Ky. Sup. Ct. Order 2025-06 SCR 2.040

SCR 2.040 shall read:

(1) There is hereby created a Committee on Character and Fitness.

(2) The Committee shall be composed of seven attorneys and two lay

members, appointed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may appoint

additional members upon request of the Committee or at its own discretion.

The Supreme Court shall appoint the Chair of the Committee. The lay members

appointed to the Committee should have training in substance use disorder,

mental health disorders/treatment, financial management, or another area of

value to the assessment of good moral character and fitness to practice law.

(3) The terms of all members shall be three years.

(4) Subject to the approval of the Supreme Court, the Committee shall

have the power to adopt and amend rules and regulations governing the

manner in which it carries out its duties.

(5) The Committee is charged with the responsibility of determining the

age, character and fitness, education, and general qualifications of those

applicants for admission to the Bar of the Commonwealth whose applications

are referred to it by the Clerk of the Supreme Court. The Committee is further

charged with the duty of certifying to the Supreme Court persons who appear

qualified to perform legal services as interns under Rule 2.540.

(6) The Committee, in determining the character and fitness of an

applicant for admission to the Bar of the Commonwealth, and in determining

the character and fitness of a person seeking to perform legal services as an

intern under Rule 2.540, may have such persons investigated by the National

Conference of Bar Examiners or any other reputable investigative agency.

Subject to the approval of the Supreme Court, the Character and Fitness

Committee may compensate any person or agency making such investigation

out of funds held for that purpose.

(7) The Committee shall submit to the Board of Bar Examiners the

names and addresses of all applicants to take the examination who will be

eligible upon approval from the standpoint of character and fitness and upon

submission of the required recommendations of their law school deans. Said

list shall be submitted no later than 30 days after the extended late deadline.

At least ten days prior to each Bar examination the Committee shall certify to

the Secretary of the Board of Bar Examiners the names and addresses of all

applicants who are qualified to take that Bar examination.

(8) From time to time, the Committee shall recommend to the Supreme

Court admission to the Bar without examination of applicants for such

admission who qualify therefor under the provisions of SCR 2.090, 2.110,

2.111, and 2.112.

(9) The Committee shall have the power to issue subpoenas and to assess

costs as it shall determine necessary.

SCR 2.050 Formal hearings

SCR 2.050 shall read:

(1) In the event an area of concern appears, whether on the application

or is discovered during the investigation process, the applicant may be

requested to appear before one or more Committee member(s) for an informal

interview.

(2) Any member of the Committee may refer an applicant to the full

Committee with a recommendation that a formal hearing be conducted. If a

majority of the Committee agrees, a formal hearing will be scheduled for the

applicant. The applicant shall be given written notice of the date, time, and

place of said hearing not less than fourteen days prior to the hearing. The

hearing shall be of record and the applicant may have counsel present and may

present testimony. The costs involved in this hearing shall be included with

costs outlined in SCR 2.011. At the time a formal hearing is requested, the

applicant will be notified in writing that he or she may not sit for the bar

examination unless a final decision is submitted by the Committee prior to the

examination.

(3) A written recommendation will be submitted by the Committee to the

Supreme Court either recommending the applicant be certified from a

character and fitness standpoint to sit for the bar examination or that the

applicant be denied certification of character and fitness at that time. The

applicant shall be supplied a copy of the recommendation. If said

recommendation results in denial of the applicant's certification to sit for the

bar examination, the applicant has the right to appeal such decision, as noted

in SCR 2.060.

SCR 2.060 Committee’s decision as to eligibility

SCR 2.060 shall read:

The decision of the Character and Fitness Committee as to the eligibility

of an applicant for admission to the Bar of this Commonwealth shall be final

unless, on motion by the applicant filed within 30 days after notice of an

adverse decision has been mailed to applicant's last known address, the

Supreme Court upon review of the record overrules such decision.

SCR 2.080 Bar examinations

SCR 2.080 shall read:

(1) The Board of Bar Examiners shall examine such applicants as are

certified to it as provided in SCR 2.040. The examination shall cover a period of

two days and may cover the subjects and skills tested on the Uniform Bar

Examination (UBE), as published on the website of the National Conference of

Bar Examiners at www.ncbex.org.

(2) Beginning with the February 2021 Bar examination, the Board shall

administer the UBE prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and

consisting of a written portion composed of the Multistate Essay Examinations

(MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Bar

Examination (MBE).

(3) The Board of Bar Examiners shall, thirty (30) days before each

examination, report to the Supreme Court information regarding the

examination, including, but not limited to, its location, number of applicants,

special accommodations, and any other relevant information as determined by

the Board.

(4) To pass the bar examination in Kentucky, an applicant must achieve

a UBE total score equal to or greater than 266. In calculating UBE total scores,

the MEE is weighted 30%, the MPT is weighted 20%, and the MBE is weighted

50%. The National Conference of Bar Examiners will score the MBE, calculate

scaled scores on the written portion by the methodology used for all UBE

jurisdictions, and combine the scaled scores from the written portion and the

MBE to produce UBE total scores. Applicants must sit for all portions of the

bar examination in the same administration in order to qualify for admission in

Kentucky and earn a portable UBE score that may be transferred to other UBE

jurisdictions. Applicants who fail to earn the score required by the Board in five

or fewer attempts on the Kentucky Bar Examination, including attempts on the

UBE taken in Kentucky or any other jurisdiction in February 2021 or after,

shall not be permitted to sit for the Kentucky Bar Examination.

(5) For any applicant who completes the examination in written form, the

papers containing the questions and answers given by the applicants to the

written portion of the examination will be preserved by the Secretary of the

Board for a period of one year from the time that the application for admission

has been passed upon by the Supreme Court, and longer if so ordered by the

Court.

(6) Upon recommendation of the Board, the Supreme Court may appoint

qualified members of the bar, to be known as Bar Examination Graders, to

assist the Board in the grading of examination papers. Persons so appointed

shall hold those positions for terms of one year and until the appointment of

their successors.

SCR 2.082 Nonstandard test accommodations

SCR 2.082 shall read:

(1) The bar examination shall be administered by the Board of Bar

Examiners to all eligible applicants in a manner that is fair and equitable.

(2) An applicant with a disability, who is eligible to take the bar

examination, may file an application for reasonable nonstandard test

accommodations. For the purpose of this rule, disability shall be defined as a

physical or mental impairment that: (a) substantially limits one or more major

life activities; (b) substantially limits the ability of an applicant to demonstrate,

under standard test conditions, the skills, abilities, and knowledge tested on

the Kentucky Bar Examination; (c) this applicant has a record of having; or (d)

this applicant is regarded as having.

(3) An Application for Nonstandard Test Accommodations shall be

submitted on a form approved by the Board. The application forms may be

obtained from the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions.

(4) Individuals requesting nonstandard test accommodations shall

submit a complete Application for Nonstandard Test Accommodations,

including all required supporting documentation by the filing deadlines

prescribed in SCR 2.022(1).

(5) The Board shall make reasonable modification in the manner in

which the examination is administered to an applicant with a disability whose

application for nonstandard test accommodations has been approved by the

Board, while maintaining the security and integrity of the examination.

(6) An emergency request for nonstandard accommodations may be filed

after the prescribed deadlines stated above if the applicant did not have the

disability at the time of filing the application to take the bar examination. Due

to processing complexities, an emergency request may not be granted if: a) time

constraints preclude the applicant from being able to provide necessary

justification for the accommodations sought; or b) there is insufficient time for

the bar examining authority to properly evaluate the applicant's request or

make the necessary arrangements for the nonstandard test accommodations.