[blindlaw] Court Rules that National Conference of BarExaminers Must Provide Individualized Testing Accommodationsto Blind Law School Graduate

[RJ Sandefur]

Where Can I go, to read the rulling? RJ
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Fry" <mikefry79 at gmail.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Court Rules that National Conference of BarExaminers 
Must Provide Individualized Testing Accommodationsto Blind Law School 
Graduate


> 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.
>>
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