One-year law school program proposed as Arizona combats legal professional shortage
1-year law school program proposed for Arizona
Getting a law degree typically involves a multi-year university program, but Arizona could soon become the only state in the U.S. where someone can take a year of law school, fulfill requirements, and then represent someone in criminal court. FOX 10's Lauren Clark reports.
PHOENIX - Arizona could soon become the only state in the country where the person representing someone in court on a criminal charge might have just one year of law school.
Currently...:
According to Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, legal education in the U.S. most commonly involves a three-year Juris Doctorate (J.D.) program.
"In most states, completion of a J.D. at an accredited law school is required for admission to practice as a lawyer," read a portion of the website.
The J.D. program, per the LII website, requires three years of study after the completion of a bachelor's degree.
"The undergraduate degree can be in any subject area, but a specific degree may help study or get a job in a specific area of practice," read a portion of the LII website.
What's Being Proposed:
Under the proposed "Master of Legal Studies Criminal Law" program, students would take only one year of courses, followed by one or two years of supervision by an experienced attorney.
After the requirements, including passing some kind of exam, are met, they could represent clients.
By the numbers:
While one might not be able to guess it, considering the number of attorney billboards scattered around town, Arizona is what some legal experts call a legal desert.
Figures show Arizona ranks 49th out of 50 states for lawyers per capita. Where this gap is most prominent is in the area of criminal law.
What they're saying:
Dave Byers, Administrative Director of the Courts for the Arizona Supreme Court, said the cost of a legal education is one factor in people choosing to not practice law in the public sector.
"Law school tuition and living expenses become so great, that students tend to graduate with $150,000, $170,000 worth of debt. One even said the other day that she was $32,000k in debt," said Byers. "When you have that much debt, it’s very difficult to commit to practice in the public sector because of the lower salaries, and even more so in rural Arizona."
Byers calls the proposal an innovative approach to help solve a pressing problem.
"The medical profession changed about 50 years ago," said Byers. "Where it used to be doctors do everything, now you have EMTs, Nurse practitioners. You have all sorts of people who are providing medical care to people in all sorts of ways, and that’s what the Supreme Court has embarked on."
Byers said the proposed program has another advantage, as all of the program’s 30 required credits are criminal law-related courses. That stands in contrast with the traditional J.D. program, where students who study several areas of law and can choose from dozens of electives.
"A graduate from this program would have more criminal academic training or education than the typical J.D. in the criminal area," Byers said.
The other side:
Not everyone, however, agrees with the proposal.
"I think it’s a foolish idea, I don’t even know why we are considering this!" said Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller.
Miller said he can’t fathom someone trying to defend someone in a criminal case without knowing civil law or even probate.
"You have to have some type of understanding of how these things fit together, and a one-year program for undergrads just wouldn’t do," Miller said. "It would be just as silly if pulling someone from an undergrad system and say, 'Hey, you should perform surgery on my child.'"
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover thinks other solutions should be considered.
"If my grandmother needs a will drafted: well, she better gosh darn better have a full-fledged, fully licensed, three-year barred attorney, because there is money on the line," Conover said. "But if my cousin is facing 25 to life, a much younger, less trained, less supervised, less educated, less studied person can do just fine?"
What's next:
The proposed program is just one of many steps being considered to attract more attorneys.
At Arizona State University, the college's law school is launching a part-time, online J.D. program in January 2025. There are also other plans in the works.