July Bar Exam Update: Maryland

Court of Appeals of Maryland, Administrative Order on the Postponement of the July 2020 Maryland Bar Examination:

WHEREAS, More than one thousand applications to sit for the July 2020 Maryland Bar Examination were received by the State Board of Law Examiners (Board), which would create a congregate gathering at the Baltimore Convention Center far in excess of current guidance by the CDC and MDH; and

WHEREAS, After discussions with the Governor’s Chief Legal Counsel, the Board has concluded that it cannot administer the July 2020 Maryland Bar Examination with adequate social distancing in a single location as previously scheduled; and

WHEREAS, Uncertainty about whether the status of the COVID-19 emergency and the phased reopening of locations in Maryland will allow administration of the Bar Examination in multiple locations in Maryland further prevents its administration on the previously scheduled dates of July 28 and 29, 2020, it is this 26th day of May 2020,

ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, as follows:

(a) Maryland Rule 19-203(b) shall be and hereby is suspended until further notice as to the months of the year in which the Maryland Bar Examination shall be administered; and

(b) A September administration of the Bar Examination is planned to occur in place of the previously scheduled July administration; as such, the Bar Examination in Maryland, now scheduled for July 28 and 29, 2020, at the Baltimore Convention Center, will be postponed and tentatively rescheduled for September 9 and 10, 2020, at multiple locations that are yet to be determined;

(c) Administration of the Bar Examination on the planned September 2020 dates shall be contingent upon then-existing public health guidance and restrictions regarding group gatherings and social distancing; and

(d) Applications filed timely by the May 20, 2020, filing deadline shall be carried over without additional requirements to the planned September administration of the Bar Examination; and

(e) No new, additional, or extended application filing period shall be provided by the Board, absent further Order of this Court; and

(f) Requests for the Board to accept late-filed applications pursuant to Maryland Rule 19-206(d) and Board Rule 2 shall be addressed pursuant to those Rules.

TaxProf Blog coverage of the July 2020 bar exam:

• The Bar Exam And The COVID-19 Pandemic: The Need For Immediate Action (Mar. 14, 2020)
• NCBE To Decide By May 5 Whether It Will Provide MBE For July Bar Examinations (Mar. 27, 2020)
• New York Postpones July Bar Exam To Fall; Students Demand Emergency Diploma Privilege To Practice Law (Mar. 28, 2020)
• Massachusetts Joins New York In Postponing July Bar Exam (Mar. 30, 2020)
• Connecticut Is Third State To Postpone July Bar Exam (Mar. 31, 2020)
• Hawaii Is Fourth State To Postpone July Bar Exam (Apr. 2, 2020)
• New Jersey Is Fifth State To Postpone July Bar Exam, First To Offer 2020 Law Grads Temporary License To Practice (Apr. 7, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: ABA, Arizona, California, Florida, Tennessee, Vermont (Apr. 8, 2020)
• Indiana Allows 2020 Law Grads To Serve As Graduate Legal Interns And Take February 2021 Bar Exam (Apr. 9, 2020)
• Utah To Let Grads Skip Bar Exam Due To COVID-19, But Only From Schools With 86%+ Bar Pass Rate; Grads Of Just 4 Of California's 21 Law Schools Would Qualify (Apr. 11, 2020)
• Licensing Lawyers In A Pandemic: Proving Competence (Apr. 12, 2020)
• Even In Time Of Crisis, Hold Fast To Bar Exam (Apr. 13, 2020)
• Bar Exam Federalism During The COVID-19 Pandemic (Apr. 14, 2020)
• State Bar Tells California Supreme Court: Delay Or Cancel July Bar Exam (Apr. 15, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Maine, Rhode Island (Apr. 16, 2020)
• Letter From California State Bar To California Supreme Court On July Bar Exam (Apr. 17, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Georgia, Tennessee, Virgin Islands (Apr. 18, 2020)
• Letter From California Deans To California Supreme Court On July Bar Exam (Apr. 18, 2020)
• More Law Prof Commentary On Utah's Bar Diploma Privilege Proposal (Apr. 20, 2020)
• NCBE Opposes States Granting Diploma Privileges To 2020 Law Grads Due To COVID-19 (Apr. 20, 2020)
• Horwitz: Law Graduates' Needs, Client Needs, And The Bar Exam (Apr. 20, 2020)
• WSJ: Law Students In ‘No Man’s Land’ As Coronavirus Delays Bar Exams (Apr. 20, 2020)
• Utah Supreme Court Issues Final Order Letting Grads Of Law Schools With Average 86+% Bar Pass Rate Skip Utah Bar Exam Due To COVID-19 (Apr. 22, 2020)
• Courts Should Look To Three Bar Exam Alternatives During Crisis (Apr. 24, 2020)
• July 2020 Bar Exam Status By Jurisdiction (Apr. 26, 2020)
• California Supreme Court Orders July Bar Exam Delayed To Sept. 9-10, Administered Online (Apr. 28, 2020)
• Texas Moves Forward With July Bar Exam, Adds September Option And Expands Practice With Supervision Program (Apr. 30, 2020)
• New York Will Give Priority To Graduates From New York's 15 Law Schools For Limited Spots To Take September Bar Exam (May 1, 2020)
• Deans Ask New York To Not Discriminate Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools In Sitting For September Bar Exam (May 3, 2020)
• July 2020 Bar Exam Status By Jurisdiction (May 3, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri (May 4, 2020)
• Dean Amar: New York's Discrimination Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools Is Unconstitutional — 'Whether It’s Toilet Paper Or Bar Exam Seats, Hoarding Is Wrong' (May 4, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: DC, Maine, Massachusetts (May 5, 2020)
• CLEA Statement On The July 2020 Bar Examination (May 6, 2020)
• 54 More Deans Ask New York To Not Discriminate Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools In Sitting For September Bar Exam (May 7, 2020)
• New York Should Replace Discriminatory Bar Exam Plan With Emergency Licensure Open To All Law School Graduates (May 7, 2020)
• Florida To Proceed With July Bar Exam With Temperature Checks, Social Distancing, Masks, And 14-Day Quarantines For Out-Of-State Applicants (May 8, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, South Dakota (May 10, 2020)
• July 2020 Bar Exam Status By Jurisdiction (May 10, 2020) 
• 57 Deans Ask Massachusetts To Not Discriminate Against Graduates Of Out-Of-State Law Schools In Sitting For September Bar Exam (May 11, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington (May 15, 2020)
• July 2020 Bar Exam Status By Jurisdiction (May 17, 2020)
• July Bar Exam Update: Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada (May 22, 2020)
• The NCBE's Wrong-Headed Response To The COVID-19 Pandemic (May 27, 2020)
• ABA: Ten Law Schools Are Out Of Compliance With 75% Bar Passage Accreditation Requirement  (May 29, 2020)

For complete TaxProf Blog coverage of the coronavirus, see here.