The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8317

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            December 18, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to author-
  izing  the  Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to admit an appli-
  cant as an attorney at law in  all  the  courts  of  the  state,  upon
  certification  by  the  committee  on  character  and fitness that the
  applicant has fulfilled the requirements   for admission  to  practice
  law  and  to  authorize the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court to
  admit to the practice of law an applicant who is not lawfully  present
  in the United States, upon certification by the committee on character
  and  fitness  that  the applicant has fulfilled those requirements for
  admission

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Rule 9404 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended
by judicial conference proposal number 7 for the year 1973,  is  amended
to read as follows:
  Rule  9404. Certificate of character and fitness.  1. Unless otherwise
ordered by the appellate division, no person shall be admitted to  prac-
tice  without  a certificate from the proper committee that it has care-
fully investigated the character and fitness of the applicant and  that,
in  such  respects,  he  OR  SHE is entitled to admission. To enable the
committee to make such investigation,  the  justices  of  the  appellate
division  are  authorized  to prescribe and from time to time to amend a
form of statement or questionnaire to be  submitted  by  the  applicant,
including specifically his OR HER present and such past places of actual
residence  as may be required therein, listing the street and number, if
any, and the period of time he OR SHE resided at each place.
  2. UPON CERTIFICATION BY THE STATE BOARD OF  LAW  EXAMINERS  THAT  THE
APPLICANT  HAS FULFILLED THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO PRACTICE LAW,
AND A FINDING BY THE COMMITTEE THAT THE APPLICANT POSSESSES THE  CHARAC-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD13247-02-3

A. 8317                             2

TER  AND GENERAL FITNESS REQUISITE FOR AN ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR-AT-LAW
AND THAT THE APPLICANT HAS SATISFIED THE REQUIREMENTS OF  SECTION  3-503
OF  THE  GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW, THE APPELLATE DIVISION SHALL ADMIT THE
APPLICANT AS AN ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR-AT-LAW IN ALL THE COURTS OF THIS
STATE,  IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION NINETY OF THE JUDI-
CIARY LAW.
  3. AN APPLICANT WHO SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF
THIS  RULE  SHALL  NOT BE DENIED ADMISSION SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF HIS OR
HER IMMIGRATION STATUS.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.