Court Opinion

ID: 9584862
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:53:21.697905+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:19:22.480397
License: Public Domain

KENNARD, J.
I dissent.
Unlike the majority, I agree with the Court of Appeal that as currently structured the State Bar’s program of mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE), a program that this court established by court rule, denies California attorneys the equal protection of the law guaranteed by the state and federal Constitutions. The MCLE program denies equal protection by granting complete exemptions from all continuing education requirements, for no rational and legitimate reason, to retired judges, law school professors, and state officers and elected officials. I do not agree with the majority that this court is compelled to decide this equal protection issue—particularly as it relates to the state Constitution—by using the traditional rational basis standard. Nor do I agree with the majority that when the MCLE’s program’s exemptions are tested under that standard, they are justifiable.
*652Standard of Review
The United States Supreme Court and this court have enunciated three standards of review for deciding constitutional equal protection challenges. (See generally, Tribe, American Constitutional Law (2d ed. 1988) § 16-32, p. 1601 et seq.) For legislation containing a “suspect” classification, such as race, or touching upon a fundamental interest, such as voting, courts have been directed to apply strict scrutiny and to uphold the legislation only if its classification is precisely tailored to further a compelling governmental interest. (Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena (1995) 515 U.S. 200, 227 [115 S.Ct. 2097, 2112-2113, 132 L.Ed.2d 158]; Plyler v. Doe (1982) 457 U.S. 202, 216-217 [102 S.Ct. 2382, 2394-2395, 72 L.Ed.2d 786]; Darces v. Woods (1984) 35 Cal.3d 871, 888 [201 Cal.Rptr. 807, 679 P.2d 458]; Johnson v. Hamilton (1975) 15 Cal.3d 461, 466 [125 Cal.Rptr. 129, 541 P.2d 881].) For legislation discriminating on the basis of gender or illegitimacy, courts are to apply intermediate scrutiny and to uphold the legislation only if its classification serves an important governmental objective and is substantially related to achievement of that objective. (United States v. Virginia (1996) 518 U.S. 515, 533 [116 S.Ct. 2264, 2275-2276, 135 L.Ed.2d 735]; Craig v. Boren (1976) 429 U.S. 190, 197 [97 S.Ct. 451, 456-457, 50 L.Ed.2d 397]; In re Marriage of Flaherty (1982) 31 Cal.3d 637, 643, fn. 2 [183 Cal.Rptr. 508, 646 P.2d 179].) Finally, when the conditions requiring either strict or intermediate scrutiny are absent, courts are to apply what is commonly called the “rational basis” standard of review, under which challenged legislation is upheld if its classification is rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose. (Romer v. Evans (1996) 517 U.S. 620, 631 [116 S.Ct. 1620, 1626-1627, 134 L.Ed.2d 855]; FCC v. Beach Communications, Inc. (1993) 508 U.S. 307, 313 [113 S.Ct. 2096, 2100-2101, 124 L.Ed.2d 211]; D’Amico v. Board of Medical Examiners (1974) 11 Cal.3d 1, 16 [112 Cal.Rptr. 786, 520 P.2d 10].)
The majority holds that the proper standard of review for the equal protection challenge in this case is the highly deferential rational basis standard. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 640.) The majority justifies its selection of this standard by citing decisions holding that this minimal standard is appropriate for equal protection challenges to classifications in professional or occupational license laws. (See, e.g., Williamson v. Lee Optical Co. (1955) 348 U.S. 483, 488-489 [75 S.Ct. 461, 464-465, 99 L.Ed. 563]; D’Amico v. Board of Medical Examiners, supra, 11 Cal.3d 1, 17.)
Petitioner has challenged the MCLE requirements under the equal protection provisions of both the state and the federal Constitutions. In construing the California Constitution’s equal protection guarantee, this court has not *653slavishly followed decisions of the federal high court construing the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal Constitution. (Compare Butt v. State of California (1992) 4 Cal.4th 668, 686 [15 Cal.Rptr.2d 480, 842 P.2d 1240] [education is fundamental right for equal protection purposes under state Constitution] with San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez (1973) 411 U.S. 1, 37-39 [93 S.Ct. 1278, 1299-1300, 36 L.Ed.2d 16] [declining to give education the status of a fundamental right for purposes of federal equal protection].) Because the challenge here is brought under the state as well as the federal Constitution, we are not obligated to follow the many federal decisions that the majority fondly cites. Rather, when this court finds cogent reasons to chart a different course, “[w]e have the power and the duty to give independent meaning and force to the provisions of our state charter.” (People v. Cahill (1993) 5 Cal.4th 478, 558 [20 Cal.Rptr.2d 582, 853 P.2d 1037] (dis. opn. of Kennard, J.).)
The rational basis standard of review, as traditionally applied, is not appropriate when the equal protection challenge is to a court rule. As this court has explained, traditional rational basis review “manifests restraint by the judiciary in relation to the discretionary act of a co-equal branch of government.” (D'Amico v. Board of Medical Examiners, supra, 11 Cal.3d 1, 16.) This justification for an effete standard of review is absent when the equal protection challenge is not to a law enacted by a co-equal branch of government but to a court rule. The MCLE requirements that petitioner here challenges were not imposed by a bill passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, nor were they imposed by an initiative adopted by the voters. This court imposed the MCLE requirements by adopting rule 958 of the California Rules of Court. The restraint that this court should and usually does exercise when considering equal protection challenges to laws enacted by the Legislature, or by the voters through the initiative process, is unnecessary and unfitting when this court is deciding an equal protection challenge to a court rule. We owe ourselves no particular deference. The United States Supreme Court has itself subjected allegedly discriminatory court rules to a form of heightened scrutiny. (See, e.g., Frazier v. Heebe (1987) 482 U.S. 641 [107 S.Ct. 2607, 96 L.Ed.2d 557].) This court likewise has a particular responsibility to ensure that classifications we impose by court rule do not discriminate arbitrarily.
The majority asserts that traditional rational basis review is appropriate because in adopting the court rule by which the MCLE program came into being this court was merely deferring to “legislative policy judgments embodied in the Legislature’s enactment of [Business and Professions Code] section 6070.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 644, fn. 9.) Responsibility for the MCLE program is not so easily shirked. Attorney admissions, education, and *654discipline are matters over which this court has inherent authority, as this court recently proclaimed in a decision authored by the Chief Justice. (In re Attorney Discipline System (1998) 19 Cal.4th 582, 592-593 [79 Cal.Rptr.2d 836, 967 P.2d 49].) We quoted with approval a law review article’s statement that “ ‘In each state it is the supreme court, with or without the legislative approval, that dictates the standards for education, admission and discipline of attorneys.’ ” (Id. at p. 593, quoting Martineau, The Supreme Court and State Regulation of the Legal Profession (1980-1981) 8 Hastings Const.L.Q. 199, 202.) In enacting Business and Professions Code section 6070, the Legislature implicity acknowledged this court’s primacy in matters relating to attorney qualifications by merely directing the State Bar to request that this court adopt an MCLE program. This court was not required to accede to this request, much less to accept all of the Legislature’s suggestions about the program’s details. In short, MCLE is this court’s program, and deference to the Legislature should play no part in our review of its evident shortcomings.
Because the law challenged here is a court rule, not legislation enacted by a co-equal branch, the rational basis test, as traditionally applied, is unnecessarily and inappropriately weak and deferential. Because this court has plenary authority to determine the proper standards of review for equal protection challenges under the state Constitution, this court is not compelled to apply the conventional rational basis test. Instead, this court should conduct a thorough and unbiased inquiry into whether the exemptions are sufficiently related to the legitimate goals of the MCLE program to be enforced without denying practicing attorneys the equal protection of the law guaranteed by our state Constitution. It is unnecessary to determine the precise standard that should be used, however, because the challenged exemptions are invalid even under the traditional rational basis test that the majority applies here.
Applying the Rational Basis Standard
In applying the rational basis standard of review, I begin by asking what purpose the MCLE requirements are intended to serve. I agree with the majority that the basic purpose of MCLE is consumer protection. The aim of continuing legal education is to provide continuing assurance to the public that all California attorneys, no matter how many years may have passed since their law school graduation and State Bar admission, have the knowledge and the skills to provide their clients with high quality legal services.
To achieve this objective, the MCLE program requires that every three years, as a condition of maintaining their active State Bar membership, *655attorneys complete thirty-six hours of approved legal education, including at least four hours of legal ethics and an additional four hours of either legal ethics, law practice management, or civil rights remedies. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 958(c).) The State Bar, acting under authority conferred by this court (ibid..), has adopted implementing rules and regulations that require, in addition, that “[a]t least one [hour] shall relate to prevention, detection, and treatment of substance abuse and emotional distress, but no more than six [hours] shall relate to emotional distress,” and that “[a]t least one [hour] shall relate to elimination of bias in the legal profession based on any of, but not limited to the following characteristics: sex, color, race, religion, ancestry, national origin, blindness or other physical disability, age, and sexual orientation.” (State Bar Min. Cont. Legal Ed. Rules & Regs., § 2.1.3.)
Although serious questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the MCLE program as currently implemented, I here assume that in general the program is of legitimate value in protecting consumers by reducing the incidence and seriousness of legal malpractice. Instruction in substantive law and legal procedure may reduce attorney mistakes in advising and representing clients. Instruction in legal ethics may prevent attorneys from harming their clients by unwitting ethical violations. Instruction in law office management may reduce mistakes caused by improper handling of client funds, inadvertently missed filing deadlines, and the like. Instruction in eliminating bias from the legal profession may make attorneys more aware of such biases and assist in eliminating them. Finally, instruction in preventing, detecting, and treating substance abuse and emotional distress may avoid attorney mistakes and malpractice resulting from substance abuse and stress-related problems.
For present purposes, the essential question is not whether MCLE in general benefits consumers of legal services, but how exempting three groups of practicing attorneys from the MCLE requirements may be reconciled with this consumer protection purpose. Before addressing this question directly, I consider the majority’s argument that the MCLE exemptions are largely immune from equal protection scrutiny because legislation need not be comprehensive and can address a problem piecemeal or only in those aspects where the need for regulation appears greatest. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 644-645.) In Hays v. Wood (1979) 25 Cal.3d 772, 790 [160 Cal.Rptr. 102, 603 P.2d 19], this court rejected reliance on the same authorities that the majority now cites, “at least insofar as they relate to the application of the equal protection provisions of our state Constitution.” We explained that the Legislature may not single out a group for regulation “wholly at its whim” (id. at p. 790) but rather “its decision as to where to ‘strike’ must have a rational basis in light of the legislative objectives.” (Id. at p. 791.) In *656other words, there must be “ ‘some rationality in the nature of the class singled out.’ ” (Ibid.; see also FCC v. Beach Communications, Inc., supra, 508 U.S. 307, 323, fn. 3 [113 S.Ct. 2096, 2106] (conc. opn. of Stevens, J.) [stating his view that when a law “imposes a burden on one group, but leaves unaffected another that is similarly, though not identically, situated, ‘the Constitution requires something more than merely a “conceivable” or “plausible” explanation for the unequal treatment’ ”].)
The majority proposes two justifications for exempting from all MCLE requirements those practicing attorneys who are retired judges, law professors, or state officers or elected officials. I examine these justifications in turn.
The majority states: “First, it would not have been irrational to conclude that the attorneys in each of the exempted categories, as a general matter, are less likely than other attorneys to represent clients on a full-time basis, thus rendering the need for a continuing education requirement less vital, as a matter of consumer protection, for these classes than for other attorneys.” (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 645-646, italics in original.)
This proposed justification contains within itself an assumption I utterly reject—that an MCLE exemption for attorneys who practice only part-time is rationally related to the goal of consumer protection. How is it rationally related? Is it rational to suppose that part-time lawyers are more likely than full-time lawyers to be aware of new laws and regulations? Certainly not. Those practicing a trade or profession only part-time are less likely to be aware of new legal developments, and thus more in need of continuing education, than those who practice full-time. Is it rational to suppose that clients of part-time lawyers need less protection from incompetent representation than the clients of full-time lawyers? Certainly not. Clients of part-time lawyers are as vulnerable to the damage caused by legal malpractice, and as deserving of protection, as clients of full-time lawyers. Thus, I do not see how an exemption for part-time lawyers is rationally related to consumer protection. Indeed, I can think of no other licensing law that exempts part-time practitioners from requirements aimed at assuring continuing professional competence. Try to imagine a law that exempts from professional competency requirements those surgeons who operate on only a few patients each year, or those commercial airline pilots who make only a few flights, or those engineers or contractors who build only a few high-rise buildings or freeway overpasses. The very idea is ludicrous.
The majority’s other proposed justification may seem more plausible, but only at first glance: “Second, it would not have been irrational to conclude *657that, in view of their particular professional roles and experience, the attorneys in each of the exempt classes (again, as a general matter) are less likely than lawyers in general to need continuing education courses in order to be familiar with recent legal developments or to remain competent practitioners.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 646, italics in original.) To evaluate the rationality of this proposed justification, it is necessary to examine separately the three exempt classes of attorneys and why the majority thinks that the attorneys in each class, unlike the common run of working attorneys, do not need to complete any continuing education courses.
Why does the majority think that retired judges who have resumed the practice of law do not need the continuing education instruction required of other attorneys? In the majority’s words, retired judges deserve exemption “because of the high level of legal skills and qualifications that generally are required to obtain a position as a judge, and because the daily work of a judge involves constant exposure to and analysis of ongoing developments in the law . . . .” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 646.) I find this attempted rationalization unpersuasive. The “daily work” of most judges is not sufficient to provide adequate knowledge of significant legal developments. Rather, “[pjarticipation in judicial education activities is an official judicial duty.” (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 970(a); see also Cal. Standards Jud. Admin., § 25 et seq. [23 pt. 2 West’s Ann. Codes, Rules (Appen.) (1996 ed.) p. 688 et seq.].) The program of judicial education includes publications, classes, and seminars provided by the California Center of Judicial Education and Research (CJER). If judges need a continuing education program to perform competently as judges, why do they not need MCLE to represent clients after retirement? I assume that most judges, because of their daily work and their attendance at CJER programs, are current in their knowledge of legal developments on the day their retirements become effective. But I assume with equal justification that all attorneys are current in their legal knowledge when they first qualify for admission to the State Bar. Thereafter, however, both retired judges and recent admittees (and, indeed, all practicing attorneys) face the same obligation to promptly learn of significant legal developments relevant to the areas of law in which they practice. If recent admittees and “ordinary” working attorneys need MCLE, retired judges who choose to reactivate their State Bar membership and to represent clients have the very same need.
Why does the majority think that state ojficers and elected officials do not need the continuing education instruction required of other attorneys? The majority states that “because the work of legislators and state officers is devoted, in substantial part, to the review of the current state of the law and the consideration of proposals to modify the law, or to the implementation of *658recent changes in the law, it would not be irrational to conclude that this group of attorneys, as a whole, may be less in need of MCLE courses than other attorneys, in order to remain abreast of recent developments in the law.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 646.)
One may question whether state legislators actually spend the bulk of their time in a scholarly study of pending and enacted legislation, rather than in political campaigning and fundraising, responding to constituent requests and complaints, meetings with lobbyists, and legislative negotiation and dealmaking. In any event, although state legislators presumably are aware of the laws they collectively enact, these state statutes are not the only significant source of law. Federal law, local ordinances, the decisions of state and federal courts, court rules, and administrative agency rules and regulations are all sources of new law that may affect a client’s interest in a particular case. State legislators are no more likely than the average practicing attorney to be aware of legal developments from these sources. The majority’s rationalization is even more tenuous as applied to other state officers and elected officials, including the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the Controller, the State Treasurer, or the Registrar of Voters. Their offices do not require them to be aware of all new legal developments, but only those developments affecting their official duties.
The majority also asserts that state officers and elected officials are likely to represent clients “in areas in which they have some particular current expertise or familiarity.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 646.) The majority cites no factual basis for this assertion, and I question whether it is accurate, at least if the majority means that state officers and elected officials are likely to undertake representation in matters related to the performance of their official duties. As any such representations would likely result in a conflict of interest, I think it more likely that state officers and elected officials who choose to practice law on the side will do so only in matters unrelated to their official duties.
Why does the majority think that full-time professors at accredited law schools do not need the continuing education instruction required of other attorneys? The majority states that the exemption is justified “because of the outstanding academic qualifications generally required to obtain a position as a full-time professor at an accredited law school, because the work of a full-time law professor requires the intensive study, analysis, and teaching of the current state of the law, and because full-time professors at accredited law schools function in an academic setting in which lectures, publications, and frequent faculty discussions typically encompass recent developments in all areas of the law . . . .” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 647.)
*659I agree that it would be ridiculous to require law school professors to attend classes in subjects they teach because their teaching activities are at least the functional equivalent of attending MCLE classes. But the State Bar’s implementing MCLE regulations already allow for this by permitting any attorney to receive MCLE credit for teaching a law school class. (State Bar Min. Cont. Legal Ed. Rules & Regs., § 4.1.5.) The State Bar computes the credits in this way: “Credit hours for teaching a law school class are computed by multiplying the number of credit hours/units granted by the law school by 12. If a portion of a law school class is devoted to a subject set forth in section 2.1 [that is, legal ethics, law office management, civil rights remedies, prevention and treatment of substance abuse and emotional distress, and eliminating bias in the legal profession], credit hours for teaching that subject are computed by multiplying actual speaking time by one. In no case may the credit hours claimed for teaching a law school class exceed credit hours/units multiplied by 12.” (State Bar Min. Cont. Legal Ed. Rules & Regs., § 5.4.1.)
This regulation allows full-time professors at accredited law schools to satisfy all MCLE requirements through their teaching activities. Indeed, teaching a single three-unit course would provide thirty-six hours of MCLE credit, enough to satisfy the MCLE requirement for a three-year period, provided only that the course included the required number of hours in the mandatory subject areas. If a full-time professor’s teaching does not satisfy MCLE requirements because it does not sufficiently cover the mandatory subjects, there is no rational basis to infer that the professor is any more knowledgeable in those subjects, or any less in need of instruction, than the average practicing attorney. In view of the rule providing appropriate credit for teaching law school courses, the complete MCLE exemption for full-time professors at accredited law schools is unnecessary and unjustifiable.
Even applying the conventional rational basis test, I am unable to conclude that the challenged exemptions are rationally related to the MCLE program’s legitimate purpose of consumer protection.
Remedy
For the reasons I have given, the MCLE program as currently structured, with its existing exemptions for retired judges, law professors, and state officers and elected officials, denies other practicing attorneys equal protection of the law. There are two possible remedies for this equal protection violation. If the exemption provisions are severable, those provisions alone may be declared invalid, and the remainder of the court rule and the implementing regulations establishing the MCLE program may be enforced. *660Alternatively, if the exemption provisions are not severable, the entire MCLE program may be declared invalid and its enforcement enjoined. (See Kopp v. Fair Pol. Practices Com. (1995) 11 Cal.4th 607, 670 [47 Cal.Rptr.2d 108, 905 P.2d 1248].)
The Court of Appeal, although unanimously of the view that the MCLE exemptions failed equal protection scrutiny, could not agree on the question of remedy. Two Court of Appeal justices concluded that exemption provisions were not severable and the entire MCLE program was invalid, while the other justice would have permitted enforcement of the MCLE program without the exemptions.
Were three of my colleagues to agree with me and form a majority, we would have to decide the difficult question of remedy. Because a majority of this court finds no equal protection violation, however, the point is academic and I express no view on it.
Conclusion
Equal protection of the law “means simply ‘that persons similarly situated with respect to the legitimate purpose of the law receive like treatment.’ ” (People ex rel. Younger v. County of El Dorado (1971) 5 Cal.3d 480, 502 [96 Cal.Rptr. 553, 487 P.2d 1193].) Here, in effect, the majority holds that although all attorneys are equal before the law, some attorneys—retired judges, law professors, and state officers and elected officials—are more equal than others. I disagree. If a formal MCLE program, administered and supervised by the State Bar, is necessary and appropriate to assure that the knowledge and skills of practicing attorneys remains current, the MCLE program requirements should be applied uniformly to all attorneys who represent private clients. Because the current court rule arbitrarily exempts certain actively practicing attorneys from the MCLE requirements, I agree with the Court of Appeal that it violates the constitutional equal protection guarantees.