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27 J. Legal Education 127 (1975-1976)
Course Selection, Student Characteristics and Bar Examination Performance: The Indiana University Law School Experience

handle is hein.journals/jled27 and id is 135 raw text is: JOURNAL OF LEGAL EDUCATION Volume 27 Number 2 COURSE SELECTION, STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS AND BAR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE: THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL EXPERIENCE PHILLIPS CUTRIGHT *, KAREN CUTRIGHT **, and DOUGLASS G. BOSHKOFF *** INTRODUCTION: RATIONALE FOR RULE 13 Failure rates of 20% and 25% respectively on the March and July 1973 Indiana bar examinations, figures that were considered quite high compared to past Indiana experience by both law students and lawyers, prompted considerable discussion of bar examination success rates and the validity of such testing. In May 1973, Norman F. Arterburn, at that time Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, first voiced a concern shared by a number of lawyers 1 that the higher than anticipated failure rate was attributable to inappropriate course selection. We find that some law schools and we are not directing our re- marks to those alone in Indiana, do not require for graduation cer- tain basic subjects such as Evidence, Contracts or Constitutional Law to mention but a few. With such lack of direction and control over the course of study, students tend to take fringe courses re- lated so sociology and philosophy of the law which may be desir- able, but should not displace the fundamentals of the law. I close this subject with a statement that this Court through the Board of * Professor of Sociology, Indiana University. ** Assistant Dean, Indiana University School of Law. *** Dean, Indiana University School of Law. We wish to acknowledge the valuable research assistance of William R. Kelly, Ph.D. candidate in Sociology, Indiana University. 1 The recent high ratio of failures among law graduates taking the Indiana bar examination has created real concern among the lawyers of the State of Indiana. Why, they ask, when law school admission has become restricted to the persons with top scholastic ability, when law schools are striving for greater excellence in their graduates and when they are examined by 10 highly competent and dedicated members of our Bar, should there be this high ratio of failure? Many loyal members of our association have orally and in writing been asking these questions of your officers. As you might well guess many also have opinions as to the cause for the problems. But, as would be expected of lawyers, there are divergent views as to the cause or causes and as usual there it utter lack of unanimity. Gordon, A Discussion of Bar Admissions, 18 Res Gestae 5 (February 1974). 27 Journal of Legal Ed. No. 2 127

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