New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-02-28
STATE BAR STRICT
VIEW OF EXAMINERS.
More than Half the applicants
Failed Last Month.

With the publication of results of the
last state bar examinations held January
90 I'm which 50 per cent of the applicants
were rejected for failure to attain per-
centage of IS correct answers to questions
the Board of State Bar Examiners voiced
the opinion that the law colleges. while
getting good results in teaching substan-
tive law are not giving their students thor
ough training in the rules and methods of
pleading. practice and trial evidence.
Frank Sullivan Smith, the New York City
member of the board. explained yesterday
that the growing percentage of failures
was due to a large extent to poor prepa-
ration in pleading. practice and trial evil
dence. and that a large majority of appli-
cants had no difficulty with the examiners
questions on substantive law
In the examination of which the results
have lust been made public there were 93l
applicants in greater New York who took
the examination at Grand Central Palace
and on the same day forty-six applicants
were examined in Rochester and thirteen IN
Albany.
Each of these prospective lawyers had 10
answer fifty questions twelve or whlch
were based on rules of pleading, practice
and trial evidence and thirty-eight on SUD
stantive law.
REQUIREMENTS LACKED UP.
AS recently revised by the Court of APP
peals, the present requirements have oeeh
raised to higher standard than ever De-
fore in New York State, so that before
gaining admission to An examination the
applicant must present to the examining
board evidence of sixty Regents counts
which, broadly speaking. is equivaieht W
a high school graduation certificate 1hose
Pull in
their legal knowledge must then submit 10
an examination by the committee on chdi-
acter appointed by the Appellate DIVISION
in each department OF the state
It is understood that hereafter the APP
pelIate Division in this department VIII le
quire each applicant to give ailrnid''
nroo< To the committee on character OF
good moral character and general neness'
and further it will require that each APP
plicant must be personally known 10 al
least one of the members of the committee
The examinations are held quarte'lS' '"e
next date for local law students falling on
April 49, Approximately 1920 students men
and women, are examined each year IN
greater New York. In the examination IN
January 1863 go per cent were rejected. IN
April ~ per cent, in June "a per cent, In
October &c per cent and in January. 1871
90 per cent.
October's high percentage of failures. MI
Smith explained yesterday. was seheraiS
repeated year by year, and is que. the eA-
aminers believe to the fact that the Id"
student graduating in June is engaged III
other business or goes on vacation iioi"
then until near the time OF the OCTOBER
examination, when he proceeds 10 cTdii'
or do in few days the work or more Vi
less considerable period in a. law coiese.
=,
other hand. the applicants as a rule are
studying the subject steadily up 10 the DAY
of examination An applicant who passes
on substantive law but fails on the plead
ing practice and trial evidence group or
questions s given pass card on sub
stantiye. law and at the next examination
has only to pass the other group OF
questions to be admitted
Five ard six time failures. the examiners
say are common. and a majority OF the
applicants do not pass and gain ADMISSION
10 the bar on their first trial
One man has taken the examination OF
the state board twenty-five times, and is
still trying Forty-five OF the applicants
who took the last examination in January
had failed at ten previous examinations
In the last set of questions there was one
asking the student to state his remedy for
from which the majority stock holder nad
wrongfully distracted 100000
Il would move for the appointment of
guardian" was the answer a score of
papers. whose writers took the word mi
nority" as meaning a stakeholder who had
not attained his majority
In this state there is no oral examination,
and this has been productive of some trou-
Bile in the courts. which will be done away
with by the recent revision of the require
ments by the Court OF Appeals
Occasionally in the past applicants of
foreign birth and education who have
gained a painstaking knowledge of English
as it Ia written have been unable to cope
with the pecullarities of pronunciation. and
their efforts along that line have embar-
rassed judges and convulsed courtrooms;
but the recent revision of requirements or
ders applicants of foreign birth or educa-
ton to pass an examination in two years
English before they shall be allowed to take
the legal examination of the state board.
TROUBLES OF THE SEL-F-TAUGHT-
Well meaning and industrious young men
with leanings toward the Legal profession
sometimes appear before the board without
having attended single session of law
school Of any kind and without having any
knowledge Whatever or lne requirements
On. such at the examination few weeks
ago. rose in disgust after a brief perusal
of the question paper. and. making his way
to the examiner presiding, protested that
the questions had no bearing on the stat
utes of the state
Ask me about the statutes he demand
ed and inquiry developed the fact that he
had Iaborously pored over the laws of the
State of New York in public libraries with
out even a passing glance at the constitu-
ton or anything else.
.'One of these days. young man.. he was
told. 1.-The Legislature will get together and
repeal all you know
Another young man. whose family name
has been prominent at Princeton University
for generations, both in the roll of high
scholarship and in the athletic calendar of
the New Jersey institution. failed miserably
at the examination last October. but passed
the first examination this year with per-
contage among the highest five.
The three examiners for the state are
William p Goodell of Syracuse; ex-Judge
Franklin NJ. Daneher, of Albany and
Frank Sullivan Smith. of New York City
They prepare all the questions and read
all the papers personally and deputize none
of the work of the board. Each examiner
reads close TO ten thousand answers at