http://stephen-diamond.com/2017/09/11/does-the-california-state-bar-have-a-race-problem/
Social Justice Warrior/"Professor": On September 11, 2017, Stephen Diamond wrote a blog post labeled “Does the California State Bar have a race problem?” Take a look at this portion:
“A recent meeting of the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE) suggests to me that the California Bar may have a problem with race. That is, its leaders do not understand or are not willing to accept that they are putting up a barrier to minorities who wish to practice law. The evidence of this potential problem is found in the tape of the hearing which you can view here as well as a report prepared by the Bar Association’s staff on the bar exam.
The CBE chair, Karen Goodman, who readily admits (Min. 48:00) that she is from “Elk Grove” (a small town south of Sacramento that is, ironically, quite racially diverse) and so may not understand the data presented to her, questions whether lowering the “cut score” (the minimum number of points needed to pass) on the bar exam would help improve access to justice.
Yet, the data presented to the CBE she chairs indicates clearly that lowering the cut score even a modest amount (and still at a level well above that of New York state) would significantly increase the number of minority lawyers in the state. And this would be true in a state bar that remains overwhelmingly white and male and older, despite significant demographic shifts in the state over the last few decades.
The Bar staff report concluded: “…applicants of color pass the [current] bar exam at rates that are disproportionate to those of their white counterparts.This impact, when combined with disproportionately lower numbers of people of color in the pipeline to higher education and law school, has resulted in a pool of licensed attorneys in California that does not reflect the population of the state.” [Emphasis mine]
Apparently, racking up $186,211.94 in non-dischargeable debt is not a large barrier for these minority graduates. Later on, Fake SJW Diamond wrote the following:
“Thus, while we do not know why the cut score is so much higher than needed to meet the primary mandate of the CBE (protection of the public), we do know that by setting it at 144 the Bar has put up a wall over which minority law school graduates have difficulty climbing with the inevitable outcome: a disparate impact on those hopeful new law school graduates.
(This is likely why the Bar staff recommended three options: leaving the score the same, lowering it slightly to 141 or lowering it further to 139, a point which would still be 6 points higher than New York. Despite the troglodyte nature of the CBE deliberations, the Board of Trustees voted 6-5 to send all three staff options to the Supreme Court, which remains free to accept or reject those, as it has ultimate authority now over the cut score.)
Goodman and others on the Committee also seem to be ignorant of the actual improving employment data for lawyers in California over the past several years.” [Emphasis mine]
Does anyone with a functioning brain actually believe that this “law professor” cares about the barriers to minorities, in obtaining a law license? Also, where is Diamond's proof that California lawyers are now facing better job prospects? The state has a palpable glut of attorneys - and the cost of living there is ridiculous. For $ome rea$on, Diamond didn’t list outrageous student debt on non-connected JDs as a disparate impact.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/proposal_to_lower_california_bar_exam_cut_score_considered1
Prior Coverage: On August 1, 2017, the ABA Journal published a Stephanie Francis Ward piece entitled “Proposal to lower California bar exam cut score considered.” Read this opening:
“A proposal to set a new interim California bar exam cut score at 1414 from the current 1440 is being considered by the State Bar of California. The proposal is one possibility to come out of standard setting study (PDF) the state bar commissioned.
The study also proposes making no change to the current cut score, according to a state bar press release.
Traditionally, the cut score was set by the bar exam committee, but in July the California Supreme Court amended the rule, giving it the authority to set the passing score. In February, the court directed the state bar—an administrative arm of the judiciary—to do a series of comprehensive bar exam studies, including cut score review.
At a committee meeting on Monday in Los Angeles, several law school deans, including Gilbert Holmes of the University of La Verne College of Law, spoke in favor of lowering the cut score.
“People love to say they passed the bar the first time in California. It’s meaningful because it’s graded so hard,” Holmes said in a Courthouse News Service report. “But is that really important?”
Earlier this year, Holmes was among 20 California law school deans who wrote a letter (PDF) to the California high court, asking for a lower cut score, the Recorder reported at the time…
Only 43 percent of the applicants who took the July 2016 California bar exam passed, according to the Associated Press. Also, only five of the state’s 21 ABA-accredited law schools had a pass rate of at least 75 percent, the Recorder reported at the time.” [Emphasis mine]
Yes, I’m sure that those deans wrote that letter out of the goodness of their hearts – and not out of blatant $elf-intere$t. These supposed “legal scholars” keep lowering their admissions criteria, and now they want the state to reduce their passing score.
Conclusion: In the final analysis, these “educators” simply want to foist more debt-strapped, marginally competent attorneys onto the general public. This the “honorable profession” in action. They know that many idiots will glady take on $160K in non-dischargeable loans, in exchange for a law license. I expect the politicians in black robes to lower the licensing score in the state. If that happens, then this would help keep several California ABA commodes in business longer.