Louisiana backs out of in-person and remote July bar exams, and New Jersey cancels as well
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Instead of following a May plan to shorten the Louisiana bar exam from three days to one, and offer it in person and online, the state announced Wednesday that both July tests will be canceled.
Public health and test security were the reasons given in a Louisiana Supreme Court press release. The Times-Picayune reported Tuesday that COVID-19 hospitalizations have gone up 130%, compared to one month ago.
“The Supreme Court will meet soon to determine the next steps regarding the bar examination and will advise everyone as soon as possible. To protect the integrity of the examination, both the remote and in-person administrations of the July 27 examination will not be administered,” the press release states.
According to a May press release, the court was also planning to offer a one-day exam in October. The July press release does not address the October exam.
The New Jersey Supreme Court also published an order Wednesday canceling its next in-person exam, scheduled for September, and will instead go with with the National Conference of Bar Examiner’s online exam, scheduled for October. This follows an April order that pushed back the July bar exam.
The number of new COVID-19 cases in New Jersey has remained stable in recent weeks, NJ.com reports, but the New Jersey Supreme Court order notes that many bar applicants are from out of state.
“Under the circumstances, and guided by the science, the supreme court has concluded it is simply unsafe to gather 2,000 applicants, even across multiple coordinated locations, for an in-person bar examination,” the order states.
The American Bar Association’s Law Student Division is compiling a list of bar exam information by state, which can be seen here.
