New York Lawyer Loses Bar Exam Disability Bias Suit
A lawsuit filed by a New York lawyer, who claims that she failed the bar exam on her first two tries because of disability bias by the New York State Board of Law Examiners, has been dismissed.
Filed in June 2016 in the U.S. District Court of Eastern District of New York by a lawyer who is being identified as T.W in court documents, the lawsuit alleged that the New York State Board of Law Examiners discriminated against her in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it denied her requests for certain accommodations on the New York State bar examination in 2013 and 2014. T.W. passed the bar exam on her third try in 2015 after she was given double time to take it.
On July 19, 2022, U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the Eastern District of New York ruled that the board is an arm of the state that is entitled to 11th Amendment immunity from the lawyer’s claim under Title II of the ADA.
The ADA issue was the last remaining claim in T.W.’s lawsuit. T.W. originally brought claims against the board and its members for disability discrimination under Titles II and III of the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the New York City Human Rights Law. She also sought injunctive and declaratory relief against the individual members of the board. In 2017, the court dismissed T.W.’s Title III and New York City Human Rights Law claims, as well as her damages claims against the individual members of the board. The Second Circuit subsequently dismissed T.W.’s Rehabilitation Act claim.
In ruling on T.W.’s ADA claim, Judge Dearie said Congress’ attempt to abrogate state immunity from Title II suits for money damages was not constitutionally valid as applied to T.W.’s claim; and that T.W. cannot maintain her requests for injunctive and declaratory relief.The judge added that Congress can eliminate immunity under its authority to enforce the 14th Amendment, but in T.W.’s case, there is no alleged 14th Amendment violation.
Judge Dearie also denied T.W.’s desired injunctive relief that would prevent the Board from maintaining or reporting records of her examination results.
“T.W. submits that she faces continuing injury because the record of her bar examination failures has hindered her job search and career prospects,” Dearie wrote. “But T.W. never alleges that a prospective employer has inquired about her bar examination record, much less made a hiring decision based on that record. Instead, she alleges that law firms have learned ‘that she did not have the opportunity to gain the experience they seek from a 2013 graduate due to the disruptions caused by her bar examination failure.’ … The court cannot rewrite history; expungement will neither alter T.W.’s level of experience nor undo the fact that she did not successfully pass the bar until 2015. Moreover, the injunctive relief T.W. requests would suppress a record that, according to the board, it is prohibited from disclosing to employers.”
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