LITTLE ROCK, US — A former Arkansas Supreme Court administrator faces 65 felony counts over alleged changes to Arkansas bar exam scores. Six justices said the changes pushed some candidates to the passing threshold or higher and may have left at least one candidate with a failing score when they should have passed.
State prosecutors filed the charges Nov. 5 against Nancie Givens, who led the court’s Office of Professional Programs until she resigned in February. The counts of tampering with a public record concern the alleged score changes and the deletion of files that prosecutors say may have been intended to conceal them. Givens pleaded not guilty, Reuters reported, citing court records.
An internal review found score discrepancies across at least eight Arkansas bar exam sessions between July 2020 and July 2025. The vast majority of candidates who were told they passed had earned passing scores, six Arkansas Supreme Court justices said in a Nov. 5 joint statement. The justices did not say how many candidates were affected.
How Arkansas bar exam scores allegedly changed
The justices said the review found evidence that Givens took points from some candidates and added them to the scores of others who sat for the same exam. Arkansas sets a passing score of 270 on the Uniform Bar Examination, which is used in multiple jurisdictions across the United States. The alleged changes brought some candidates to or above that threshold.
The justices also said a score reduction caused another candidate to be named the top scorer in at least one exam session.
Givens had led the Office of Professional Programs since 2013, according to an Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct order. Her duties included overseeing exam administration, collecting exam results and submitting them to the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Court works to recover missing records
Robert Brech, who took over supervision of the office after Givens resigned, found that about 11,400 files had been deleted or made inaccessible. The justices said changes to office records occurred in early January 2026 and that most of the missing files were exam applications, candidate profiles or score sheets the office was required to keep for 25 years.
The FBI and Arkansas State Police opened a criminal investigation in April. In a separate disciplinary proceeding, the Committee on Professional Conduct temporarily suspended Givens from practicing law in Arkansas on Nov. 5. The justices said the court introduced new testing procedures and security measures with the February 2026 exam.
Court officials are working with state and federal investigators to recover missing records and review every exam session from July 2020 through July 2025. The Office of Professional Conduct will contact affected candidates once it verifies their results, the justices said. The statement gave no timetable for those notices and did not specify what remedies may be available.
