Blind Student's Bar Exam Battle Isn't Over: Test Firm Seeks Emergency 9th Cir. Software Ban
A federal judge’s ruling last month that Stephanie Enyart must be allowed to use screen-reader software when taking the Multistate Bar Examination might not be the final answer for the blind law graduate.
In a filing yesterday, the National Conference of Bar Examiners seeks an emergency ruling from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals suspending a district court order that Enyart must be allowed to use the software during the California bar exam later this month, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The NCBE, which administers the test throughout the country, contends that having to wait a few more months for appellate review of the federal district court’s decision in Enyart’s favor would not pose a hardship to her, the newspaper says.
Attorney Anna Levine of Disability Rights Advocates represents Enyart. She calls the appellate filing “flabbergasting … irrational and mean-spirited.”
The NCBE objects to the software, which magnifies the test text and reads the material into earbuds worn by the user because of security concerns. Enyart says that a human reader, which the NCBE would permit, is less efficient at the job and a potential distraction during the exam.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge Sides With Blind UCLA Law Grad, OKs Software to Read Bar Exam”
