Former Top Arkansas Official Arrested for Allegedly Tampering With Bar Exam Scores
Arkansas Official Arrested Allegedly Tampered With Bar Exam Scores
Published
A former top Arkansas official found herself on the wrong side of the law after she was arrested on 65 felonies for allegedly changing bar exam scores over a 5-year period, according to a new report.
KATV in Little Rock reports that Nancie Givens was charged with 65 counts of tampering with a public record. Givens was the former executive director of the Arkansas Office of Professional Programs, which is in charge of protecting the accuracy of bar exam records.
Arkansas State Police launched a probe into the matter years ago and found a boatload of irregularities in bar exams given to aspiring lawyers between July 2020 and July 2025.
Investigators learned that Givens allegedly altered or deleted about 11,400 electronic files pertaining to Arkansas Bar applicant records, profiles, and score sheets that the Office of Professional Programs is required by law to retain for 25 years.
Why did she allegedly do it? Nobody knows except Givens, who hasn't said a word about it yet.
Givens resigned from her position in February after investigators discovered the alleged irregularities in January. The allegations against Givens raise questions as to the integrity of the bar exams administered during that 5-year period.
Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones wouldn't say how many bar exams were affected, whether any applicants were impacted, or if Givens' alleged crimes changed the outcome of bar admissions.
