[blindlaw] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar Examiners ...

Thu Feb 11 15:47:16 UTC 2010

It's not over yet. See article below from ABA Journal.
_http://ow.ly/16y2Fp_ (http://ow.ly/16y2Fp) 

Blind Student’s Bar Exam Battle Isn’t Over: Test Firm Seeks Emergency 9th  
Cir. Software Ban

A federal judge's ruling last month that Stephanie Enyart must be allowed 
to  use screen-reader software when taking the Multistate Bar Examination 
might not  be the final answer for the blind law graduate. 
In a filing yesterday, the National Conference of  Bar Examiners seeks an 
emergency ruling from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.  Circuit Court of 
Appeals suspending a district court order that Enyart must be  allowed to use 
the software during the California bar exam later this month, the  _San  
Francisco Chronicle_ 
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/10/BA911BV6LN.DTL)  reports. 
The NCBE, which administers the test throughout the country, contends that  
having to wait a few more months for appellate review of the federal 
district  court's decision in Enyart's favor would not pose a hardship to her, the 
 newspaper says. 
Attorney Anna Levine of Disability Rights Advocates represents Enyart. She  
calls the appellate filing "flabbergasting ... irrational and  
mean-spirited." 
The NCBE objects to the software, which magnifies the test text and reads 
the  material into earbuds worn by the user because of security concerns. 
Enyart says  that a human reader, which the NCBE would permit, is less 
efficient at the job  and a potential distraction during the exam. 
Earlier coverage:

In a message dated 2/11/2010 9:03:38 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
JFreeh at nfb.org writes:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chris  Danielsen, National Federation of the Blind, (410) 659-9314, ext.  
2330

Scott LaBarre, LaBarre Law Offices, P.C., (303)  504-5979

Daniel Goldstein, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, (410)  962-1030

Anna Levine, Disability Rights Advocates, (510)  665-8644

Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar  Examiners
to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations

to Blind  Law School Graduate

San Francisco, California (February 5,  2010):  A federal court has 
ruled that the National Conference of Bar  Examiners (NCBE) will cause 
a blind law school graduate irreparable harm  unless it provides her 
the technology-based testing accommodations she  needs to take two 
exams required to become a member of the State Bar of  
California.  The court issued its ruling in an order granting the law  
school graduate's motion for preliminary injunction on Thursday,  
February 4, 2010.  The court's ruling allows the plaintiff, Stephanie  
Enyart, to take the February 2010 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) 
and  March 2010 Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination 
(MPRE) on a  laptop computer equipped with the assistive technology 
software Ms. Enyart  relies upon for screen reading (JAWS) and screen 
magnification  (ZoomText).

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National  Federation of the Blind, 
said: "The National Federation of the Blind is  extremely pleased with 
the ruling in this case.  Law and equity  simply do not permit the 
NCBE to dictate a one-size-fits-all solution for  all bar candidates 
with disabilities.  We hope that this ruling will  cause the NCBE to 
think long and hard before it denies the requested  accommodations of 
applicants to take its examinations."

The  plaintiff, Stephanie Enyart, said: "A little over a year ago I 
sent my  first request for accommodations on the March 2009 MPRE, and 
tonight I can  go to sleep knowing when and how I can effectively take 
the exams to  fulfill my dreams."

Anna Levine of Disability Rights Advocates,  an attorney representing 
the plaintiff, said: "I hope that our hard-fought  victory here will 
send a message to testing organizations that they need  to comply with 
the ADA and provide each individual test taker with a  disability the 
accommodations that he or she needs to demonstrate his or  her actual 
knowledge, skills, and abilities."

The suit was  filed on November 3, 2009, due to the NCBE's refusal, on 
multiple  occasions during the past year, to allow Ms. Enyart to use 
the same  technology on the MBE and MPRE that she has used on 
university and law  school exams and in various jobs and 
internships.  The suit charged  that the NCBE violated the Americans 
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and  California's Unruh Civil Rights Act 
by denying accommodations on the MBE  and the MPRE.

NCBE had argued that it fulfilled its legal  obligations to Ms. Enyart 
by offering alternative accommodations, such as  a human reader, 
notwithstanding evidence that these alternatives did not,  in fact, 
accommodate Ms. Enyart's disability.  In rejecting NCBE's  argument, 
the court's ruling paves the way for other individuals prevented  from 
pursuing their professional dreams by high stakes testing providers  
who take a rigid approach to disability accommodations.

The  plaintiff is represented with the support of the National 
Federation of  the Blind by LaBarre Law Offices, P.C., in Denver, 
Colorado, and by Brown,  Goldstein & Levy, LLP, in Baltimore, 
Maryland.  The plaintiff is  further represented by Disability Rights 
Advocates, a nonprofit law center  that specializes in civil rights 
cases on behalf of persons with  disabilities, based in Berkeley,  
California.

###

About the National  Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the  National Federation of the Blind 
(NFB) is the largest and most influential  membership organization of 
blind people in the United States.  The  NFB improves blind people's 
lives through advocacy, education, research,  technology, and programs 
encouraging independence and  self-confidence.  It is the leading 
force in the blindness field  today and the voice of the nation's 
blind.  In January 2004 the NFB  opened the National Federation of the 
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first  research and training center in 
the United States for the blind led by the  blind.

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