In the wake of the lackluster health emergency protocol the New York Board of Law Examiners displayed last month, readers, test takers, and even lawmakers have penned letters admonishing the bar for not doing better. In a perfect world, the NYBOLE would own up to their mistakes and implement safety protocols to ensure that there would be a response team on the ground in the event of an emergency. Instead, they responded with a press release that looks like their in-house attorney sent a couple of drafts back to their PR department before they could send it out.
Thankfully, lawyers aren’t the only ones that can advise the NYBOLE — the state legislature can do so as well. Law.com has coverage:
Following an incident during the New York bar exam on Long Island last month, when a test-taker collapsed and proctors let the exam continue while CPR was being administered, the New York State Assembly is now considering a bill called the Clock Should Stop Act.
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, assemblymember representing the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn, sponsored the bill because the incident “has prompted concerns about the standard of care exercised by the bar examiners,” as many have stated that the bar examiners “acted recklessly, showing unjustifiable disregard for human safety,” she told Law.com.
The “Clock Should Stop Act” is aptly named — as the lawyer-to-be was suffering from a heart attack, the test takers surrounding her were told to ignore her and continue with the test. You could make an argument that bar exams shouldn’t be stopped because it messes with score consistency, but that “consistency” also goes up in the air if a question requires you to determine if a future property interest will vest no later than 21 years after some life in being whilst someone is actively dying at your side.
The provisions would apply to medical crisis, criminal incidents, and natural or man-made disasters.
NY Assembly Weighs Bill to Establish Protocols for Bar Exam Emergencies [Law.com]
Earlier: Politician Calls On New York Bar To Reform ‘Disorganized, Delayed’ Emergency Response
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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