High court proposing appeals process for bar-exam accommodations.

Byline: Erika Strebel, erika.strebel@wislawjournal.com

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is proposing a rule change meant to improve the structure of the process thatbar applicants with disabilities go through to request special accommodations when they take the state's bar exam.

The court recently filed a rules-change petition that would expand upon its current policies and rules. Among other things, the court's rules require the Board of Bar Examiners, the 11-member body that administers the bar exam, to accept requests for special accommodations until Dec. 1 in any given year for the February exam and until May 1 for the July exam. The BBE may also reject requests made after those deadlines or requests not made in writing. Sometimes, the BBE may pay a medical expert to review a request.

However, the current rules do not spell out a process applicants may use to appeal the BBE's decisions on their requests.

Therefore, the justices are proposing setting up an appeals process for applicants whose requests are either denied or substantially modified by the BBE. The new process would, among other things, mean that applicants would have to file requests sooner: by Oct. 1 for the February exam and March 1 for the July exam.

The justices' proposal would give applicants seven business days to appeal an adverse decision or modification. A hearing before the BBE's chair or a board member would...