As
the
bar
exam
itself
fades
into
the
rearview
mirror,
New
York’s
confused
handling
of
a
genuine
medical
emergency
shouldn’t.
In
case
you
missed
it
—
perhaps
because
you
were
taking
the
bar
exam
yourself
and
promptly
crawled
under
a
rock
for
the
last
week
—
an
applicant
taking
the
NY
bar
exam
at
the
Hofstra
location
went
into
cardiac
arrest.
While
other
applicants
called
out
for
help,
the
proctors
reportedly
responded
by
telling
people
to
be
quiet
and
keep
taking
the
test.
Some
witnesses
have
come
forward
to
say
the
administrators
seemed
reluctant
to
call
emergency
services
at
all.
The
test
was
not
stopped
until
the
scheduled
lunch
break
and
resumed
on
time
afterward.
The
bar
examiners
have
defended
their
actions…
and
witnesses
dutifully
called
bullshit.
Thankfully,
the
woman
survived
despite
the
delayed
medical
response.
One
of
her
classmates
has
set
up
a
GoFundMe
to
help
with
medical
costs.
But
what
lessons
should
we
take
away
from
this
debacle?
When
the
bar
examiners
sit
down
to
think
about
how
this
went
awry,
what
new
protocols
should
they
implement?
Or
does
the
problem
run
far
too
deep
for
quick
fixes?
1.
Emergency
medical
resources
on-site
A
former
Florida
bar
exam
proctor
reached
out
to
tell
me
that
they’ve
actually
thought
ahead
about
this:
City
firefighter
paramedics
are
on-site
from
8:00
am
from
when
the
test
takers
are
coming
in
until
all
have
left
at
the
end
of
the
day.
They
are
in
uniform,
with
a
full
gurney
with
their
orange
medicine
and
equipment
boxes,
defibrillator,
etc.
set
on
the
gurney
in
the
area
right
outside
the
entrance
to
the
main
hall.
Their
ambulance
is
parked
outside.
Fortunately
I’ve
never
seen
them
called
to
a
situation,
but
they
are
always
there
and
could
be
anywhere
needed
within
seconds.
How
is
it
possible
that
FLORIDA
is
better
prepared
to
deal
with…
anything?
Florida’s
top
policymakers
are
passed
out
drunk
and
naked
on
the
floor
of
a
Waffle
House
getting
sniffed
by
a
live
gator
and
yet
somehow
they
figured
out
that
EMTs
should
be
on
hand
whenever
tons
of
people
are
crammed
into
a
venue.
Concerts
have
paramedics,
why
wouldn’t
a
bar
exam?
2.
More
testing
locations
This
might
seem
to
conflict
with
the
idea
that
the
exam
should
pony
up
for
two
days
worth
of
paramedics,
but
it’s
an
alternative
solution.
If
the
examiners
persist
in
the
delusion
that
stopping
the
test
for
thousands
of
test-takers
to
deal
with
an
emergency
is
too
onerous,
then
don’t
have
a
location
with
more
than
50
examinees.
If
we
have
to
pretend
that
every
single
test
must
be
collected
before
temporarily
suspending
the
test
to
deal
with
someone
maybe
dying
then
have
more,
small
locations
that
make
it
easier
to
collect
tests.
3.
Proctor
flexibility
The
key
reason
why
proctors
appeared
befuddled
is
that
they’re
handed
a
rulebook
by
the
bar
examiners
—
influenced
by
the
NCBE’s
nonsense
rules
about
preserving
the
purity
of
their
precious
test
—
and
told
never
to
deviate.
Medical
emergencies
should
be
covered
in
those
rules,
but
also
proctors
need
to
be
free
to
improvise
when
the
unexpected
should
arise.
4.
Get
over
yourselves
This
is
a
more
fundamental
issue
but…
if
the
difference
between
passing
and
not
passing
is
a
trip
to
the
bathroom,
then
your
test
sucks.
Any
good
educator
will
tell
you
that
the
goal
is
to
develop
a
test
where
the
students
either
know
it
or
they
don’t.
If
there’s
an
insight
they
can
gain
in
60
seconds
that
alters
their
outcome
on
the
test,
then
it’s
not
doing
its
job.
Or,
conversely,
just
let
examinees
do
research
during
the
test
since
researching
legal
questions
is
what
actual
practicing
attorneys
do.
Either
way,
stop
acting
like
the
sanctity
of
the
test
is
the
highest
value.
5.
End
the
bar
exam
It’s
a
generalist
memory
test
for
a
profession
that
lacks
generalists
and
where
working
from
memory
would
amount
to
malpractice.
Bar
exam
supporters
claim
it
“protects
the
public”
and
yet
there’s
no
difference
in
the
number
of
disciplinary
issues
in
states
with
the
bar
exam
and
those
without.
Because
protecting
the
public
from
an
unscrupulous
litigator
does
not
turn
on
making
sure
they
know
the
Rule
Against
Perpetuities.
The
dumbest,
most
unethical
lawyer
you
know…
passed
a
bar
exam.
The
exam
is
also
the
tool
that
enables
destructive
diploma
mill
practices.
Law
schools
are
incentivized
to
collect
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
and
turn
people
loose
knowing
that
the
bar
exam
will
filter
out
—
maybe
—
the
people
incapable
of
practicing.
If
law
schools
were
held
to
stricter
guidelines
and
benchmarking,
we
could
trust
that
anyone
who
passed
three
years
of
iterative
testing
is
ready
to
practice
(and
pay
off
their
loans).
Make
optional
practice-area
specific
certification
exams
if
the
state
wants
to
provide
more
guidance
to
the
public.
If
a
tax
lawyer
wants
to
bill
themselves
as
a
certified
expert,
they
can
take
the
affirmative
step
of
taking
and
passing
a…
tax
law
exam.
That
does
a
lot
more
to
communicate
to
the
public
that
their
lawyer
is
(a)
competent
for
the
task
and
(b)
confident
enough
to
have
taking
the
extra
step
of
getting
certified.
Conclusion
All
of
these
suggestions
boil
down
to
a
single
philosophical
problem.
Bar
examiners
consistently
fail
in
viewing
examinees
as
actual
humans.
It’s
why
we
always
have
stories
of
examinees
facing
religious
harasment,
or
forced
to
sit
in
their
own
urine,
or
screwed
over
because
they’re
menstruating
or
lactating
during
the
exam.
There’s
just
no
minimum
contacts
between
the
exam
cultists
and
humanity.
Interpersonal
Shoe,
if
you
will.
But
it’s
why
no
one
thinks
of
EMTs.
Or
the
practicalities
of
a
testing
site.
Or
why
the
humanity
of
the
examinees
matters.
It’s
all
tradition
and
the
uncritical
acceptance
of
the
exam
as
a
false
idol.
As
of
this
writing,
the
GoFundMe
has
just
passed
two-thirds
of
its
goal
and
the
classmate
who
organized
the
fundraiser
told
me
“I
am
thankful
for
the
support
so
far.”
The
most
consistent
question
I
received
from
readers
over
the
weekend
was
if
we
knew
of
any
way
they
could
contribute
to
help
out.
Which
is
the
ray
of
hope
in
this
mess.
While
bar
examiners
offer
bland
statements
without
acknowledging
how
the
refusal
to
give
up
on
putting
the
test
first
could’ve
ended
in
tragedy,
the
normal,
rank-and-file
lawyers
out
there
are
stepping
up
and
helping
out.
Because
lawyers
are,
ultimately,
humans.
Most
of
them
anyway.
Earlier:
Bar
Exam
Taker
Suffers
Apparent
Heart
Attack
Bar
Applicants
Call
B.S.
On
Examiner’s
Account
Of
Test-Taker
Suffering
Cardiac
Arrest