Hаrry C. Henington, plaintiff (appellant), asked the Board of Bar Examiners to permit him to take the New Mexico bar examination. He tendered his application accompanied by the required examination feе, but did not enclose with said application a diploma or a properly authenticated certificate showing his graduation from an accredited law school, nor a certificate of an attorney of this state that he is a person of good moral character as is provided by rule.
Rule 1, § 2 reads as follows:
“No person, other than those admitted on certificate from other states, shall be granted a license to practice law in this state or shall be entitled to take examination for admission to the Bar unless such person shall have graduated from a law school approved by the American Bar Association as meeting the standards of that Assоciation. (§ 18-1-8 of 1953 Compilation.)” (Emphasis ours.)
The Board of Bar Examiners rejected plaintiff’s application. On June 8, 1954, the' plaintiff filed his complaint in the District Court of Santa Fe County and prayed for an alternative writ of mandamus, seeking to compel the Board of Bar Examiners to examine him as to his qualifications for admission to the bar. On June 14, 1954, the District Court issued an alternative writ of mandamus commanding the Board of Bar Examiners to examine the plaintiff as to his qualifications for admission to the State Bar of New Mexico, and to make an independent investigation of his moral character within thirty days or show cause why it has not done so. An answer was filed by the Board of Bar Exаminers, and after a hearing, the alternative writ of mandamus was quashed, and plaintiff appeals.
Under point two plaintiff contends that the so-called “college” rule violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and § 18 of Article 2 of the New Mexico Constitution. We are of opinion and so hold that the educational qualifications required of applicants before they are permitted to practicе law in this state does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment or § 18 of Article 2 of our Constitution, either in regard to the clause requiring due process of law, or that providing for equal protection of the laws.
In State v. Rosborough,
“ * * * But the defendant conceives, and in brief and in argument urges, that he is denied some right guaranteed to him by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and section 2 of article 1 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, to wit, that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or be denied the equal protection of the law.
“As to this, suffice it to say that the right to practice law in the state courts is not a privilege or immunity оf a citizen of the United States. In re Lockwood,154 U.S. 116 ,14 S.Ct. 1082 ,38 L.Ed. 929 .
“For the rest—
“ ‘The practice of law is not a business open to all who wish to engage in it, nor is it a natural right or one guaranteed by the Constitution; but a personal right or privilege limited to a few persons of good moral character, with special qualifications, duly ascertained and certified. It is in the nature of a franchise from the state conferred only for merit, and is not a lawful business except for members of the bar who have complied with all the conditions required by statute and the rules of court.’ ”
See, also, Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners of the State of New Mexico,
And in the case of Rosenthal v. State Bar Examining Committee,
“ * * * The basis of the petitioner’s claim upon this phase of the case is that the court could not delegate to the bar examining committee the power to determine the law school in which the рetitioner should be required to study in order to be entitled to take the examination for admission. * *
In Connecticut, from the earliest times, to prevent the admission of unqualified persons into the practice of the profession, the courts have employed the members of the bar for the purpose of ascertaining the character and qualifications of those applying for membership. This is a reasonable usage. * * * The claim оf the petitioner, that to commit to an examining committee the power to determine the educational qualifications of candidates for admission is an unlawful delegation of judicial power, is without force when we consider that from the earliest times in this state, it has been the uninterrupted practice for the court to rely on the bar for investigation as to such matters. * * * The ultimate purpose of all regulations of the admission of attorneys is to assure the courts the assistance of advocates of ability, learning, and sound character and to protect the public from incompetent and dishonest practitioners. * * * While the determinatiоn of the qualifications of attorneys to be admitted to practice in our courts pertains to the judicial department, the decisions which must be made in carrying out the procedure established by the rules of the judges to accomplish that end are not judicial in their nature and may properly be vested in the bar examining committee, including the power to determine what law schools shall be approved as furnishing a sufficient educational basis for admitting a candidate to the examination. Nor can it be maintained that the bar examining committee exceeded its powers or acted unreasonably in approving the same schools as the Council of the American Bar Association on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. It is a matter of common knowledge that the American Bar Association is a representative body composed of members оf the bar from every part of the Union; an organization national in scope, whose purpose is to uphold and maintain the highest traditions of the legal profession. There is nothing in this record to indicate either arbitrаry or unreasonable action on the part of the examining committee in approving the same schools as the Council of the American Bar Association on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.”
To the same effect, see, Ex parte State Board of Law Examiners of Florida,
The case principally relied upon by the plaintiff is that of Yick Wo v. Hopkins,
“The ordinance, therefore, also differs from the not unusual case where discretion is lodged by law in public officers or bodies to grant or withhold licenses to keep taverns, or places for the sale of spirituous liquors, and the like, when one of the conditions is that the applicant shall- be a fit person for the exercise of the privilege, because in such cases the fact of fitness is submitted to the judgment of the officer, and calls for the exercise of a discretion of a judicial nаture.”
The rule in question does not grant the Board of Bar Examiners an arbitrary power such as is described in the above mentioned laundry case. In the case at bar, any applicant is permitted to take the bar exаmination provided he furnishes the Board of Bar Examiners a diploma or a properly authenticated certificate showing his graduation from a law school approved by the American Bar Association. The possession of a legal education is a condition precedent which must be met by all applicants. It is neither an arbitrary or unreasonable one and applies alike to all persons regardless of their religion, race, creed or color. In the instant case the plaintiff is in no position to complain as he is not a graduate from any law school.
Under point three plaintiff contends that the so called “moral character” rule violates the due process clause of the state and federal constitutions. This contention is without merit. Rule 2, § 2, reads as follows :
“An applicant for admission must file with the Secretary of the Board of Examiners an application under oath, setting forth the date and place of birth of such applicant, his or her place of residence for seven years immediately preceding the filing of such application and facts showing the qualifications of such applicant, which application must be accompanied by the certificate of an attorney of this state that the applicant is a person of good moral character. (§ 18-1-8 of 1953 Compilation.)” (Emphasis supplied.)
Under the above rule an applicant must be shown to be a person of good moral character before he is eligible to- take the bar examination. Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners,
The possession of such character is a condition precedent, and the requirement that he furnish the board a certificate from an attorney of this state touching on his mоral character is not unreasonable.
The right to take an examination to practice law is a qualified right, and one who seeks permission to take such examination must be prepared to satisfy reasonable requirements as to good moral character and training. Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners, supra.
What has here been said disposes of plaintiff’s point one.
The judgment will be affirmed.
It is so ordered.