On Thursday, the Alabama Supreme Court amended two rules that govern who can sit for the Alabama Bar and how many times they may do so.
"It is the Constitutional responsibility of this Court to supervise the education, admission, and discipline of members of the Bar in the State of Alabama,” the order began.
The court reviewed Rule III, whether to reduce or end those rules' reliance on the American Bar Association's accreditation of law schools, and Rule IV, whether to reduce the number of times an applicant may sit for the Alabama Bar examination.
Justices considered the issues for several months and sought comments from the Alabama Board of Bar Examiners before making their final decision, which they laid out in a 13-page order.
Chief Justice Sarah H. Stewart, alongside Justices Greg Shaw, Kelli Wise, Tommy Bryan, William B. Sellers, Greg Cook, Chris McCool, and Will Parker, concurred on the order.
Justice Brady E. Mendheim, Jr., concurred in part and dissented in part, issuing his opinion on the part of the rule change limiting the number of times a candidate can take the bar.
“I disagree with what will essentially be an absolute restriction on the number of times that an applicant may take the bar examination.”
The new rules come as attorneys, academic professionals, and lawmakers across the nation have called for changes.
In January, Allen Mendenhall penned an op-ed calling for 1819 News calling on Alabama to follow the lead of Texas and Florida who already revised their policies.
SEE: Allen Mendenhall: Alabama should rethink ABA accreditation for law schools
“The Texas and Florida supreme courts have freed themselves from a curious dependency. No longer will these states genuflect before the American Bar Association’s (ABA) altar of accreditation, a shrine at which most states have worshipped for decades.”
He went on to challenge the Alabama court to follow.
“The lesson of Texas and Florida is neither radical nor novel. It is simply a reminder that state supreme courts already possess the authority and experience to regulate the legal profession without outsourcing that responsibility to a national organization whose priorities no longer align with professional neutrality. Alabama has done so before, and continues to do so, without incident or embarrassment.”
In a second op-ed, he doubled down on his confidence that the Court could, in fact, make the changes on its own.
RELATED: Allen Mendenhall: Alabama’s justices are quite capable, thank you
“Alabama is giving itself more control over deciding which law degrees qualify for admission to the bar, instead of simply deferring to the ABA,” Mendenhall told 1819 News in a written statement after the court published its decision.
“The ABA has become a radical leftwing organization whose standards and practices have forced the legal profession to operate within a nefarious ideological framework,” he expanded.
“The Alabama Supreme Court’s order aligns our state with Texas and Florida to ensure the integrity and excellence of our state’s legal profession.”
The new rules will be effective January 1, 2027, and will also govern who is eligible to sit for the Alabama Bar examination beginning in February 2027.
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