Would-be lawyers in Wisconsin who have challenged the state’s policy of allowing graduates of state law schools to practice law without passing the state’s bar exam will have their day in court after all, The Associated Press reported. A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit challenging the practice, which apparently is unique in the United States.
Wisconsin’s “diploma privilege policy” dates back to 1870, and some graduates of out-of-state law schools say it’s time it was scrapped. The lawsuit challenging the policy was filed by Christopher L. Wiesmueller, who says he sufferuddy financially from having to wait months to take the bar exam and get the results after graduating from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. He grew up in Wisconsin and planned to practice in that state.
Judge John C. Shabaz of the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., dismissed the lawsuit last year, saying there was nothing unconstitutional about the rule that exempts graduates of the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University’s law schools from the bar-exam requirement, as long as they meet certain academic criteria. And lawyers for the Board of Bar Examiners and the Wisconsin Supreme Court said that since Mr. Wiesmueller had since taken and passed the bar exam, the issue was moot.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit bounced the case back to the lower court judge. In an opinion issued today, a three-judge panel ruled that Judge Shabaz should not have thrown the case out without first deciding whether it should be certified as a class-action lawsuit. If it were classified as such, other out-of-state law graduates could continue the suit, regardless of Mr. Wiesmueller’s standing in the case. —Katherine Mangan