An Analysis of United States Federal District Court Admission Requirements

Abstract

This Article analyzes the question of whether an attorney who is not a member of the state bar in the state where a federal district court is located can be admitted to the federal district court when they are admitted in good standing to the state bar of another state. The first section of the Article briefly outlines what various federal district courts actually require on the question of whether an attorney is required to be a member of the state court bar where the federal district court is located. The Article then discusses and analyzes the constitutional challenges against the rules of federal district courts which require that an attorney admitted in the court be a member of the state court bar where the federal district court is located. Essentially all of the constitutional challenges to these rules have been unsuccessful thus far. This Article recommends that in examining their local admission rules, federal district courts should reflect and consider the standards they set for qualifications for United States Magistrate Judges. Such reflection inexorably leads to the outcome that attorneys properly admitted and in good standing with the state courts of at least one state should be permitted admission before any federal district court.