Bar Exams, Screw-Ups

How The Flori-duh Bar Screwed Up Your Exam Results

Another year, another state board of law examiners screw-up.

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Yesterday, Florida released the results of the February 2014 Bar Exam. At least they thought they did. Many people were disappointed when they learned that they failed.

Then, a few hours later, Florida told people to “double-check” their exam results. Some of the people who thought they failed actually passed. Isn’t that a dream of every failed test taker? “Oh, the graders must have made a mistake, I’m sure I passed.”

See, Florida really is a place where dreams come true. It’s the Incompetent Kingdom…

This tipster’s version of events happened to a lot of Florida bar exam takers yesterday:

People that took the Feb. exam are reporting that the the Fla. Bar, today, informed them they failed, then several hours later (after they told their loved ones, bosses, etc.) the Bar contacted them and told them it was a mistake and they passed. I’d like to know what happened, but I can’t point you to any specifics.

We do think we know what happened. A second source explains the mishap, along with another tale of Florida-induced woe:

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In a story almost too stupid to believe… here’s what the incompetent people of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners (or the Florida Supreme Court) did in posting February, 2014 bar exam results today:

My sister, who had taken the Florida bar exam for the second time, texted me this morning disappointed and hearbroken that she had failed it yet again. She did, however, notice something fishy: a lot of results posted.

For two hours she agonized over this awful milestone, facing the challenges of having to study and sit for the Florida bar a third time, and whether she’d made the right choice to be a lawyer. Only to start texting with her other friends who had also failed the July, 2013 bar, and have ALL of them say they had failed this time around as well. Huge disappointments all around. Then, some of them started receiving phone calls notifying them that the results posted were incorrect, and that somehow, incredibly, the results posted were the old results for the July 2013 bar! This led to a lot of panic and confusion, and people calling in to figure out what’s happening (and unable to get through because so many were calling at the same time). Eventually, my sister was able to get through and confirm that, indeed, there had been a mistake, that the mistake was corrected, and that the correct results for the February, 2014 bar were now posted on the website. She checked the results and, thankfully, had passed.

She’s still not sure how to take the news and whether to celebrate yet or wait for her official letter. In any case, I imagine this happened to hundreds of other bar exam takers. Negligent infliction of emotional distress? I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to be them and think you failed again.

How hard is it to get one thing right twice a year? You’re playing with people’s lives and careers!

Additional tipsters confirmed this screw-up from Florida. It’s not just the people who failed in July 2013 who suffered; all the first-time test takers for the February 2014 exam were also not on the initial pass list.

Congratulations to those who passed (eventually). Our condolences for people who failed in July, fake February, and real February. Failing the bar three times over two exams must really suck.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of bar exams

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