Opinion: Literate litigators?

The state of Washington will no longer require the passing of the bar exam to practice law in Washington state.

Vincent Cavaleri of the Silent Majority Foundation discusses the decision that attorneys will now have ‘alternate pathways’ in lieu of passing the Washington state bar exam to practice law in the state

Vincent Cavaleri, director of education
Silent Majority Foundation

The state of Washington will no longer require the passing of the bar exam to practice law in Washington state. On Friday, March 15, 2024, the Washington State Supreme Court decreed that attorneys will now have “alternative pathways” in lieu of passing the Washington state bar exam to practice law in Washington state, as stated in its recent ruling.

This will be the first time in history that individuals will not be required to demonstrate a core competency through rigorous examination to practice law in the state of Washington. How this will affect those represented by these individuals has yet to be determined, or even factored into the equation.

Historically, radical decisions are nothing new from the progressive supreme court in Washington state; as it attempts to mimic other progressive states like Oregon and Connecticut, who became the first states to move towards allowing the unlicensed to practice law, all in the name of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Just a few years ago, this same supreme court in Washington, fundamentally made drugs like fentanyl legal to be possessed, in essence allowing thousands to lawfully maintain their addictions; and in tens of thousands of cases, lose their lives due to overdose. It’s fair to say, there’s no shortage of blood on these radical ideologues’ hands.

In 2020, the Bar Licensure Task Force was formed at the behest of public defender organizations and other liberal think tanks, and asked to research and study available data, to try to understand why 79 percent of attorneys in Washington state are white, and 61 percent of them were male. The core mission of the group was not to help create more competent litigators, but merely more colorful ones.

According to the task force “The traditional bar exam disproportionally and unnecessarily blocks marginalized groups from entering the practice of law.” This absurd notion is par for the course with progressive group think, as they continue to lower educational standards for people they call “the marginalized” across the labor and educational spectrums, believing this will somehow benefit America in the long run.

This flawed philosophy of lowering educational and testing standards is already having a devastating impact in both schools and labor markets; making it impossible to judge standards of competency for both students and employees. The elimination of the bar exam is simply another nuance of the detrimental progressive dogma playing out in America.

Justice Montoya-Lewis wrote, “These recommendations come from a diverse body of lawyers in private and public practice, academics, and researchers who contributed immense insight, counterpoints and research to get us where we are today.” Of course, scrapping the bar seems logical to Justice Montoya since she now sits on the highest court in the state by virtue of the same woke ideology.

I’m quite sure if Justice Montoya ever needs legal representation, she would happily choose skin color over competency for her defense. Let’s hope she never has to make that decision, but the so-called “marginalized community” they claim to uplift, will be forced to make that decision daily going forward.