State Government

California plan to move bar exam to Kaplan sent back to state supreme court

California’s Committee of Bar Examiners approved launching a propriety bar exam to be created by Kaplan Exam Services for the February administration and will submit updated petitions for the California Supreme Court to reconsider.

Oct 1, 2024 1:48 PM CDT

Lucy Lang, NY inspector general, has always wanted rules evenly applied

New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang thinks her decision to pursue a legal career has something to do with being interested in rules and how they were applied. “As the bossy older sister, I had this desire for an even application of the rules among all the kids,” says Lang.

Oct 1, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

Judge reassigned after he orders defendant to wear condom and jokes ‘probation’s gonna check’

A Florida judge has been reassigned to civil court after he told a defendant to always wear a condom and repeated gay double entendres from a 1990s comedy show in a different case.

Sep 30, 2024 3:51 PM CDT

Judge’s tactics of ‘overzealous collection’ lead to unpaid suspension

The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended an Ohio judge who deemed it to be impractical to comply with a law setting procedural safeguards for jailing people for failure to pay fines.

Sep 25, 2024 2:47 PM CDT

California law deans have ‘grave concerns’ about new bar exam plans

Fifteen deans from ABA-accredited law schools have signed a letter to the California Supreme Court stating that they have “grave concerns” about Kaplan Exam Services’ ability to develop a multiple-choice bar exam “in a responsible manner” in time for the February 2025 administration of the newfangled exam.

Sep 20, 2024 12:54 PM CDT

California Supreme Court denies plan for new bar exam

The California Supreme Court has put the brakes on the State Bar of California’s plan to launch a proprietary bar exam created by Kaplan Exam Services. The bar’s petition to allow Kaplan to create a 200-question multiple choice exam for the February 2025 administration was denied without prejudice just two weeks before registration opens, according to the bar’s website.

Sep 19, 2024 4:19 PM CDT

Lawyer must face ethics charge alleging he tried to hire Israeli hackers to access judge’s emails

A California bar court judge has rejected a lawyer’s bid to dismiss an ethics charge alleging that he plotted to hire Israeli hackers to hack in to the email and phone accounts of a judge and a lawyer.

Sep 19, 2024 11:52 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer is sentenced for alleged forgery that facilitated deed thefts

A disbarred attorney accused of impersonating a practicing lawyer to forge legal documents in a deed theft scheme was sentenced last week to 18 months to three years in prison for her actions.

Sep 17, 2024 9:12 AM CDT

District attorney ‘paid little attention to the five-alarm fire’ in high-profile case and should be disbarred, panel says

A Colorado district attorney should be disbarred mostly for her "absence at the helm" in a high-profile murder case in which prosecutors failed to turn over sufficient expert witness information to the defense, leading to the exclusion of experts, according to a Colorado disciplinary hearing board.

Sep 16, 2024 11:07 AM CDT

Nonlawyer entities could provide legal services in Washington in proposed pilot program

Nonlawyer-owned entities would be allowed to deliver legal services in Washington under a pilot program proposed by the Washington State Bar Association and a board created by the Washington Supreme Court.

Sep 11, 2024 2:36 PM CDT

42 state AGs endorse federal plan to add warning labels on social media

A coalition of over 40 state attorneys general urged Congress on Tuesday to place labels on social media platforms warning of their potential risks to children, rallying substantial bipartisan support behind a proposal championed by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy.

Sep 10, 2024 1:50 PM CDT

Lawyer chooses lethal injection for inmate who didn’t want to make decision

A South Carolina lawyer has picked lethal injection as the execution method for a client who didn’t want to make the decision because of religious qualms.

Sep 10, 2024 8:50 AM CDT

State rep displays middle finger during online court hearing, leading to show-cause orders

A Florida state representative who appeared to be displaying his middle finger and making other gestures during an online court appearance is facing an Oct. 1 contempt hearing.

Sep 5, 2024 3:20 PM CDT

Kids create video, write law journal article about Texas Supreme Court

Two siblings whose mother is an appellate lawyer decided to make a video in which they interviewed Texas Supreme Court justices about their daily lives, their work and how they reach decisions in the cases that come before them.

Sep 5, 2024 2:17 PM CDT

GOP states sue to end Biden’s student loan forgiveness rule

Seven Republican-led states sued on Tuesday to block President Joe Biden’s new policy to reduce or eliminate the student loan balances of millions of borrowers, claiming the Education Department is illegally preparing to start debt cancellation before the rule is finalized.

Sep 5, 2024 12:00 PM CDT