Local Rule Rule 83C: District Bar Examination
D.P.R. — Attorney rule
RULE 83C DISTRICT BAR EXAMINATION
(a) District Examination Committee.
The chief judge or his or her designee, together with up to nine (9) members in good standing of the bar of this court appointed by the active district judges of this court, shall develop a testing format and administer a District Bar Examination. The members shall be appointed for staggered terms of three (3) years, except that initial appointments shall be for one, two and three years, so that the term of three members shall expire each year and membership shall rotate with continuity. Upon expiration, an appointment may be renewed or filled by the court, as appropriate, provided that the same member does not serve continuously for more than two (2) regular terms. The court shall designate one member to chair the Committee. Five members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.
(b) Exam Format.
The examination shall test candidates' knowledge of eight (8) separate subject areas: Federal Civil Procedure, Federal Evidence, Federal Jurisdiction and Venue, Federal Criminal Procedure, Federal Appellate Procedure, Bankruptcy, Local Rules, and Ethics. The examination shall include a mandatory essay question to verify candidates' certification of the ability to read, write, and understand the English language. The examination shall be administered twice each year.
(c) Application.
Applicants to take the district bar examination shall file an application available at the clerk's office or on the court's website, www.prd.uscourts.gov, or transmit it online within the deadline for the prescribed application period. The application form must be accompanied, or supplemented, within that period, with payment of the prescribed non-refundable examination fee (payable in cash, or by check or money order made to "Clerk, U.S. District Court"), and evidence of admission to the bar of any United States court or of the highest court of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States.