Opinion ID: 2366205
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the bar's procedures satisfy substantive due process

Text: ¶ 30 Mr. McBride also raises a substantive due process claim. The Due Process Clause allows states to substantively regulate economic rights if such regulation bears a rational relation to a legitimate government objective. In re Arnovick, 2002 UT 71, ¶ 15, 52 P.3d 1246. Mr. McBride relies on Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners, 353 U.S. 232, 77 S.Ct. 752, 1 L.Ed.2d 796 (1957), arguing that the Bar's 10:00 p.m. deadline for uploading his exam answers denied him substantive due process because it was not rationally related to the Bar's interest in determining his fitness or ability to practice law. In so arguing, Mr. McBride misconstrues the nature of the Bar's interest. ¶ 31 In Schware, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Bar could not disqualify an applicant due to his past membership in the Communist Party since his prior party membership had no rational relation to the legitimate government objective in ensuring that licensed attorneys have good moral character and proficiency in the law. Id. at 246, 77 S.Ct. 752. But unlike Schware, Mr. McBride was not disqualified from the Exam for a lack of fitness or competency. Rather, he was disqualified because he failed to comply with the requirements imposed by the Bar as part of its effort to efficiently administer the Exam. To ensure the efficient administration of the Exam, the Bar must establish reasonable deadlines for receipt of bar applications, background check completion, and the uploading of exam answers. It would be intolerably burdensome to force the Bar to accept every application, background check, and set of exam answers submitted after the established deadlines. Basic procedural requirements, including deadlines, are necessary and rationally related to the Bar's legitimate interest in the efficient administration of the Exam. ¶ 32 Furthermore, the Bar has a legitimate interest in preventing cheating and in assuring there is technical support available during the upload time frame. These interests are satisfied by the 10:00 p.m. deadline since it reduces the window for cheating and since technical support is only available until 10:00 p.m. mountain time. Thus, the 10:00 p.m. deadline is not arbitrary but bears a rational relationship to the legitimate objective of the Bar in administering an efficient exam. We therefore conclude that Mr. McBride has not been denied substantive due process.