Assembly Bill A3234

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3234
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 27, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Judiciary
 
 AN  ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to making
   technical corrections to ensure gender neutrality for the admission to
   practice law and preventing any required disclosure  of  prior  inter-
   action  with  law  enforcement  or  the  criminal justice system under
   certain circumstances
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Rule 9401 of the civil practice law and rules is amended to
 read as follows:
   Rule 9401. Committee.  The appellate division in each judicial depart-
 ment shall appoint a committee of not less than three practicing lawyers
 for  each  judicial  district  within the department, for the purpose of
 investigating the character and fitness of every applicant for admission
 to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in the  courts  of  this
 state.  Each  member  of  such  committee  shall  serve  until [his] THE
 MEMBER'S death, resignation or the appointment  of  [his]  THE  MEMBER'S
 successor.  A  lawyer who has been or who shall be appointed a member of
 the committee for one district may be appointed a member of the  commit-
 tee for another district within the same department.
   § 2. The opening paragraph and subdivision 1 of rule 9403 of the civil
 practice  law  and rules, as amended by chapter 226 of the laws of 1985,
 are amended to read as follows:
   Notwithstanding rule 9402, any application for admission  to  practice
 pending before a committee, may be referred to the committee for another
 judicial  district  in the same or another department by order or direc-
 tion of the presiding justice of the appellate division of  the  depart-
 ment  embracing  the  district in which the application is pending. Such
 order or direction may be made only upon  the  written  request  of  the
 [chairman] CHAIRPERSON or acting [chairman] CHAIRPERSON of the committee
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06579-01-5
              

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 before  which  the application is pending and only upon [his] THE CHAIR-
 PERSON OR ACTING CHAIRPERSON'S written certification either:
   1.  that  the applicant, since [he] THEY applied to take the bar exam-
 ination or to dispense with such examination or since [he] THEY  applied
 on  motion  to  be  admitted to practice, has changed [his] THEIR actual
 residence to such other judicial district in the same or  other  depart-
 ment, or, if not a resident of the state, has acquired full-time employ-
 ment  in  or  changed  [his] THEIR place of full-time employment to such
 other judicial district in the same or other department; or
   § 3. 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.    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] THE APPLICANT 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] THE APPLICANT'S present and such past plac-
 es  of  actual  residence as may be required therein, listing the street
 and number, if any, and the period of time [he] THE APPLICANT resided at
 each place. SUCH QUESTIONNAIRE SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY QUESTIONS REQUIRING
 THE DISCLOSURE OF  THE  APPLICANT'S  HISTORY  OF  INTERACTION  WITH  LAW
 ENFORCEMENT OR THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IF SUCH INTERACTION (I) IS NO
 LONGER  PENDING  AND  DID NOT RESULT IN A CONVICTION, (II) RESULTED IN A
 JUVENILE PROCEEDING OR YOUTHFUL OFFENDER ADJUDICATION, OR (III) RESULTED
 IN A CONVICTION WHICH IS NOW SEALED.
   § 4. Rule 9405 of the civil practice law and rules is amended to  read
 as follows:
   Rule  9405.  Prior  application.   In the event that any applicant has
 made a prior application for admission to practice in this state  or  in
 any  other jurisdiction, then upon said statement or questionnaire or in
 an accompanying signed statement, [he] THE APPLICANT shall set forth  in
 detail  all  the  facts  with  respect to such prior application and its
 disposition. If such prior application had been filed in  any  appellate
 division  of  this state and if the applicant failed to obtain a certif-
 icate of good character  and  fitness  from  the  appropriate  character
 committee or if for any reason such prior application was disapproved or
 rejected  either  by said committee or said appellate division, [he] THE
 APPLICANT shall obtain and submit the written consent of said  appellate
 division  to  the  renewal  of [his] THEIR application in that appellate
 division or in any other appellate division.
   § 5. Rule 9406 of the civil practice law  and  rules,  as  amended  by
 chapter 226 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
   Rule  9406. Proof.   No person shall receive said certificate from any
 committee and no person shall be admitted to practice as an attorney and
 counselor at law in the courts of this state,  unless  [he]  THEY  shall
 furnish satisfactory proof to the effect:
   1.  that  [he  supports]  THEY SUPPORT the constitutions of the United
 States and of the state of New York; and
   2. that [he has] THEY HAVE complied with all the requirements  of  the
 applicable  statutes of this state, the applicable rules of the court of
 appeals and the applicable rules of  the  appellate  division  in  which
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 [his]  THEIR  application is pending, relating to the admission to prac-
 tice as an attorney and counselor at law.
   §  6.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.