States should consider bar exam alternatives, chief justices say
The report, opens new tab comes from the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform, an 18-month collaboration between the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators. It said state supreme courts should take a more active role in legal education and attorney admissions in order to address unmet legal needs, declining public confidence in courts and the legal system, and barriers to public service legal careers. State supreme courts oversee attorney licensure.
The report recommended encouraging hands-on learning opportunities for lawyers and law students, reforming the bar admissions process and examining alternatives to the bar exam, streamlining character and fitness reviews, supporting public service attorneys, and encouraging attorneys to practice in rural areas.
To date, six states have enacted alternative attorney licensing pathways that don't rely solely on the bar exam, and another seven are considering such alternatives, according to the report. Such moves can lower costs for law graduates and get them into practice sooner while also helping states encourage public service careers and legal access in rural areas, the committee found.
State supreme courts should also encourage a law school accreditation process that 'promotes innovation, experimentation, and cost-effective legal education,' the report said.
Nearly all states currently require graduation from an American Bar Association-accredited law school in order to be licensed, though the Supreme Courts of Florida, Texas and Ohio are reviewing their requirements.
The Trump administration has threatened to revoke the ABA's status as the federal government's designated accreditor of law schools, citing diversity and inclusion efforts by the group that the administration says are discriminatory.
Read more:
Chief state court judges to examine bar admissions nationwide
Trump executive order says ABA's role as law school accreditor may be revoked
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
California could slash 5 GOP US House seats to counter Texas' move to pad Republican margin
California Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts. The move comes in direct response to efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw House districts in order to strengthen the GOP hold on the chamber in 2026. A draft plan that's circulating aims to boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California's 52 congressional seats, according to a source familiar with the plan who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. That's up from the 43 seats the party now holds. It would need approval from lawmakers and voters, who may be skeptical to give it after handing redistricting power to an independent commission years ago. In addition, the proposal would generously pad Democratic margins in districts for competitive seats anchored in Orange County, San Diego County and the Central Valley farm belt, giving Democrats a potential advantage as Texas Republicans try to sway the tissue-thin balance of the House. According to the proposal, districts now held by Republican Reps. Ken Calvert, Darrell Issa, Kevin Kiley, David Valadao and Doug LaMalfa would see right-leaning voters shaved and Democratic voters boosted in a shift that would make it likely a left-leaning candidate would prevail in each race. In districts held by Democratic Reps. Dave Min, Mike Levin and Derek Tran, the party's edge would be boosted to strengthen their hold on the seats, the source said. Democratic members of California's congressional delegation were briefed on the new map on Monday, according to a person familiar with the meeting who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. The proposal is being circulated at the same time that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he wants to advance partisan redistricting. He says he won't move ahead if Texas pauses its efforts. Newsom said he'd call a special election for the first week of November. Voters would weigh a new congressional map drawn by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. 'California will not sit by idly and watch this democracy waste away,' Newsom said Monday. —
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The View co-host blasts Kamala Harris as 'microcosm of everything that's wrong' with Democratic Party
Kamala Harris was hit with a scathing rebuke from a co-host of one of television's most prominent daytime shows. The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin torched the former Vice President's recent late night interview as emblematic of the Democratic Party 's failure to learn from its 2024 defeat. 'This interview felt like a microcosm of everything that's wrong with Democrats post-election,' Griffin declared Saturday on CNN, referencing Harris's sit-down with Stephen Colbert to promote her new book. 'It's like announcing your exploratory committee on the sinking deck of the Titanic.' Griffin, a former Trump administration official who crossed party lines to vote for Harris in 2024, didn't hold back as she dismantled the Vice President's comeback strategy. She slammed the party's messaging on democracy, and accused Democrats of being tone-deaf to the voters they've lost. Griffin described Harris Colbert interview as a political misfire - and the perfect metaphor for the party's ongoing collapse. Harris, who has kept a low profile since her crushing loss in the 2024 election, reemerged in a sit-down interview to promote her upcoming book 107 Days, documenting what she called 'the shortest presidential campaign in modern history.' But the decision to appear on CBS, the very network that just canceled Colbert's show, seemed to raise more eyebrows than applause. 'I was struck by… I'm going to try not to be too harsh on this,' Griffin started. 'I'm going to CBS and this sort of trying to make a point that they fired Stephen Colbert, which many on the left called an attack on democracy - a man who was making $20 million a year, someone I hold in high esteem - but the economics of his show were not working.' CBS announced in July that it was ending The Late Show next May citing financial losses. But Colbert's allies on the left allege his firing was politically motivated, coming just days after he criticized CBS parent company Paramount for its legal settlement with Donald Trump. But Griffin wasn't buying the narrative. 'If everyone who was advising her told her this was a good idea… that is not where I would have made the grand comeback,' she said. 'He was losing $40 million a year. He was in the Ed Sullivan Theater, which is expensive, to talk about the plight of democracy at CBS, a network that's having its own struggles right now, rather than talking about the economics of the situation, and playing to something - a shrinking audience that is network television, not realizing it's not where the American voters are.' During Thursday night's interview Harris suggested that she had no current plans to run for governor of California. 'Recently, I made the decision that I just - for now, I don't want to go back in the system. I think it's broken.' CNN data analyst Harry Enten did not believe the reason Kamala Harris gave when she suggested she had no current plans to run for governor of California But CNN data analyst Harry Enten called foul. 'Oh, please. Not a chance on God's green earth that that's necessarily the case,' Enten said, adding that Harris is 'looking at the numbers' and seeing just how grim they are. 'She would be the weakest front-runner since 1992.' Griffin echoed such skepticism saying Harris' comments about democracy and the 'broken system' reeked of desperation. 'I think she genuinely believes what she's saying about the threats to democracy — I had, I raised concerns ahead of the election, some of which I share with her. But I also think that Democrats can go too far in these concerns,' Griffin said. 'Every time I hear something like Stephen Colbert losing his job as a threat to democracy, that makes people just roll their eyes.' Griffin's critique didn't stop there. She hammered Democrats for failing to adapt to the new political climate, saying Harris' rhetoric ignores why Donald Trump's message still resonates with millions. 'Donald Trump did talk about abolishing the Department of Education. He was open about what he was going to do. And the fact that Democrats couldn't listen to the American public and think, "Okay, something he's saying is resonating. What can we do to beat him?" - that's where I kind of, they lose it for me.' Harris' new book, 107 Days, set for release in September, is expected to detail her short-lived presidential run and offer lessons learned. In a video posted to social media, Harris framed the memoir as a path forward. 'I believe there's value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what I know it will take to move forward,' she said.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Why is Donald Trump discussing Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle
President Donald Trump is praising Sydney Sweeney in the wake of backlash against the American actress for her controversial American Eagle advertisement. "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there," he wrote in a Truth Social post. "Go get 'em Sydney!"The Emmy-nominated actress for roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus stars in a denim jeans advertisement, where she states: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue." Critics have called out the blonde, blue-haired actress's wordplay in the commercial, using "genes" instead of "jeans" - sparking debate over race and western beauty Eagle has defended the advert and stated it was - and still is - only about the company's jeans. What is the controversy? The clothing store American Eagle released a jeans advertisement featuring Sweeney on 23 July. The slogan "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" appeared on television, social media and on the outside of storefronts. Almost instantly, it received pushback from people on social criticised the "genes" pun coming from a blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress as echoing rhetoric associated with eugenics - the controlled selective reproduction of humans to improve future generations. Conservatives backed Sweeney and labelled the outrage as overblown and "woke". Reports then surfaced that Sweeney is a registered Republican. Shortly after, Trump made comments about the saga and expressed his support for her. Sweeney, herself, has not commented on the matter. What has American Eagle said? American Eagle has responded to the controversy and said the ad campaign "is and always was about the jeans". "Her jeans. Her story," American Eagle said. "We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone."Since Trump began speaking about the advertisement on Monday, the company's stock has skyrocketed, and was up as much as 20%. That did not surprise, Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, who said American Eagle "nailed" the advertisement."It is exponentially harder than it was years ago," he told the BBC. "Success in marketing today is to get consumers sharing [advertisements] on social."But advertisements have to be "extraordinary" for people to share them, "whether that's extraordinary good or extraordinarily bad," he Adamson said the social media buzz American Eagle is getting from the advertisement is worth ten or 20 times what the store spent on creating it. Is Sweeney a Republican? Sweeney has been registered as a Republican in the state of Florida since 2024, records show. But she has not spoken out about politics. She made headlines in 2023 when videos and images from her mother's birthday party were shared online and showed some attendees in Make America Great Again hats. Sweeney responded and said people should "stop making assumptions" and turning the "innocent celebration" into an "absurd political statement."Months later, she was asked about it in an interview: "Honestly, I feel like nothing I say can help the conversation," she told GQ. "It's been turning into a wildfire, and nothing I can say will take it back to the correct track," she added. What has Trump said about it? On Sunday, reporters travelling with the US president asked him about Sweeney. "You'd be surprised at how many people are Republicans," Trump said after a reporter stated that the White Lotus star is a registered Republican."That's what I wouldn't have known, but I'm glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic," Trump said on before Trump weighed in, the saga had been the focus of conservative media with some suggesting the advert had been not only a great promotion for American Eagle - but also for the political party.
