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Bester v. Louisiana Supreme Court Commission on Bar Admissions
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Bester v. Louisiana Supreme Court Commission on Bar Admissions is a lawsuit filed by Alfreda Tillman Bester against the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions in May 2000. In the lawsuit, Bester sought to compel the Louisiana Supreme Court to produce for public examination a copy of the exam she took as part of the process of seeking to become an attorney in Louisiana, and a copy of the "model answers" to the bar exam questions.
Important precedents
This case established the separation and autonomy of the judicial branch with regard to public records laws.
Background
Bester graduated from Southern University Law Center in 1999 in the top 7% of her class and proceeded to take the February 2000 Louisiana State Bar Exam. Bester achieved a score of 70% or better on the written portion of the test but the Commission on Bar Admissions nevertheless failed her.
Bester appealed this decision directly to the Louisiana Supreme Court because such matters are in that court's original jurisdiction. Bester stated in her petition that the Commission's decision to withhold from her the right to practice in Louisiana was in "obvious retaliation" for her involvement in a prior lawsuit against the Bar Commission.
It was Bester's contention in her lawsuit/petition that, in fact, the exam she wrote was never graded by the Bar Commission. It was further her contention that Louisiana's bar exam process is "totally and irreparably unreliable."
Bester also contended in her lawsuit that:
- The conditions under which the bar exam is administered do not ensure minimal supervision or accountability.
- There are no controls in place to ensure that an exam graded by the committee is the actual exam of the person whose name appears on it.
- Unscrupulous and incompetent activities go unchecked.
- Graders of the test are not required to grade the tests according to model answers but are allowed to grade the tests based on their own subjective considerations, which leads to grading tests based on whim and caprice.
- When exams are handed in, there are no adequate provisions for anonymity, which allows the test grader to know whose test he or she is grading.[1]
Ruling of the court
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled against Bester, the plaintiff. In so doing, the court said that it had "inherent authority" over all aspects of the bar exam, including whether any documents involved in the exam should be considered open records. The court's decision alludes to the "separation of powers" doctrine, saying that the Louisiana State Legislature cannot pass laws, such as the Louisiana Public Records Act, that apply to Louisiana's judicial branch.[1]
