N.M. R. Bar Adm. 15-104
N.M. R. Bar Adm. 15-104
ANNOTATIONS The 2017 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 17-8300-008, effective for applications pending or filed on or after August 4, 2017, changed the deadlines for filing applications to take the New Mexico bar examination for applicants seeking re-examination; in Paragraph B, Subparagraph B(2), after "must file by", deleted "January" and added "December", and after "February bar examination and", deleted "June" and added "May". The 2016 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 16-8300-004, effective immediately for applications for the February 2017 bar examination and thereafter, extended the filing deadlines for the February and July bar examinations, and made technical amendments throughout the rule; in Paragraph A, after "showing that the", deleted "same" and added "license"; in Paragraph B, in the introductory paragraph, after "admission to the", deleted "bar" and added "State Bar"; in Subparagraph B(1), after "February", added "bar", after the first occurrence of "examination is", deleted "on", after "September", deleted "10th" and added "20th", after the second occurrence of "examination is", added "on", and after "January", deleted "10th" and added "20th"; in Subparagraph B(3), after "upon payment of", deleted "such" and added "any"; in Subparagraph C(3)(c), after "All", deleted "such" and added "of those"; in Subparagraph C(4), after "qualified for admission to the", deleted "bar" and added "State Bar"; and substituted "the" for "such" throughout the rule. The 2015 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 15-8300-018, effective November 1, 2015, clarified certain filing requirements for applications to take the bar examination; in Paragraph B, after "executive offices", inserted a period and added "Applications to take the bar examination shall be filed". The 2013 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 13-8300-012, effective May 14, 2013, provided that applications for re-examination will not be accepted after the deadline; required that a credit report printed within thirty days of submission of an application be submitted with the application; in Subparagraph (2) of Paragraph B, added the last sentence; and in Paragraph C, added Subparagraph (2). The 2008 amendment, approved by Supreme Court Order No. 08-8300-028, effective for the February 2009 bar examination, added the requirement in Subparagraph (2) of Paragraph C that a completed law school certification on a form prescribed by the board be furnished with the application. The 2002 amendment, effective April 9, 2002, substituted "directly to the Board of Bar Examiners" for "to the secretary of the board at Santa Fe" in the undesignated paragraph following Paragraph C(2)(c). The 1999 amendment, effective November 17, 1999, and applicable for bar examinations after January 1, 2001, rewrote the rule.
For criminal history information for bar applicants, see 34-2-9 NMSA 1978. Rational connection between qualifications and fitness required. - A state cannot exclude a person from the practice of law or from any other occupation in a manner or for reasons that contravene the due process or equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. A state can require high standards of qualification, such as good moral character or proficiency in its law, before it admits an applicant to the bar, but any qualification must have a rational connection with the applicant's fitness or capacity to practice law. Schware v. Board of Bar Exmrs., 353 U.S. 232, 77 S. Ct. 752, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957). Good moral character prerequisite to taking examination. - Applicant to take the New Mexico bar examination must be shown to be a person of good moral character before he is eligible to take the bar examination and requirement of submission of an affidavit of an attorney of this state to that effect does not deny due process or equal protection. Henington v. State Bd. of Bar Exmrs., 1956-NMSC-001, 60 N.M. 393, 291 P.2d 1108. Character indication of fitness. - Membership in the bar is a privilege burdened with conditions. A fair private and professional character is one of them. Compliance with that condition is essential at the moment of admission; but it is equally essential afterwards. Whenever the condition is broken the privilege is lost. To refuse admission to an unworthy applicant is not to punish him for past offenses. The examination into character, like the examination into learning, is merely a test of fitness. Schware v. Board of Bar Exmrs., 1955-NMSC-081, 60 N.M. 304, 291 P.2d 607, rev'd on other grounds, 353 U.S. 232, 77 S. Ct. 752, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957). Conduct and opinion of peers relevant to character. - Proof of his good moral character entails a consideration of two kinds of indirect evidence: first, the pattern of conduct an individual follows; and, second, a consideration of the regard his fellows and associates have for him. Schware v. Board of Bar Exmrs., 1955-NMSC-081, 60 N.M. 304, 291 P.2d 607, rev'd on other grounds, 353 U.S. 232, 77 S. Ct. 752, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957). Arrest, aliases, communist affiliation deemed not moral unfitness. - Arrests with convictions, use of aliases many years ago and communist party membership during the 1930's do not raise substantial doubts about applicant's good moral character. Therefore, denial of application is denial of due process because these circumstances do not rationally justify a finding of moral unfitness. Schware v. Board of Bar Exmrs., 1955-NMSC-081, 60 N.M. 304, 291 P.2d 607, rev'd on other grounds, 353 U.S. 232, 77 S. Ct. 752, 1 L. Ed. 2d 796 (1957). Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. - 7 Am. Jur. 2d Attorneys at Law §§ 12, 22 to 24, 38. Bias of members of license revocation board, 97 A.L.R.2d 1210. Procedural due process requirements in proceedings involving applications for admission to bar, 2 A.L.R.3d 1266. Pardon as restoring public office or license or eligibility therefor, 58 A.L.R.3d 1191. 7 C.J.S. Attorney and Client §§ 13 to 16, 17.