It’s been less than a week since oral argument in In re Garcia, the case raising the issue whether an undocumented immigrant who has passed the bar exam can practice law, but the Legislature might soon act to change the calculus, as reported in today’s Daily Journal [subscription required].
At the argument, the justices seemed uniformly skeptical that current federal and state law allows the Supreme Court to grant a law license to an undocumented immigrant. However, under questioning, the United States’ attorney seemed to agree that an amendment of California’s statutory law could permit the issuance of the license. Newly revamped AB 1024 proposes that amendment. The revised bill’s author is quoted in the Daily Journal as saying that she and 22 co-authors are trying to “rush[ ] this through” (the legislative session ends this week) because of the tenor of the oral argument.
