"The proposal by Arizona's Administrative Office of the Courts would have created a master of legal studies degree that focuses on courses needed to practice criminal law, report Capitol Media Services via KAWC and Reuters. Graduates with a minimum B grade average who pass special licensing exams would have been allowed to work in criminal law. Dave Byers, the director of the administrative office, told Reuters that the proposal that he advanced received "considerable pushback from the stakeholders.""
"The idea was intended to send more people into rural areas to practice criminal law. Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer told Capitol Media Services that the state supreme court recognized the unfilled need, particularly in rural areas, and that is why it told Byers to explore the proposal. She acknowledged, however, that she had doubts about the plan, given the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of right to competent counsel."
Arizona Supreme Court rejected a proposal to allow graduates of a special one-year master of legal studies to prosecute or represent criminal defendants. The degree would have focused on courses needed for criminal practice and graduates with a minimum B average who passed special licensing exams would have been eligible to work in criminal law. The proposal received considerable pushback from stakeholders and was axed before a formal proposal or pilot program was prepared. The plan aimed to increase criminal law practitioners in rural areas, but the state supreme court noted concerns about the Sixth Amendment guarantee of the right to competent counsel. Alternative paths include a four-year part-time online law degree and a program granting licenses after two years of supervised practice for near-pass bar examinees.
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