The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-30
New Form Prescribed for Ad-
mission to the Bar.
Will Not Be Accepted
Hereafter.
COMMITTEE TO DECIDE.
Will Pass on Qualifications OF
All Applicants.
Examinations will Be Held in
Supreme Court.

The State Bar association at its last
meeting. proposed that a state examin-
ing board be appointed to examine all
candidates for admission. and that the
examination be made a real test of the
applicants ability. BY such a plan it
was believed that the standing of the
Kansas legal profession could be ma
terially raised. This proposition of the
Bar association was embodied in a law
and passed by the legislature last win
ter.
AT the meeting of the examining
board held this week at the office of the
clerk of the supreme court, it was de-
cided to enforce some new rules which
will raise the standing of the legal pro-
fession in Kansas considerably.
Some twenty five years ago, when
Popendicks palatial saloon was running
where the Sixth Avenue hotel now
stands in this city. a board was duly
appointed by the district court to per-
form the function known as the ex-
animation of candidate for admission
to the bar. The first question put to
the candidate for admission was as fol-
lows:
Which would you say was the cor
rect form, Gentlemen, viii you come
over to Popendick'S s saloon and have
drink or VIII you come over to Pop
endicks saloon and have a drink. sen
tleEnen2'"
4 would say" replied the candidate.
Gentlemen. will you come over to
Popendick'S saloon and have a dFink o >
Certainly we WILL" replied the MEM
bers of the board in chorus, and as soon
as the certificate for the young man
to practice law could be made out they
went
This story is told by lawyers to illus
trate the ease and facility which has
characterized an admission to the bar
in the state of Kansas. Plainly speak
ing, the examination" for admission is
a farce.
Eugene Ware in his poem entitled
" 'Hic Jones" described very humor-
ously this old form of admission to the
par by way of a bar.
BARS OUT FOREIGN ATTORNEYS.
Attorneys who come here to Kansas
from some other state, and begin the
practice of law here. no matter how
long they may have practiced in an
other state, will have to take an ex-
animation before the examining board
before they will be allowed to practice
here.
Graduates from the State university
law school, the Washburn law school,
or any other law school, will have to
take the examination. Heretofore the
law school graduates have been ad-
mitted.
There are only two classes of attor-
neys who will be exempt from taking
the examination:
First-The attorneys who have been
practicing law in the state prior to July
Z, 1908, the date upon which the su-
preme court adopted the new examina-
ton rules.
Second-Attorneys who come to Kan
sas temporarily to plead some special
EXAMINATION WILL TAKE THREE
DAYS
Under the plan outlined by the board
of examiners. there are forty legal
topics upon which all candidates must
be examined. There will be thirty
questions under each topic, making a
total of 200 questions.
1t is estimated that it will require
three days for the board to give such
an examination. 1t will be partly
written and partly oral, probably the
most of it being written.
If an applicant fails in the examina-
ton, he is not allowed to take a sub
sequent examination without the con-
sent of three members of the board.
The board will require certain general
educational qualifications. Il will
probably be required that the student
shall have studied a certain amount of
Latin, and three years course in Eng
lish will also be required. hig h
school diploma will be considered good
evidence of a mans general educational
qualifications. Some law schools of the
country require that all students be
dollege graduates.
IT ISN'T CHARITY WORK.
Every man who applies for permission
to take this examination must put up a
fee of $40 for the privilege. If he
"funks' he gets his money back. Other
wise it goes into q fund out of which
the examining board is paid.
Each member of the board-there are
five of them-is paid SO q day and ex-
penses for his services while actively
engaged in the work of the board. 1t is
probable that the time which the board
is spending in preliminary work will
not count in on the pay time.
From this time on there will be no
more .'examinat tions" of applicants by
a committee of lawyers appointed by
| the judge of the district court. Every
body who wants to practice law must
come to Topeka to be examined Exam
nations are held on the second Mondays
/ of February, June and October.
There are already 80 applications on
file for the first examination which will
court room.
on August 20, the board will hold an
other meeting here for the puI-
pose of drawing up plan OF ex-
animation, and getting the topics ar
ranged in the proper order for presenta-
tion to the applicants.
The members of the examining board
are J. d. Mcfarland of Topeka. presi-
dent; L. H Perkins, Lawrence, vice
president; G. H. Buckman, Winfield; G.
F. Hutchings. Kansas City; r. T.
Thompson, Minneapolis.
Makes It Easy for Chinese.