[blindlaw] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference ofBarExaminers .
RJ Sandefur
joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com
Fri Feb 12 13:02:13 UTC 2010
That's what I'm wornding as well? RJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cathryn Bonnette" <cathrynisfinally at verizon.net>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2010 7:24 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference
ofBarExaminers .
> If my understanding is correct, the appellate court will only look for
> errors, procedural etc., not revisit the facts. (?)
> Is there a chance other law students face this and could become a class
> action?
>
> Cathryn
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of AZNOR99 at aol.com
> Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 7:32 PM
> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference
> ofBarExaminers .
>
> I believe clerkships such as hers have a time limit, so it's pretty likely
> she won't have a job for long. She's already had to wait over a year for
> the NCBE, meaning her life has been in limbo, her earned income potential
> is
>
> lower than had she taken and passed a Bar Exam, and her future is
> uncertain. And really, if they're so worried about their security, then
> why are
> States providing their essay exams in electronic format? That's saying
> nothing of Government Agency employment exams, the Foreign Service Exam,
> and
> tests such as AP and CLEP. Why can't they incrypt the data like
> government
>
> agencies and corporations do?
>
> Keep fighting, Stephanie! Common sense will succeed in the end.
>
> Ronza
>
>
>
> In a message dated 2/11/2010 7:20:17 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> cdanielsen8 at aol.com writes:
>
> These guys are so gonna lose. How can they argue that waiting for
> appellate
> review will not harm Stephanie? It puts her career on hold. Sure, she has
> a
> job, but her opportunities would be greater financially and otherwise if
> she
> were licensed. I cannot see how they win on the merits.
>
> Chris
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of AZNOR99 at aol.com
> Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:47 AM
> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of
> BarExaminers ...
>
> 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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