Court Opinion

ID: 9725949
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 12:22:02.603491+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:58.951653
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION

Arterburn, J.
The petitioner asks to be admitted to the bar of this court in his petition on the ground that:
“3. Petitioner successfully passed said examination and received a grade equivalent to that prescribed by said State Board of Law Examiners as a passing grade or mark.
“4. The State Board of Law Examiners has failed and refused to certify to this court the correct result of their examination, with respect to this petitioner, together with their recommendations, as required by Rule 3-16.”
The facts as we gather them in this case are that each of the five members of the State Board of Law Examiners prepare questions in separate fields of the law for the examination and that each, following the examination, grade those papers for which they separately have prepared the questions. The board accepts the grading of each member. In this particular examination the passing mark was a total of 240 points. When the grades of each member of the Board of Law Examiners were sent to the secretary following the examination in July, 1960, this petitioner had received 239 points and two other applicants had received 239 points and 238 points. It also appeared that as soon as these grades came in and they were totaled, the secretary of the board immediately notified the board members of totals and also those applicants who had received 240 or more points as passing.
The difficulty here stems from the fact that following the examination the board did not meet to review *244the total results of the examination and review any of those papers where an applicant was on the margin of within a point or two of the passing mark, and the further fact that after the applicants are notified of their grades, there is no admitted remedy of appeal or review to correct errors or mistakes of the board because of an alleged custom.
One of the board members states that at the previous examination he had informed the entire board that he felt those marginal cases (where the grades were within a point or two of passing) should be reviewed by the entire board before the applicants were notified, as an assurance against any injustices being done. That procedure was not followed in this case. However, this particular board member, as soon as he received notice of the total grades, notified the secretary to send back to him the papers (assigned to this board member for grading) of the three applicants that were within one or two points of the passing mark, for review. In the meantime, the notification had gone out to those, who had passed and those who had failed. This board member regraded the three marginal papers and raised them a point or two sufficient for passing and so notified the secretary and other board members. The other board members refused to accept his regrading, not however, on the ground that it was inaccurate, but upon what appears to me to be technically an arbitrary reason, namely, that those who had passed or not passed had been notified; that since the names of the applicants were now known, no papers could be regraded or reviewed for error.
Although anonymity of those applicants whose papers are being graded is to be commended and is a good shield against criticism of favoritism, yet the knowledge of who is involved should not deter or *245prevent a review for correction of error for fear of, such criticism. No grading system is infallible. If am injustice has been done or an error comitted, the fact that the party is known is not sufficient ground to- refuse a review for him. Courts and judges every day know the parties involved and still cannot refuse to review or make a decision on that ground.
So far as custom and practice is concerned, the board has always accepted as final the grading of the books assigned to the board member who prepared the questions in that field. One other board member states that before the grades were finally sent in by him in this examination, he regraded all the books assigned to him and raised them a certain number of points because he thought his grading had been too strict. This regrading apparently was accepted without question by the board, since it was done before the applicants were notified. The question here presented is, does an applicant, after he has been notified and for the first time is aware of his grade, have any opportunity for a review for correction of error? It seems to me that the three applicants (who had marginal grades), including this petitioner, have such a right, and that this petitioner has shown an arbitrary refusal of the board to accept the final grading assigned to one member of the board of certain books which would give him a passing grade. On the other hand, there is no showing of any error or mistake by such board member in his final grading.
Because of my past experience, I am not unaware' of the difficult and onerous burden cast-upon members of the Board of Law Examiners in performing their duties. I have no doubt of their integrity and sincerity in their work, but I nevertheless feel as firmly .that regardless of the burdensome responsibilities connected with their duties, applicants are entitled, after they are *246aware of their failure, to an opportunity to have a review and correction of any errors. That is a fundamental principle of our law which I am unable to ignore. Warren v. Indiana Telephone Co. (1940), 217 Ind. 93, 26 N. E. 2d 399.
Note. — Reported in 171 N. E. 2d 691.