RAISING THE BAR EXCELLENCE IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY AND PROPERTY
Miami Herald, The (FL) - Saturday, January 8, 2000
Author: Herald Staff
If the profession were neurosurgery or structural engineering, the debate would be moot. Who wouldn't argue for higher standards for admission to professions that safeguard health or safety? Why should low standards be accepted for safeguarding liberty and property?
If higher standards for lawyers means higher standards for law schools and colleges plus assistance for students struggling with those standards, then that's the price to pay for excellence.
Florida now will admit to the Bar applicants who answer a mere 56 percent of questions correctly on two parts of the bar exam. When the exam was changed 20 years ago, that rate was dropped from 70 percent. Florida's passing grade of 131 (on scaled tests) ranks 34th in the nation.
The Board of Bar Examiners wants to hike the pass grade to 136 over two years. That has touched off a debate over fairness to minority exam takers. That debate is rankling if not insulting. Yes, taken as a group, minorities have lower test scores. But many do pass; the challenge must be to improve preparation, not to accept less.
Florida indeed has a vested interest in increasing the ranks of minority lawyers. Jim Crow laws largely kept blacks out of state law schools until the late 1960s. Only 2 percent of its lawyers are African American. Hispanics, whose presence began to swell as in the 1960s, now compose 6 percent. The state's population is 15 percent black and 14 percent Hispanic.
Those statistics are changing. Nova Southeastern University's law school is 8 percent black and 19 percent Hispanic; Florida State's is 10.4 percent black and 8.2 percent Hispanic; Miami's is 11.8 percent black and 20 percent Hispanic; the University of Florida's is 9 percent black and 11.7 percent Hispanic.
However, law is facing stiff competition for top students from other professions that offer a quicker return on investment of tuition. Applications to law schools have declined and enrollments cut. Diversifying this elite profession will be difficult. But doorkeepers at the courthouse must become more representative of those who search for justice.
The schools are working with a state task force to develop initiatives such as NSU's conditional admission that allows unsuccessful applicants to prove their ability in class. That innovative spirit also should aim at ensuring that all students are well prepared for a rigorous bar exam.
If higher standards for lawyers means higher standards for law schools and colleges plus assistance for students struggling with those standards, then that's the price to pay for excellence.
Florida now will admit to the Bar applicants who answer a mere 56 percent of questions correctly on two parts of the bar exam. When the exam was changed 20 years ago, that rate was dropped from 70 percent. Florida's passing grade of 131 (on scaled tests) ranks 34th in the nation.
The Board of Bar Examiners wants to hike the pass grade to 136 over two years. That has touched off a debate over fairness to minority exam takers. That debate is rankling if not insulting. Yes, taken as a group, minorities have lower test scores. But many do pass; the challenge must be to improve preparation, not to accept less.
Florida indeed has a vested interest in increasing the ranks of minority lawyers. Jim Crow laws largely kept blacks out of state law schools until the late 1960s. Only 2 percent of its lawyers are African American. Hispanics, whose presence began to swell as in the 1960s, now compose 6 percent. The state's population is 15 percent black and 14 percent Hispanic.
Those statistics are changing. Nova Southeastern University's law school is 8 percent black and 19 percent Hispanic; Florida State's is 10.4 percent black and 8.2 percent Hispanic; Miami's is 11.8 percent black and 20 percent Hispanic; the University of Florida's is 9 percent black and 11.7 percent Hispanic.
However, law is facing stiff competition for top students from other professions that offer a quicker return on investment of tuition. Applications to law schools have declined and enrollments cut. Diversifying this elite profession will be difficult. But doorkeepers at the courthouse must become more representative of those who search for justice.
The schools are working with a state task force to develop initiatives such as NSU's conditional admission that allows unsuccessful applicants to prove their ability in class. That innovative spirit also should aim at ensuring that all students are well prepared for a rigorous bar exam.
Memo: OPINION
Edition: Final
Section: Editorial
Page: 6B
Record Number: 0001110063
Copyright (c) 2000 The Miami Herald
Section: Editorial
Page: 6B
Record Number: 0001110063
Copyright (c) 2000 The Miami Herald
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