Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination

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The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a two-hour multiple-choice examination designed to measure the knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct. It is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

As of the March 2006 administration, the test consists of 60 questions. Only 50 are scored; the other 10 (randomly scattered throughout the exam) will be used for experimental purposes. An additional 10 survey questions at the end of the exam are used to evaluate the conditions of the testing center. The raw score is converted to a "scaled score" based on the measured difficulty of the version of the test taken; the scaled score is used to determine passing scores. Scaled scores range between 50 and 150, with a median very close to 100.

Of the 56 jurisdictions in the United States (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Republic of Palau), 52 require a minimum passing score on the MPRE for bar admission. The passing score varies between jurisdictions. The lowest score accepted by any jurisdiction is 75 (several); the highest required by any state is 86 (currently Utah; California will raise its required score to 86 effective January 1, 2008). The next highest required score is 85, currently required by 15 states (among them Arizona, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia). Only Maryland, Puerto Rico, Washington, and Wisconsin do not use the MPRE; these jurisdictions incorporate their own ethics rules in their bar examinations. Wisconsin is also unique in that graduates of law schools within that state need not take the bar examination in order to be admitted in that state (see diploma privilege). California uses the MPRE even though it is the only jurisdiction that has not adopted either of the two sets of professional responsibility rules proposed by the American Bar Association — and California rules differ from the ABA rules in many ways. Connecticut and New Jersey waive the MPRE requirement for bar candidates who have earned a grade of "C" or better in a law school course in professional ethics.

Some states have unique requirements regarding the timing of the MPRE in relation to the bar exam. Four states—Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Nebraska—currently require that all candidates for the bar exam achieve a passing MPRE score before sitting for the exam. Iowa requires the passing score to be on file several months before the exam, with a petition process for candidates who pass the March MPRE and the July bar exam in the same year. Illinois only recognizes scores from the two MPRE administrations immediately prior to its bar exam, which effectively means that a student who wishes to be admitted in Illinois should not take the MPRE more than nine months before graduation. Many other states have a "window" either preceding or surrounding the bar exam outside of which MPRE scores are not recognized. Disclaimer: These examples should not be considered authoritative. Readers who are planning to take a bar exam should examine the rules of that jurisdiction.

The test is based on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct, as well as controlling constitutional decisions and generally accepted principles established in leading federal and state cases and in procedural and evidentiary rules (courtesy American Bar Association website and National Conference of Bar Examiners MPRE website).

The MPRE differs from the remainder of the bar examination in two crucial ways:

In almost all states, a J.D. is required to sit for the bar exam. The MPRE can be, and almost always is, taken before graduation from law school.
MPRE scores from any jurisdiction in the United States are automatically recognized by all other jurisdictions (assuming that any special timing requirements are met), although in order to be admitted to a bar, an applicant must meet that jurisdiction's minimum passing score. Scores on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), another component of the bar exam in almost all states, do not necessarily transfer between jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions will not accept an MBE score from any other jurisdiction; some others only accept MBE scores from another jurisdiction if the applicant is concurrently taking the bar exam in two jurisdictions; still others require a minimum MBE score for transfer.

[edit] Passing scores by jurisdictions

Alabama	75	Georgia	75	Maryland	NA	New Jersey	75	South Carolina	77	Wyoming	75
Alaska	80	Hawaii	85	Massachusetts	85	New Mexico	75	South Dakota	75	Guam	80
Arizona	85	Idaho	85	Michigan	75	New York	85	Tennessee	75	N. Mariana Islands	75
Arkansas	85	Illinois	80	Minnesota	85	North Carolina	80	Texas	85	Palau	75
California	79	Indiana	80	Mississippi	75	North Dakota	80	Utah	86	Puerto Rico	NA
Colorado	85	Iowa	80	Missouri	78	Ohio	85	Vermont	80	Virgin Islands	75
Connecticut	80	Kansas	80	Montana	80	Oklahoma	75	Virginia	85
Delaware	85	Kentucky	75	Nebraska	85	Oregon	85	Washington	NA
DC	75	Louisiana	80	Nevada	85	Pennsylvania	75	West Virginia	75
Florida	80	Maine	75	New Hampshire	79	Rhode Island	80	Wisconsin	NA