LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Scores for at least 64 Arkansas bar examinees were altered between July 2020 and July 2025, according to a probable cause affidavit cited by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and FOX16. Public records reviewed by NEA Report do not answer how many of those examinees went on to practice law in Arkansas.
Six Arkansas Supreme Court justices said an internal review found discrepancies across at least eight rounds of testing. They said evidence showed that Nancie Givens, the former executive director of the court’s Office of Professional Programs, took points from some examinees and added them to the scores of others who took the same exam. Some scores reached or exceeded the 270 points required to pass. The justices said at least one examinee who earned a passing score may have been recorded as failing.
The justices said the Office of Professional Conduct would notify affected examinees once their results are confirmed. Their statement gave no count of how many examinees received passing results in error or were later admitted to the bar.
NEA Report contacted Robert Brech, executive director of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s Office of Professional Conduct and Programs, to ask how many examinees received passing results in error, how many were admitted to the bar and whether any practiced in Northeast Arkansas. NEA Report also asked whether notifications have begun, whether any affected clients would be notified or have their cases reviewed, and whether the court can release records documenting its findings. Once a response is received, we will update this story
Gregg Parrish, executive director of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, told the Democrat-Gazette that what attorneys knew about the score changes could matter. He said attorneys who believed they had passed acted in good faith. In his view, attorneys who knew their scores had been changed would likely face criminal charges and their work would be void.
Givens, 62, faces 65 felony counts of tampering with a public record. The Little Rock District Court docket shows she surrendered on a warrant and pleaded not guilty Nov. 5. Bond was set at $2,500, and a review hearing is scheduled for Jan. 4. The docket records an order sealing the investigative file.
In a separate Nov. 5 order, a panel of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct suspended Givens from practicing law in Arkansas. The order says federal investigators seized electronic devices containing confidential records from the office she led.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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