Opinion ID: 1948306
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Time Afforded Rubenstein An Inconsistent Accommodation

Text: This Court has held that appellate review regarding an exercise of the Board's discretion requires a determination that the factual findings are supported by the record and that the Board's decision is the product of a logical and orderly deductive process. In re Green, Del.Supr., 464 A.2d 881, 887 (1983). It has been observed that the sine qua non for bar examiners' compliance with the ADA [is] principally a matter of making reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals to take the examination and to communicate with the licensing board. Fedo & Brown, Accommodating the Disabled Under the ADA: The Issues for Bar Examiners, The Bar Examiner, Aug. 1992, at 6, 6-7. The same authors astutely note that courts are more likely to uphold bar examiners' decisions if they produce an evidentiary record showing that reasonable efforts were made to accommodate a disabled applicant's needs. Id. at 8. Accord Petition of Nenno, Del. Supr., 472 A.2d 815, 818 (1983) (Board's decision must be supported by substantial evidence). In Rubenstein's case, the record is devoid of any evidentiary basis to support the Board's decision to disregard the recommendation of Rubenstein's expert. In addition, the Board's ultimate decision does not reflect that it was the product of an orderly and logical deductive process. In re Green, 464 A.2d at 887. The Board's decision to afford Rubenstein additional time (one-third) to take the essay section but no additional time to take the MBE section of the Bar Examination, without any explanation, was internally inconsistent. The Board's action was also inconsistent with the MBE guidelines established by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.