Working out the Rule Against Perpetuities
Another state has recognized that the prospect of running an in-person bar exam in 2020 is untenable. On Wednesday, Maryland emailed the applicants for the upcoming bar exam and informed them that they would be moving to an online administration after realizing that they have applicants from 38 states and a couple of foreign countries and they planned to shove all 1,100 applicants into a confined space for two days.
In response to the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maryland State Board of Law Examiners (SBLE) has determined that it cannot safely administer an in-person Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) in September 2020. As such, the SBLE recommended to the Court of Appeals of Maryland that the SBLE be authorized to administer an online, remotely proctored Maryland Bar Exam using questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), as described in NCBE’s June 1, 2020 public announcement. On June 17, 2020, the Court of Appeals of Maryland approved the SBLE’s recommendation and authorized the remote administration of the Maryland Bar Exam.
As we noted yesterday, an online exam in the Fall is only the third best solution to the ongoing COVID crisis, and still leaves graduates waiting months to get started on their legal careers. But Maryland is taking a number of additional steps to alleviate some of the burden.
First of all, they’re issuing refunds for anyone who signed up for the exam expecting to get a portable UBE score. The value proposition of what applicants paid for has changed, so it’s not fair to hold them to it. Secondly, they’re in conversations with DC about accepting the results of their online exam, recognizing that the Maryland bar is a popular cross-licensing opportunity for people planning to work in DC. This is an endeavor that more states moving online should undertake: limited reciprocity agreements to recognize each other’s scores as if they were UBE scores. The NCBE isn’t magic — states can adopt whatever tests from whatever jurisdiction they want if they just have the political will to get it done.
This probably won’t be the last state we see make this move.
Earlier: Law School Graduates Push For Diploma Privilege As A Matter Of Racial Justice