Evening star., 1938-12-02
Court Will Study
Pre,Lega|
Education
District Tribunal May
Alter Requirements
For Admission

With Chief Justice Alfred A.
Wheat presiding and all available
justices present, District Court on
Monday morning will consider the
problem of pre-legal education here,
with the possibility that the rules
of the court may be changed to
meet the altered attitude Of the
United States Court of Appeals here
on the subject. The courts decision
would affect thousands of Wash
ingtonians attending law schools.
Presenting the attitude of the Bar
Association of the District of Co.
lumbia will be Herbert M. Bingham,
a former president of the organiza-
ton The Board of Directors re-
Gently instructed these two men to
represent the association at the
hearing.
On June % the association went
on record as favoring maintaining
the present status of legal educa-
tional requirements for taking the
bar examination until September l,
1912. After that 1t would be neces-
sary, under the association policy,
for bar examination candidate to
offer evidence either of two years
pre-legal education at a recognized
college or a certificate from a Dis
trict Court committee, stating that
the candidate had the equivalent
of the college requirement.
Will Inform Court.
Mr.. Bingham and MIR. Bastian will
Inform the court of the associations
action and offer arguments why the
District Court should officially adopt
the same attitude toward pre-legal
education.
The United States Court of Ap-
peals in July laid down more strin-
gent rule applying to admission to
the bar of that court after July
!, 1943.
The rule requires that if an ap-
plicant begins his study of the law
after September l this year, "he
must have successfully completed
at least two full years of study in
an approved college or university, or
the equivalent thereof" The rule
also provides that if admitted
latter July !, 1943, to practice in the
District Court of the United States
for the District of Columbia" or the
highest court in another jurisdic-
ton, a lawyer "rnust also have grad
uated from law school approved
by this court" Requirements the
schools must meet also are set out.
The rule, in the minds of many,
gives the cue to the District Court
to raise its requirements.
Opposes Lifting Requirements.
Opposing any raising of the pre-
legal requirements at this time will
be John Paul Earnest, chairman of
the Committee on Admissions and
Grievances of the District Court it
self. Mr.. Earnest explained today
that the records of the bar exam
ination here show that those with a
four-year high school education
equal the marks attained by those
having two years of college work.
Our most able lawyers and
judges were self-made men," de-
clared Mr. Earnest. John Marshall
didn't have two years of college,
neither did Abraham Lincoln"
Announcing that he will oppose
before the court any raising of the
bars, Mr. Earnest declared that he
spoke as college man himself, with
several degrees, but does not desire
to penalize the worthy student by
making it almost impossible for him
to attain a legal education in the
District of Columbia.
Sees Hardship in Plan.
If the District Court should raise
Its requirements, said Mr.. Earnest,
1t would work a particular hardship
on women and men in the Govern
ment service here, who are in cler-
ical positions and desire legal edu-
cation, so that they may secure a
professional status and more salary.
Senator Sheppard, Democrat, of
Texas has introduced a bill to pre-
vent the heads of legal departments
IN the Government from designat-
ing that their staff must be gradu-
Ates of certain law and other
schools A spokesman for the Sen
ator explained today that this would
make possible the taking of legal
education at any school here. rather
than restricting it to Grade A
schools.
"The Senator doesn't believe that
a man who is meritorious should be
restricted to certain schools" one
OF his secretaries asserted.