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March 2, 2006 - Click here to listen to the February 2, 2006 oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, regarding StateBarWatch founder Frank Lawrence's lawsuit against the corrupt State Bar of Michigan.  We would like to thank Hugh Davis of Constitutional Litigation Associates, P.C. for his help with this case.  We had a tough panel and Mr. Davis stood his ground.  

This is an important case that has the potential to curtail the State Bar of Michigan's practice of targeting certain applicants for illegitimate reasons.  This case involves whether the State Bar of Michigan Character & Fitness investigators are entitled to absolute immunity from suit, and whether Bar applicants can assert procedural due process claims when a constitutional deprivation occurs.  

You can click here to see the oral argument schedule for the United States Court of Appeals (Lawrence v. Van Aken, No. 05-1082). 

It appears that all of the cases that were heard and submitted on February 2, 2006 have already been decided by the Court.  We hope to have a decision in this case soon.   Click here to read about what happened in this case at the district court level.

Here are some special documents relevant to the case:

Click here to see the State Bar of Michigan’s false statement to the lower court that "there is no evidence" that applicants have been denied admission for engaging in protected First Amendment activities. Click here to see how the State Bar of Michigan was forced to correct its false statement and admit that it uses protected First Amendment activities as a basis for character rejection.
Click here to see a brief filed by the State Bar of Michigan (in the Dean/Byerley case) stating that picketing the State Bar Building is grounds for denial of a license to practice law. Click here to see a troubling internal memo from the Michigan Board of Law Examiners, discussing how applicants for a license to practice law have been denied simply because the applicants were not liked.


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