Opinion
ADM File No. 2002-52.
October 8, 2003.
On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and an opportunity for comment in writing and at a public hearing having been provided, and consideration having been given to the comments received, the following amendment of Rule 15 of the Rules Concerning the State Bar of Michigan is adopted, effective immediately.
[Additions are indicated below by underlining and deletions are indicated by strikeover.]
Rule 15 Admission to the Bar
Section 1. Character and Fitness Committees.
(1) — (16) [Unchanged.]
(17) If an application is withdrawn following an adverse recommendation by a district committee or the standing committee, or, if following such an adverse recommendation the applicant fails to appear for further proceedings or takes no further action, the standing committee shall notify the applicant that the application for admission to the bar may not be renewed until the expiration of three two years from the date of the adverse recommendation by the district committee or by the standing committee, or such greater lesser period as the committee specifies, up to a maximum period of five years. The notification shall specify the reasons for the imposition of a waiting period that is longer than two years.
(18) An applicant who has been denied character and fitness certification for admission to the bar by the Board of Law Examiners may not reapply for character and fitness certification for a period of five two years following the denial or such lesser greater period specified in the decision denying certification, up to a maximum period of five years. The decision shall specify the reasons for the imposition of a waiting period that is longer than two years.
(19) — (21) [Unchanged.]
Sections 2-3. [Unchanged.]
Staff Comment: The October 8, 2003, amendment of Rule 15, ' 1, of the Rules Concerning the State Bar of Michigan, which was given immediate effect, was based on a recommendation from the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan. The amendment made uniform the length of time that an unsuccessful bar candidate must wait before reapplying for admission. The period for reapplication after an adverse determination by a district character and fitness committee or the Standing Committee on Character and Fitness was changed to two years from three years, unless the committee specifies a longer period of up to five years. Similarly, the period for reapplication after an adverse determination by the Board of Law Examiners was changed to two years from five years, unless the Board of Law Examiners specifies a longer period of up to five years. If a waiting period longer than two years is imposed, the notification or Board decision must specify the reasons for the longer waiting period.
The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.