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Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Miscellaneous Docket Sheet
Caption: In re: Alexander Keely
Docket Number: 89 MM 2025
Introduction
This Court’s general authority and King’s Bench jurisdiction empower it to address the constitutionality of issues threatening the integrity of the Commonwealth’s judicial system and matters of immediate public importance.[1] For over a century, Pennsylvania’s bar admissions rules have unjustly perpetuated discriminatory barriers, denied qualified individuals access to the legal profession, and undermined public confidence in a fair and equitable judiciary. These activities occurred while every branch of the Pennsylvania government recognized that racial minorities and lower and middle-income residents have struggled to achieve the American dream without the necessary access to justice support needed to solve their most pressing and life-altering legal challenges.
This petition references this Court’s exclusive jurisdiction over bar admissions rules and argues for removing the unwarranted and discriminatory impediments to the bar by describing how the past adoption of the American Bar Association (“ABA”)-accreditation monopoly in legal education qualifications violates the fundamental rights of Petitioner. Constitutional protections apply to the fundamental right to work, which is incorporated in the liberty and property interests codified by the people in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.[2] Historically legitimate professional licensing restrictions on the fundamental right to work are often and appropriately given only rational basis scrutiny, with much deference given to the states. However, this petition will demonstrate that U.S. Supreme Court precedents in similar constitutional rights cases require this Court to hold that restrictions created outside of historically acceptable limitations on fundamental rights are unconstitutional. This petition proves that the current ABA-accreditation requirement falls entirely outside the bounds of historical and Supreme Court-defined professional licensing limitations on individual qualifications, forcing a monopoly in legal education providers that must not be used to prevent or substantially delay well-qualified applicants’ access to the bar.
In addition to violations of historical professional licensing limitations, this petition demonstrates how Pennsylvania’s adoption of ABA’s racially discriminatory practices has invidiously discriminated against Petitioner and other Blacks and minorities. These actions violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act (“PHRA”) through a combination of discriminatory impact and purpose behind this monopoly in legal education.
Finally, this petition argues that, aside from all other arguments, procedural due process rights require Pennsylvania to conduct individual assessments of educational qualifications before preventing Petitioner’s ability to practice law in the state. Alternatively, Petitioner argues that this Court has already implemented rules that satisfy traditional goals of preventing fraud and harm to the public through existing professional licensing requirements, including the bar examination, professional responsibility tests, and background investigations, which appropriately safeguard competency to practice law and justify removing the education requirement altogether.
Petitioner is compelled to seek extraordinary relief because this Court’s past creation of the ABA-monopoly is an entrenched violation of individual constitutional rights and the public’s right to a fair and accessible bar. While the Court may be hesitant to overhaul these rules, reforming the bar is essential to align with the historical and non-discriminatory professional licensing standards that Petitioner’s and other Pennsylvanians’ constitutional rights demand. By utilizing plenary authority to review and revise these harmful rules, the current Court can remove long-standing discrimination, uphold its constitutional mandate to regulate the bar, restore trust in the judiciary, and provide Pennsylvanians greater access to justice by opening the bar to all qualified applicants.
[1] In re Bruno, 627 Pa. 505, 565, 101 A.3d 635, 671 (2014).
[2] U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV.
Full Petition
See below for the entire petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court: