Multiple Bar Exams Taking Away Computers

The crackdown begins...

The new MacBook Pro (via Apple).

The new MacBook Pro (via Apple).

Do you use a MacBook Pro? There’s a high likelihood that you do, because you’re a discriminating law student of good taste. Or, put another way, an insufferable hipster who defines “edgy” as boycotting products that don’t use fair-trade corn. Either way — the Appleverse is large and contains multitudes.

Well, if you have the latest version with the nifty Touch Bar, you’re going to have to make other arrangements when it comes to the bar exam in a number of jurisdictions (and you might want to start making contingencies in other states as well… can’t be too sure this won’t spread).

At the heart of the crackdown is the Touch Bar’s predictive text feature. Just like on the company’s iPhones, the Touch Bar can help autocomplete words based on context. On the phone, the thing is more trouble than it’s worth, constantly disrupting the flow of the simplest sentences, but maybe it can figure out by context that you mean to finish that sentence with replevin or something. It’s probably a tempest in a teapot, but a gaggle of bar exams aren’t taking any chances, citing a risk to “exam integrity.”

I wonder how much money Michael Dell contributes to state officials around the country? Food for thought.

Engadget reports that users in North Carolina will just have their Touch Bar disabled, but takers in New York and Colorado face stiffer restrictions:

In other states, however, the new model of MacBook Pro is banned outright. According to notices from the New York State Board of Law Examiners and the Colorado Supreme Court, users who show up with a Touch Bar-equipped model in those states will have to write their answers by hand, but they will be allowed to re-download the ExamSoft software to another machine for free if they do it in advance.

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Other states with outright bans include California, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. And, again, more could follow.

Hang in there, everybody. Just remember that the right button is just a two-finger click for the unwashed masses and you’ll be fine.


HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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