Admissions Committee

  • Heather L. Anderson, Chair

  • Ron Haven

  • Dana Bobroff

  • Tamsen Holm

  • Howard Brown

  • Emery McCabe

  • Marcelino Gomez

  • Michael Barthelemy

Scope of Admissions Committee work, from the NNBA Bylaws

IV.    BAR ADMISSIONS

  1. The Admissions Committee shall administer a Bar Examination to qualified applicants twice yearly, in March and August, at such times and places as the Committee may designate. Announcement of the date and place of any Examination shall be made, throughout the Navajo Nation, no less than sixty (60) days prior to the date set.

  2. Any person desiring to take the Bar Examination shall submit a complete application and a non-refundable application fee in the amount of $100.00, no less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the Bar Examination.

  3. Applicants shall be informed of their eligibility to take the Examination no less than twenty (20) days prior to the date of the Examination. A determination of ineligibility to take the Examination may be appealed to the Admissions Committee.

  4. The Bar Examination shall be a written test emphasizing Navajo Common Law, the Navajo Nation Code and Navajo Nation Supreme Court decisions, including the skills required to practice in the Courts of the Navajo Nation. It shall consist of questions, either short answers or essays or a combination of both, covering aspects of the following subjects:

  • Torts

  • Contracts

  • Domestic Relations (9 N.N.C.)

  • Criminal Law

  • Federal Indian Law

  • Indian Child Welfare Act

  • Navajo Nation Children's Code (9 N.N.C. ? 1001, et seq.)

  • District Court Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure

  • Business Associations, Including Corporations and Partnerships

  • Model Rules of Professional Conduct

  • Navajo Nation Jurisdiction

  • Navajo Uniform Commercial Code (5A N.N.C.)

  • Navajo Nation Government (2 N.N.C.)

  • Navajo Rules of Evidence

  • Indian Civil Rights Act

  • Navajo Property Law-Personal/Real Property

  • Navajo Employment and Business Preference Laws

  • Navajo Nation Bill of Rights

  • Decedents' Estates (8 N.N.C.) and Rules of Probate Procedure

  • Treaty of 1868

  • Administrative Law

  • Navajo Rules of Civil and Criminal Appellate Procedure

  • Navajo Sovereign Immunity Act (1 N.N.C. ? 551 et seq.)

  • Navajo Peacemaking

  1. A passing score for the bar examination shall be seventy percent (70%) of all possible points for that examination.

  2. Results of the Examination shall be certified to the Board by the Committee no more than thirty (30) days after the Examination.

Within ten (10) days after certification of the results of the Examination by the Committee, the Board, through the President or Vice-President of the Association, shall notify the Supreme Court of the identity of persons passing the Examination and shall petition the Supreme Court for the admission of all eligible applicants.

  1. The Committee shall notify all applicants of their score at the same time the Committee notifies the Board.

  2. Any person who does not receive a passing score on the Examination shall have the right to review the Examination; his or her Examination answers; the model answers; and the score sheet for his or her Examination.

  3. Within fifteen (15) days after the date of notification of the results of the Examination, any person who did not pass the Examination and who wishes to contest the Committee's determination shall file a Petition with the Admissions Committee setting forth in specific detail and with appropriate citation to authority the claimed errors of the Committee, and how the errors, if corrected, would result in the person receiving a passing score.

  1. Within three (3) working days of the filing of the Petition, the Chairperson of the Committee shall designate two (2) members of the Association to review the Petition.

  2. Within fifteen (15) days of such designation, the designated members of the Association shall review the Petition and report back to the Committee with their recommendations.

  3. Within ten (10) days of receipt of the Report of the Association members concerning the Petition, the Committee, either at a regular or special meeting shall consider the Petition and Report and take action thereon, notifying the applicant of the Committee?s decision within five (5) days.

  4. Any person whose Petition is not acted on favorably by the Committee may appeal, by Petition, the Committee?s determination to the Supreme Court within fifteen (15) days after the date of notification of the Committee's decision. A copy of the petition shall be served on the Association and the Association shall have five (5) days thereafter to submit the entire record to the Supreme Court. The Association shall have fifteen (15) days after service of the Petition to file a response with the Supreme Court. Further pleading will only be permitted by leave of the Court.

  5. Within ten (10) days after granting the relief sought by any person petitioning the Committee for review of the results of the Examination, the Board, through the President or Vice-President of the Association shall notify the Supreme Court of the identity of persons passing the Examination and shall petition the Supreme Court for the admission of all eligible applicants.
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