In re Mahaney

Patrick Mahaney appeals from the Board of Bar Examiners’ decision denying his request to waive the educational requirements for admission to the State Bar of Georgia. The Board refused to waive the rule that an applicant must have received a law degree from a law school approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) or the Board of Bar Examiners. Mahaney contends that the standard applied to educational waivers (“good cause shown by clear and convincing evidence”1) permits unbridled discretion, resulting in an arbitrary and unfair application of the rule to him.

The evidence offered by Mahaney…