Illinois law professor and dean Vikram Amar recently published a blog post on Above the Law regarding the New York Bar's decision to push back its bar exam, and, he argues, discriminate against of out-of-state law schools. An excerpt from the post follows:
As has been widely reported, the New York Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) last Thursday confirmed that the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) originally scheduled for late July in New York would be administered on September 9 to September 10 instead. No surprise there. What was surprising was the related announcement that BOLE would discriminate in favor of the 15 ABA-approved law schools located in New York state by giving graduates from these schools an exclusive 10-day window (from May 5 to May 15) to apply for September-test seating, before allowing graduates from out-of-state schools to apply for any seats that may (or may not) be available after the in-state schools were served.
I say this is surprising because it is unfair. And unconstitutional. And because one would expect the highest court in New York, which oversees BOLE, to care about such things.
BOLE has a hard job. Because New York is a UBE jurisdiction, and because it may have to administer the September test in a manner that respects social distancing, BOLE may face more demand for test seats than it can accommodate.
But when times are tough, and when there is not enough of something to go around to all who might deserve it, our leaders must set the right tone and the right example. Whether it’s toilet paper or bar-exam seats, hoarding is wrong.
Read the full post at abovethelaw.com.