New York A 3234: Relates to making technical corrections to ensure gender neutrality for the admission to practice law and preventing required disclosure of prior interaction with law enforcement or the criminal justice system

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A03234 Summary:

BILL NOA03234 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S09766

&nbsp

SPONSORDinowitz

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd RR9401, 9403, 9404, 9405 & 9406, CPLR

&nbsp

Relates to making technical corrections to ensure gender neutrality for the admission to practice law and preventing the character fitness questionnaire from inquiring into an applicant's prior interaction with law enforcement or the criminal justice system under certain circumstances.

Go to top A03234 Actions:

BILL NOA03234 

&nbsp

01/27/2025referred to judiciary

01/07/2026referred to judiciary

Go to topA03234 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA03234 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA03234 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 3234

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 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:

 1 Section 1. Rule 9401 of the civil practice law and rules is amended to
 2 read as follows:
 3 Rule 9401. Committee. The appellate division in each judicial depart-
 4 ment shall appoint a committee of not less than three practicing lawyers
 5 for each judicial district within the department, for the purpose of
 6 investigating the character and fitness of every applicant for admission
 7 to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in the courts of this
 8 state. Each member of such committee shall serve until [his] the
 9 member's death, resignation or the appointment of [his] the member's
 10 successor. A lawyer who has been or who shall be appointed a member of
 11 the committee for one district may be appointed a member of the commit-
 12 tee for another district within the same department.
 13 § 2. The opening paragraph and subdivision 1 of rule 9403 of the civil
 14 practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 226 of the laws of 1985,
 15 are amended to read as follows:
 16 Notwithstanding rule 9402, any application for admission to practice
 17 pending before a committee, may be referred to the committee for another
 18 judicial district in the same or another department by order or direc-
 19 tion of the presiding justice of the appellate division of the depart-
 20 ment embracing the district in which the application is pending. Such
 21 order or direction may be made only upon the written request of the
 22 [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

 A. 3234 2

 1 before which the application is pending and only upon [his] the chair-
 2 person or acting chairperson's written certification either:
 3 1. that the applicant, since [he] they applied to take the bar exam-
 4 ination or to dispense with such examination or since [he] they applied
 5 on motion to be admitted to practice, has changed [his] their actual
 6 residence to such other judicial district in the same or other depart-
 7 ment, or, if not a resident of the state, has acquired full-time employ-
 8 ment in or changed [his] their place of full-time employment to such
 9 other judicial district in the same or other department; or
 10 § 3. Rule 9404 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
 11 judicial conference proposal number 7 for the year 1973, is amended to
 12 read as follows:
 13 Rule 9404. Certificate of character and fitness. Unless otherwise
 14 ordered by the appellate division, no person shall be admitted to prac-
 15 tice without a certificate from the proper committee that it has care-
 16 fully investigated the character and fitness of the applicant and that,
 17 in such respects, [he] the applicant is entitled to admission. To enable
 18 the committee to make such investigation, the justices of the appellate
 19 division are a