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Keywords

lawsuitattorneyappeal

jurisdictiondue process

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Morrison v. Board of Law Examiners of State of N.C., 453 F.3d 190

Facts

Steven C. Morrison, an attorney, applied for comity admission to the North Carolina Bar after practicing law in Indiana, Ohio, and California. His application was denied by the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners because he had not practiced law in a state that had comity with North Carolina for four of the six years preceding his application. Morrison filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arguing that the Board's requirements violated his constitutional rights.

Morrison submitted a comity application for admission to the North Carolina Bar on December 13, 2003. For six years prior to filing his application, Morrison practiced law in both California and as in-house counsel in North Carolina.

Issue

Did the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners' comity admission requirements violate the Privileges and Immunities Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Rule

The court applied the principles of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, § 2, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which allow states to establish their own rules for the practice of law as long as they do not discriminate against non-residents in a manner that is not rationally related to a legitimate state interest.

The power of the courts of each state to establish their own rules of qualification for the practice of law within their jurisdiction, subject only to the requirements of the due process or equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, is beyond controversy; in fact, it is a power in the exercise of which the state has 'a substantial interest.'

Analysis

The court found that the North Carolina Board's Rule .0502(3) did not impose more onerous requirements on Morrison than those imposed on North Carolina residents. The rule was designed to ensure that applicants had substantial legal practice experience in a state that had comity with North Carolina, which was deemed a legitimate state interest. The court concluded that the rule did not violate Morrison's constitutional rights as it treated him equally to North Carolina citizens.

Here, Rule .0502(3) requires that the applicant be licensed to practice law in a State having comity with North Carolina and that the applicant has been actively and substantially engaged in the full-time practice of law in that State for at least four of the last six years immediately preceding the application.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals reversed the district court's ruling, holding that the North Carolina Board of Law Examiners' comity admission requirements were constitutional and valid.

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court in case No. 05–1257 is REVERSED.

Who won?

The North Carolina Board of Law Examiners prevailed in the case because the Court of Appeals found that their comity admission requirements were constitutional and did not violate Morrison's rights.

The Board contends that Rule .0502(3) is constitutional, arguing that Morrison has been treated equally with all North Carolina residents.

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