The Commissioner shall conduct a hearing at which all matters which bear upon the applicant's eligibility may be considered de novo. At the hearing, no deference shall be afforded to the findings of the Panel. The hearing shall not be limited to those matters raised in the Petition for Admission filed with the Court or the Notice of Failure to Meet Requirements issued by the Committee. (7)Procedure and Evidence. Strict adherence to the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and the Louisiana Code of Evidence is not required. The Commissioner may admit any material and relevant evidence which, in the judgment of the Commissioner, is probative and which may be useful to the Court for its consideration and review. Any evidence that is excluded by the Commissioner may be proffered for review by the Court. (8)Testimony of Out-of-State, Absent, or Unavailable Witnesses. If a witness whose testimony is material to the cause resides out of the parish in which the hearing is to take place, the testimony of the witness may be taken according to the forms prescribed by law for the taking of such testimony in civil cases in the district courts of the state; or if the witness resides out of the state or is absent from the state, his or her testimony may be taken in the form of depositions in answer to written interrogatories and cross-interrogatories under a commission, issued by the Commissioner, and directed to a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths and take depositions; provided that if the testimony is taken in the form of depositions in answer to written interrogatories, the attorney for the applicant on appeal shall have the right to attend the taking of the testimony and to cross-examine or re-examine the witnesses orally; and provided further, that whether the testimony is to be taken in the form of deposition or written interrogatories, the Commissioner shall fix the time and the place for taking of the testimony. By agreement of the parties, or by decision of the Commissioner, telephonic testimony may be taken at the hearing, or telephonic depositions may be introduced at the hearing.(9)Hearing Recorded. All hearings shall be recorded in a manner which will allow a verbatim transcript to be prepared. (10)Report of the Commissioner. Within ninety (90) days of the termination of the proceedings, the Commissioner shall file with the Supreme Court his or her written report, wherein the Commissioner shall state findings of fact and conclusions of law and recommendations as to appropriate action by the Court. The Commissioner shall also file the record of the proceeding with the Court. The Commissioner shall mail or deliver his or her written report to the Committee and the applicant. Such filings shall be confidential as to the applicant's identity and shall only identify the applicant by the file number assigned by the Committee. Any medical or other sensitive information shall be filed under seal. A copy of the Commissioner's Report shall be provided to the Committee and to the applicant, each of whom may file exceptions thereto. If no exceptions are filed by either party, the report may be confirmed by the Court and adopted as its judgment.(11)Exceptions to Report of the Commissioner. Within thirty (30) days of the filing of the Commissioner's Report with the Court, the applicant or the Committee may file exceptions thereto. If exceptions are filed, the matter shall then be set on the Court's summary docket and heard as the Court directs, unless both the Committee and the applicant file a joint motion to waive oral argument. Oral arguments shall be conducted in open court. [Amended effective February 1, 2014](12) Record of Hearing. The record of the hearing shall consist of the transcript of the hearing, the petition, notice of hearing, stipulations, depositions and exhibits admitted into evidence, pre-hearing memoranda, any authorized post-hearing submission, and the recommendation of the Commissioner.(13) Denial and Reapplication. In the event the Court issues an order finding that an applicant lacks the requisite good moral character and fitness to be admitted to the Bar, an applicant is precluded from seeking admission for a period of one year from the date of the Court's order, unless the Court expressly provides otherwise.Amended effective 2/1/2014; amended July 29, 2022, effective 7/29/2022.