Who Needs Law School? One Man Tries Different Route to Bar Exam
6th July 2010
Clarence K. Carter is a former Indiana prisoner and aspiring lawyer who wants to become a lawyer without going to law school, which is required by Indiana law. So Carter is doing what you might imagine: he’s suing Indiana, claiming the law requiring law-school graduation is unconstitutional.
I’m sorry, but as a law school graduate I find this incredibly amusing. It’s all about status, of course; that’s why the degree that used to be Bachelor of Laws is now Doctor of Jurisprudence.
So far, the state isn’t budging on its requirement. “Our position is that the Rule 13 educational requirement is not only lawful but also is a reasonable precondition for those desiring to enter the legal profession,” said Bryan Corbin, the attorney general’s spokesman. “We intend to vigorously defend this rule from the plaintiff’s challenge.”
But Carter and his lawyer are going to keep arguing that Carter deserves the chance to take the test. “Who’s more qualified to practice law?” Carter said. “The person who graduated from law school but failed the bar exam, or the person who didn’t go to law school but passed?”
An excellent point. If law school qualified you to practice law, why have a bar exam?