Opinion ID: 739913
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Tolchin's Due Process Challenge

Text: 92 Rule 1:26 provides that the skills and methods course format shall be set forth in the rules of the Board of Bar Examiners. N.J.Ct.R. 1:26. The Board has not promulgated any rules regarding the skills and methods course. Tolchin argues that the implementation of the skills and methods course violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution because the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners failed to adopt the rules governing the format and curriculum of the course through formal rulemaking procedures, thereby depriving him of his right to earn his livelihood by practicing in New Jersey. 93 The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. 8 U.S. Const. amend. XIV. To satisfy the requirements of the Due Process Clause, laws and regulations must provide specific standards which avoid arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Grayned v. Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 109, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 2299, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972). An agency's failure to follow its rules and regulations, however, is not a per se violation of due process. See United States v. Caceres, 440 U.S. 741, 99 S.Ct. 1465, 59 L.Ed.2d 733 (1979). Rather, the Due Process Clause is implicated only when an agency violates regulations mandated by the Constitution or by law; or when an individual has reasonably relied on agency regulations promulgated for his guidance or benefit and has suffered substantially because of their violation by the agency. Id. at 752-53, 99 S.Ct. at 1472. Due process may also be violated if the government acts arbitrarily or capriciously. Grayned, 408 U.S. at 109, 92 S.Ct. at 2299. 94 Rule 1:26 is not mandated by the Constitution or by law. Rather, it is a rule promulgated by the New Jersey Supreme Court for the oversight of the New Jersey bar. Furthermore, Tolchin has not made any showing that he has reasonably relied on Rule 1:26 to his detriment. 95 Rather, the record indicates that Tolchin was aware of what was required to practice in New Jersey. The New Jersey Supreme Court has approved specific standards which guide the administration of the skills and methods course. See Magistrate Report at 14-16. That court specifically directed ICLE to implement a mandatory attendance policy. This directive was only implemented after public notice of the proposal. The record indicates that the Appellees have in all ways -- except for promulgating the Board of Law Examiners Rules -- acted with forethought and consistency in regard to the skills and methods course. Thus, Tolchin has suffered no violation of due process. See Grayned, 408 U.S. at 109, 92 S.Ct. at 2299. 96 Tolchin has not been excluded from the practice of law. To the contrary, he has unilaterally decided that the mandatory attendance requirement is too burdensome for him. As a result, he is unable to satisfy New Jersey's skills and methods course requirement, rendering him ineligible to practice there. Clearly, then, Tolchin's inability to practice law is due to his own actions and not to any constitutional due process violation.