[blindlaw] Court Rules that National Conference of Bar Examiners Must Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate

[Michael Fry]

woowhoo!! Great News

On Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 11:02 PM, Danielsen, Chris <CDanielsen at nfb.org>wrote:

>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
> CONTACT:
>
> Chris Danielsen
>
> Director of Public Relations
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>
> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>
> cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
> Court Rules that National Conference of Bar Examiners Must Provide
> Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate
>
>
>
>
> Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Denies NCBE Motion to Stay Preliminary
> Injunction
>
>
>
> San Francisco, California (February 24, 2010): The Ninth Circuit Court of
> Appeals yesterday refused to stay a preliminary injunction requiring the
> National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) to provide a blind law school
> graduate with the technology-based testing accommodations she needs to take
> two exams required to become a member of the State Bar of California.  A
> federal judge had previously granted the preliminary injunction requiring
> the accommodations, but the NCBE appealed the ruling.  The Ninth Circuit'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 court's action puts an end to Stephanie Enyart's year-long ordeal to
> get the accommodations she needs to take this crucial step in her chosen
> career.  As we have said before, those who control admission to the practice
> of law must themselves obey the law."
>
>
>
> 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, fully 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 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.
>
> _______________________________________________
> blindlaw mailing list
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindlaw:
>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mikefry79%40gmail.com
>