Utah Supreme Court hears challenge over six-attempt limit and bar exam accommodations in Long v. Utah State Bar

The Utah Supreme Court on the record heard arguments in Long v. Utah State Bar over whether petitioner Jennifer Long should be allowed a sixth accommodated attempt to take the Utah bar exam after pain and cramping in her only functional hand disrupted the February 2024 exam.

Emily Adams, counsel for petitioner Jennifer Long, told the court that "Ms. Long showed clear and convincing evidence of good cause" because she did not receive accommodations during multiple earlier attempts and when her fifth accommodated attempt in 2024 left her within five points of passing. Adams said the record shows Long was born without a right hand, received an ADHD diagnosis in high school, and had accommodations through college and law school. Adams argued the admissions and accommodations process should permit a sixth accommodated attempt when an earlier accommodation (handwriting the exam with double time and hourly breaks) proved physically harmful during the February 2024 exam.

Adams described the sequence of accommodations and requests on the record: earlier out-of-state requests in Kansas and Missouri (20072008) sought time-and-a-half for ADHD; the Utah exams in 2023 and 2024 provided double time, a separate room, and hourly breaks, and the 2024 exam produced severe pain and numbness in Long—s left hand…