What About the Bar Exam After the 2020 Dust Settles?

VIKRAM DAVID AMAR

Illinois law dean and professor Vikram David Amar comments on some of the questions commentators and analysts are, or will soon be, asking—specifically why we have bar exams for legal licensure, and, assuming we retain them, what they should look like going forward. Amar observes the limitations of the so-called diploma privilege advocated by some and suggests that states adopt greater interstate uniformity in their bar exams, shift toward more performance (as opposed to memorization) exams, and move away from being so time pressured.

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Moore v. Bi-State Development Agency

Docket: SC98169

Opinion Date: September 15, 2020

Judge: George W. Draper, III

Areas of Law: Personal Injury

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court reducing Plaintiff's personal injury award against Bi-State Development Agency (hereinafter, "Metro") to comply with the statutory cap set forth for public entities afforded sovereign immunity pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 537.610, holding that there is no conflict between section 537.610 and Mo. Rev. Stat. 70.439's adopted federal regulations. Plaintiff was injured when a Metro Call-A-Ride bus collided with Plaintiff's school bus. The jury awarded Plaintiff $1.878 million in damages. Metro filed a motion for remittitur, asserting that the award should be reduced pursuant to section 537.610, which sets the liability limitations for public entities. The circuit court sustained the motion and reduced the damage award to the statutory maximum plus interest. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that section 537.610 conflicts with section 70.249 because the latter statute adopted specific federal regulations and was enacted after section 537.610. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there is no conflict between section 537.610's plain statutory language providing for a damages cap and section 70.439 providing that Metro needs to comply with federal safety regulations to receive state funding.