Law Schools

Bar Exam Tells Woman To Stop Worrying About Petty Concerns Like 'Health' And Study More

Nothing promotes an atmosphere of respect like the 'sit down and shut up' pitch.

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As law school graduates plead for a licensing policy that respects basic public health concerns and some respect for the physical and psychological risks of asking students to expose themselves and by extension their loved ones to a serious and sometimes deadly disease, anyone wondering if the remaining recalcitrant bar examiners are acting upon anything but bad faith and utter contempt for the applicants, well, you’re wrong. Really, we didn’t need much more proof than reports of veiled threats of retaliation against critics in the character and fitness process, but every day brings us fresh reminders of how little the bar examination process has to do with “public protection” and how much it has to do with running an awkward Perry Mason convention.

Some bar exams have even outsourced their lack of respect for applicants. John N. Fountain of Young Moore represents the North Carolina bar exam, which plans to go off later this month despite a massive surge in infections in the state. But the exam has a waiver and isolation rooms for people actively dying during the exam so… it’s all cool. Last week, Fountain wrote a letter to a young mother and cancer survivor trying to deal with the bar exam during a global pandemic and after affirming that the examiners would grant a prior accommodation she’d requested, he decided to add some life advice in lieu of responding to her other concerns:

Should you find that your concerns as to your health and safety or that of others has become such a distraction that you cannot be prepared and at your best for the examination on July 28 and 29, 2020, then you may make the personal decision that you will not undertake the Bar Exam in 2020.

At this time, there are fewer than 30 days remaining before the administration of the Bar Exam. I urge you to spend the time wisely in preparation for the examination. It is important that you minimize distractions and focus on the upcoming examination as are the other candidates.

While this tracks the infamous, “I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further,” it’s an unfair comparison because Darth Vader said those words with far less dismissive condescension. The message is straightforward: the North Carolina bar examiners have what they think is an enforceable waiver so they’re sick and tired of having to worry about this superspreader event. And while Fountain may well have written these completely unnecessary words to any inquiry, the “quiet little girl, the men have made a decision” subtext is impossible not take away from this.

Your most recent email raises a number of questions as to future decisions or the rationale for past decisions by the Board. This is not the occasion for a policy debate. We wish you success in your future endeavors.

Yes, actually it is! Less than 30 days before contributing to one of the worst outbreaks of a deadly virus is absolutely the occasion for a policy debate! But of course the issue isn’t that the timing is off, it’s that the NC Bar doesn’t want to have a policy debate at all. It didn’t want to have one in March when states first started wondering if July bar exams would be a problem. It didn’t want to have one in April or May when the state was furiously patting itself on the back and planning reopening. And in June, when the risk of serious illness and even death became palpable, the bar examiners eschewed a policy debate and threw together some signs claiming the examiners were shielded from a lawsuit and called it good. If the time for a policy debate about this isn’t now when the f**k is it?

And the answer is “never.” Because the whole point is that the bar examiners in North Carolina don’t believe they should ever be forced to answer for their serial policy failures. Certainly not by mere applicants — you know, the people they theoretically trust with the future of the profession.

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Earlier: North Carolina Also Demands Waiver In Case It Kills Anyone With Bar Exam
Concerned About COVID At July Bar Exam, Virginia Cancels Requirement That Applicants Wear Ties
Law School Implies Diploma Privilege Advocates Could Get Dinged On Character & Fitness

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior 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. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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