Opinion
No. 56278.
May 9, 1975.
IN RE: PLAINTIFFS APPLYING FOR WRITS OF CERTIORARI, PROHIBITION AND MANDAMUS.
IN RE: EDUARDO DE ALBA APPLYING FOR ADMISSION TO THE LOUISIANA STATE BAR.
The petition of the relator in the above entitled and numbered case having been duly considered,
It is ordered that a writ of certiorari issue herein, directing the Honorable Melvin A. Shortess, Judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the Parish of East Baton Rouge to transmit to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, on or before the 19th day of May, 1975, the record in duplicate, or a certified copy of the record in duplicate, of the proceedings complained of by the relator herein, to the end that the validity of said proceedings may be ascertained.
It is further ordered that the aforesaid Judge of said Court and the respondent through counsel shall show cause, in this court, on the 19th day of May, 1975, at 10 o'clock A.M., why the relief prayed for in the petition of the relator should not be granted.
Writ granted. The Committee on Bar Admissions is ordered to allow relator, upon complying with requirements other than United States Citizenship or residence, to take the Bar Examination commencing July 21, 1975. The Committee shall grade and retain said examination pending further action by this Court.
SANDERS, C. J., dissents. The showing made by applicant does not bring the case within the holding of In Re Griffiths, 413 U.S. 717, 93 S.Ct. 2851, 37 L.Ed.2d 910 or otherwise satisfy the rules of admission.
SUMMERS, J., dissents for the reasons assigned by SANDERS, C. J., and will assign additional reasons.
This decision is destructive of the well-established standards for admission to the bar. La.R.S. Articles of Incorporation, Art. XIV, Sec. 7. Petitioner, a non-resident alien, has not applied for admission as the rules require. He has not demonstrated his good moral character. The Committee on Bar Admissions in the interest of even-handed application of the admission standards has opposed petitioner's request. This majority has consistently refused to accept the recommendations of the Committee on Admissions, and this order cavalierly denies the Committee recommendations without further investigation.
MARCUS, J., dissents for reasons assigned by Chief Justice Sanders.