By Matt Leung:
The Arizona Supreme Court recently advanced a proposal that would allow someone without a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree to practice criminal law in the state. While some states already allow non-lawyers to work in specific areas under a limited legal license, Arizona would be the first and only state to extend this into criminal law.
The Problem: Arizona, a Legal Desert
According to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 2024 National Lawyer Population Survey, Arizona has 2.14 lawyers per 1,000 residents, one of the lowest per capita figures in the country and significantly lower than the national average of 3.81 lawyers per 1,000. This relative shortage has led to the ABA describing Arizona as a “legal desert,” and it strains access to justice, especially in rural areas. In recent years, Arizona has tried to address this in several ways, including with the launch of the Arizona Lawyer Apprentice Program (ALAP) and the Government Law Admission Program (GLAP). These two alternate, non-traditional pathways to practicing law in Arizona are designed to attract attorneys to rural and public sector jobs.
The Proposal: Limited License for Criminal Law
This new proposal, colloquially called the Master of Legal Studies (MLS) Criminal Law Program, seeks to expand access to legal services even further by creating a new type of limited legal license that would permit a person to practice criminal law, aside from death penalty cases. But, while the ALAP and GLAP both require applicants to have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school, this new license would have a significantly lower educational threshold. People seeking to practice criminal law under this license would be required to complete a one-year MLS degree with a B-average or better, pass a licensing exam, and practice under the supervision of a licensed attorney for at least nine months before taking on their own cases.
The Upside: Broader Access to Justice
One of the most significant barriers to prospective attorneys is the rapidly increasing cost of law school. According to LawHub, the average public law school tuition for a resident was $31,542 in 2024, more than a five-time increase from the cost of tuition in 1985 after adjusting for inflation. As living expenses, student loans, and other spending categories get factored in, the total cost of law school can approach, or even exceed, $200,000 for three years. Conversely, the MLS Criminal Law Program’s tuition is anticipated to be $31,200 over one year. Lowering the time commitment, academic requirements, and overall cost make this option more accessible and attractive to a greater number of prospective law practitioners. The hope is that, in turn, legal services in criminal law will likewise become more accessible.
Critics of the program point to the reduced coursework requirements compared to a traditional law degree as an area of concern. However, Dave Byers, the Director of the Administrative Office of the Arizona Courts, argues that graduates of this program will be no less equipped for their job. Byers noted that these graduates’ coursework will be much more narrowly focused, leading them to “graduate with more academic training than the typical J.D.” in criminal law.
The Pushback: Lowering the Bar
Although the shortage of legal services in Arizona is widely recognized, not everyone agrees that the proposed MLS Criminal Law Program is the right solution. Dean Brault, Director of Public Defense services for Pima County, calls the plan “absurd,” saying, “[It] is literally lowering the bar to say that when a person’s life or liberty is at stake, up to and including the rest of their lives, that suddenly we only require one year worth of schooling.” Pinal County attorney Brad Miller similarly expressed doubts that the limited education and training requirements would sufficiently prepare someone to take on a criminal case. “You have to have some type of understanding of how [different areas of law] fit together,” he said. “[A] one-year program for undergrads just wouldn’t do.”
Brault also argues that the reduced cost of the program could have unwanted and unintended consequences down the road. He warns of a supply-and-demand market correction, saying, “if it only takes a year’s worth of education to become a prosecutor or a defense attorney, all that that’s going to do is lower the wages of people that are practicing as criminal lawyers.”
The Tension: Availability Versus Quality
Ultimately, the question is whether creating a new tier of criminal law practitioners in Arizona is worth lowering the academic and training prerequisites. Proponents of the MLS Criminal Law Program point to the serious need for lawyers in the state and argue that graduates of the program will be taking all the relevant courses they need. Opponents of the plan are concerned that lowering the traditional standards will lead to negative outcomes, causing financial and reputational harm to everyone practicing as criminal lawyers and resulting in an overall net negative.
Through initiatives such as the ALAP and GLAP, Arizona Courts have proven to be willing to seek out and implement solutions to the deficit of lawyers in the state. The MLS Criminal Law Program could be the next alternative pathway to legal practice to expand the availability of legal services in Arizona. There is currently no timeline to formally present the program to the Arizona Supreme Court. Both supporters and critics will have an opportunity to make arguments and provide feedback in hopes of finding the sweet spot of access and competency.
I am a 2L originally from Irvine, CA. Prior to coming to law school, I spent over a decade in the corporate world with supply chain and marketing roles in the aerospace and medical device industries. In my spare time, I enjoy watching movies, going to baseball games, and doing the New York Times Crossword.