Court Opinion

ID: 9896187
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-09 18:04:14.059468+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:14:13.171221
License: Public Domain

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

IN RE PETITION OF MARLA               §
MATRICE MURPHY                        §     No. 77, 2023
                                      §

                         Submitted: October 11, 2023
                         Decided:   November 9, 2023

Before VALIHURA, TRAYNOR, and LEGROW, Justices.

                                    ORDER

      (1) This is Marla Matrice Murphy’s second appeal of a decision of the Board

of Bar Examiners (the “Board”). In the first appeal, we affirmed the Board’s

determination that it could not waive Delaware’s requirement that applicants pass

the Bar Exam before being admitted to practice. We remanded, however, to allow

the Board to conduct a hearing to determine what, if any, of Murphy’s testing

accomodations had been denied during the Bar Exam administration.

      (2)   After conducting a hearing, the Board Panel (the “Panel”) determined

that Murphy had been denied one of her previously granted accommodations: the

use of scratch paper. But the Panel determined that she was not denied her private-

room or double-time accomodations. The Panel held that the appropriate remedy

for Murphy’s denial of her approved accommodation was to take the Bar Exam
again, free of any infirmities. The Panel also recommended that the Board waive its

application fee if she chose to register for the Bar Exam again.

       (3) Murphy now appeals the Panel’s decision, arguing that her private-room

and double-time accomodations were denied. She also argues that in denying

multiple accomodations, the Board demonstrated deliberate indifference toward her,

entitling her to an award of compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees.

       (4) Because the Panel’s findings are supported by substantial evidence and

its legal determinations are free from error, we AFFIRM.

                FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

       (5) In July 2021, Murphy sat for the Delaware Bar Exam after requesting and

receiving a number of accommodations from the Board.1 Because the 2021 Bar

Exam occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was administered

remotely, using ExamSoft software.2 Before the Exam, Murphy applied for the

following accommodations: 100% extra time for the entire exam (“double-time”);

authorization to use pencils, highlighters, and scratch paper; permission to read the

questions out loud; stop-the-clock breaks; and use of a private room to take the

Exam.3 The Board approved all accommodations except the stop-the-clock breaks.4

1
  The following facts are adopted, in part, from In Re Petition of Marla Matrice Murphy, 283 A.3d
1167, 1170–71 (Del. 2022) [Hereinafter, Murphy I].
2
  Id. at 1170.
3
  Id. at 1171.
4
  Id. The Board also did not address Murphy’s request to use highlighters, instead stating she had
“permission to have scratch paper and a pencil.” Id.
                                                2
As a result of the double-time accommodation, Murphy’s testing took place over

five days.5

       (6)     The electronic, remote administration of the Exam resulted in

unexpected technical problems for some exam takers.6 Many exam takers, Murphy

included, experienced ExamSoft outages and other difficulties.7 During the Exam,

Murphy’s ExamSoft software crashed three times.8

       (7) During the Panel hearing, Murphy testified that the first software outage

occurred on the first day of the exam, while she was writing an essay.9 She testified

that she experienced stress when the software crashed and that it took her “a minute”

to relax after the software turned back on.10 Murphy also testified that a portion of

her essay was deleted when the software crashed, requiring her to retype her previous

few minutes of work.11 According to Murphy, it took her “a minimum of five

minutes” to realize that some of her work was missing.12 The second and third

software outages occurred on the second day of the exam.13 Murphy testified that

5
  Id. at 1172.
6
  Id.
7
  Id. These technical problems plagued bar takers nationwide who used ExamSoft.
8
  App. to Opening Br. at A154–70.
9
  Id. at A154.
10
   Id. at A157.
11
   Id. at A156.
12
   Id. at A158. Murphy also testified it took her “a minute” to realize her work had been deleted.
Id. at A159.
13
   Id. at A166.
                                                3
she experienced less stress during these two outages as compared to the first.14 She

also testified that it took less time to “reorient” herself after the software was

restored, although she still experienced stress and some of her work was deleted.15

Ultimately, Murphy testified that she felt she was deprived of her double-time

accommodation because she lost time rebooting her computer and recreating lost

work after each outage.16

       (8)     Murphy was distracted by her exam proctors’ actions, including

coughing, texting, and typing sounds. Murphy testified that she was distracted by

the first proctor’s phone because it was “ringing,” but she later testified that the

sound that most distracted her was the “clicking” sound produced when he typed on

a laptop keyboard.17 She testified that the second proctor had several coughing fits

during the fourth day of the exam,18 though she reassured Murphy that they were the

product of allergies, not COVID-19.19 Additionally, Murphy testified that the

second proctor caused distractions by moving around the room during the fifth day

of the exam.20 Murphy also was distracted by the second proctor’s texting, but

14
   Id. at A166–67.
15
   Id.
16
   Id. at A168–69.
17
   Id. at A160–61. Murphy testified that the proctor’s phone sound was on but could not quantify
the number of times he received a notification. Id. at A161. On cross-examination, Murphy then
testified that the proctor’s phone rang once. Id. at A189; A199.
18
   Id. at A163. Murphy could not say how many coughing fits the proctor had. Id. at A191
19
    Despite this reassurance, Murphy became preoccupied with her concerns over contracting
COVID-19.
20
   App. to Opening Br. at A179.
                                               4
because the phone’s sound was off, she was distracted by the sight of the proctor

looking at her phone.21 Neither proctor recalled causing the alleged distractions and

both testified that they did not behave with any intent to frustrate Murphy’s efforts

on the Bar Exam.22

     (9) Murphy also testified, and the Board concedes, that she was not given scratch

paper during the MPT and MBE portions of the exam, despite the Board having

approved her use of scratch paper for the entire exam.23 Ultimately, Murphy testified

that she could not point to one distraction that affected her the most, but noted that

not having a paper copy of the exam, which she did not request but assumed she

would receive, created a “snowball effect” on the first day where each distraction

and software crash made the experience “worse and worse.”24

     (10) Before the Board released the Bar Exam results in 2021, it told applicants

that, due to the widespread exam outages, the Board intended to adjust exam scores

to reflect the effect of the ExamSoft crashes.25 Because Murphy experienced exam

21
   Id. at A180–81; A200. Murphy testified that she could not remember if she was provided with
earplugs. Id. at A191.
22
   Id. at A223 –24; A228; A230. The first proctor did remember one instance when his phone
vibrated because of an incoming call and thereafter kept it in his pocket to muffle the sound. Id.
at A228.
23
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 6; App. to Opening Br. at A170.
24
   App. to Opening Br. at A184–85.
25
   Murphy I, at 1172. The Board consulted a psychometrician who recommended a pro rata
adjustment to MPT and essay questions affected by outages, that is, the pro rata adjustment
“allowed for an upward adjustment to an applicant’s affected essay score based on the difficulty
level of the affected essay and his/her average performance on the written questions in which the
applicant had no technical issues.” The board also applied an upward adjustment to affected MBE

                                                5
outages during the essay portions, she received a pro rata adjustment to the essays

affected by the software crashes.26 Ultimately, in October 2021, Murphy learned

that she did not pass the Bar Exam.27 She then petitioned the Board for a hearing

(the “First Petition”), asserting that “the ‘Board acted in an arbitrary and unfair

manner in connection with’” the 2021 Bar Exam.28 Murphy asserted Due Process

and ADA claims in her First Petition.29

   (11) The Board denied the First Petition on the grounds that applicants “are not

entitled ‘to a hearing to challenge their test scores’”30 and that the Board did not have

the authority to admit an applicant who failed to achieve a passing exam score.31

Murphy appealed the denial to this Court on the same grounds that she petitioned

the Board and sought relief in the form of waiver of the Bar Exam requirement and

admission to the bar.32

       (12)    On appeal, we held that “[t]he Board was precise and careful in its

[scoring adjustment] remedy, addressing a significant issue for applicants that could

sections equaling “the difference between the mean MBE score of the affected applicant
population and the mean MBE score of the unaffected applicant population.” Id. at 1172–73. The
score adjustments were applied using ExamSoft data that catalogued each restart. Id. at 1173.
26
   Id.
27
   Id.
28
   Id. (quoting Murphy’s Opening Brief on first appeal).
29
   Id.
30
   Id. (quoting Applicant No. 26 to 2000 Delaware Bar Examination v. Board of Bar Examiners of
the Delaware Supreme Court, 780 A.2d 252, 254 (Del. 2001)) (internal quotations omitted).
31
   Id.
32
   Id. at 1170.
                                              6
have undermined the purposes of the Bar Exam—testing for minimal competence.”33

We also held that Murphy was not denied Due Process when the Board refused her

request for a hearing because the relief she sought—waiver of minimum competence

standards and admission to the bar—exceeded the Board’s “general function.”34 As

to Murphy’s claims regarding the denial of her approved accommodations, we

remanded so that a complete factual record could aid in the determination of a

remedy.35

       (13)    The Panel held a Rule 29 hearing on November 1, 2022 to address

Murphy’s contentions that she was denied her approved accommodations.36 During

those proceedings, Murphy argued that she was deprived of the following

accommodations: scratch paper, double time, and a “truly quiet and private room.”37

Murphy sought the following remedies: a stand-alone bar exam, pre-approval of her

requested accommodations, compensatory damages, and attorneys’ fees.38

Specifically, Murphy requested that the Board pay her private tutor and bar course

33
   Id. at 1176.
34
   Id. at 1178.
35
   Id. at 1181.
36
   App. to Opening Br. at A1 (Hearing Tr.). Thirteen witnesses testified at the hearing. Opening
Br. Ex. A at 3. Many witnesses were Murphy’s friends and family, whose testimony concerned
the exam outages’ and proctor distractions’ effect on Murphy. That testimony was cumulative of
Murphy’s and, although the rules of evidence are not applied rigidly in a Rule 29 hearing, the
testimony was hearsay.
37
    App. to Answering Br. at B32 (Petitioner’s Post-Hearing Br.). Murphy’s request for
accommodations sought a “private” room. Opening Br. Ex. A at 4.
38
   App. to Answering Br. at B22–29 (Petitioner’s Post-Hearing Br.). Although the Panel denied
Murphy’s request for a stand-alone Bar Exam and pre-approval of her accommodations, she has
not appealed those determinations.
                                               7
fees because her reasonable accommodations under the ADA had been denied.39

Murphy also requested that the Board reimburse her attorneys’ fees and costs for the

same reason.40

       (14) In the Panel’s decision, it found that Murphy was denied scratch paper,

but received her private-room and double-time accommodations.41 The Panel then

determined that the appropriate remedy for the deprivation of scratch paper was a

waiver of the exam fee—which the Board offered and the Panel adopted—and

recommended that the Board approve Murphy’s accommodations again if she

decided to retake the Exam.42

       (15) The Panel denied Murphy’s request for compensatory damages and fees

on the ground that this Court did not charge the Panel with determining “‘whether

reasonable accommodations’ under the ADA were provided, or with making any

other determinations under the ADA.”43 Moreover, the Panel determined it was not

presented with any evidence of what “‘reasonable accommodations’ under the ADA

would have been during the Bar Exam.”44 The Panel also concluded that Murphy

failed to demonstrate that the Board acted with deliberate indifference—the standard

39
   Id. at B31.
40
   Id. at B32.
41
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 9.
42
   Id. at 14, 18. The Panel held that it did not have the authority to pre-approve accommodation
requests.
43
   Id. at 19.
44
   Id.
                                               8
for compensatory damages under ADA case law—as to her accomodations.45 The

Panel further determined that it was not a court or agency of competent jurisdiction

under 42 U.S.C. § 12205, which was the statute that Murphy relied on for her

attorneys’ fees claim.46 Murphy appealed those determinations.

                                              ANALYSIS

       (16)     This Court performs a limited role in reviewing the Board of Bar

Examiners’ actions.47 We will not reverse the Board’s findings “relating to disputed

issues of fact and credibility . . . if such findings are sufficiently supported by the

record and are the product of an orderly and logical deductive process.”48 Findings

of fact and conclusions as to credibility also will not be reversed if they are

“supported by substantial evidence.”49               “Substantial evidence is that which a

reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. It is greater than

a scintilla and less than a preponderance.”50 This Court will affirm “[w]here the

45
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 20. The Panel also found that any sovereign immunity issues, raised by
Murphy, were mooted by its determination that Murphy was not entitled to damages on other
grounds. Id.
46
    Id at 20. 42 U.S.C. § 12205 provides that, “In any action or administrative proceeding
commenced pursuant to this chapter, the court or agency, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing
party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee, including litigation expenses, and
costs, and the United States shall be liable for the foregoing the same as a private individual.”
47
   Murphy I, at 1174.; In re Green, 464 A.2d 881, 887 (Del. 1983).
48
   Supr. Ct. R. 52(e); Petition of Nenno, 472 A.2d 815, 818 (Del. 1983).
49
   In re Green, 464 A.2d at 887.
50
   Gala v. Bullock, 250 A.3d 52, 69 (Del. 2021) (citing Olney v. Cooch, 425 A.2d 610, 614 (Del.
1981)).
                                                 9
determination of facts turns on a question of credibility and the acceptance or

rejection of ‘live’ testimony before the Board.”51

       (17)    The Board’s construction of its own rules must be reasonable and is

reviewed for abuse of discretion.52

       A. The Panel’s factual findings are supported by substantial evidence.

       (18) Murphy argues that the Board’s findings that she was not deprived of

her double-time and private-room accommodations are not supported by substantial

evidence.53 She contends that the three software outages, which totaled about 15

minutes, deprived her of her double-time accommodation and that the proctors’

distractions deprived her of her private-room accommodation.54                     Contrary to

Murphy’s arguments, the Panel’s factual findings are supported by substantial

evidence in the record.

       (19) Murphy testified that the first time her computer crashed it took her “a

minute” to calm down.55 Murphy indicated that the second time her computer

51
   Petition of Nenno, 472 A.2d at 818 (quoting Levitt v. Bouvier, 287 A.2d 671, 673 (Del. 1972)).
52
   Papadima v. Board of Bar Examiners of Delaware Supreme Court, 947 A.2d 1122, 2008 WL
1952088 at *2 (Del. May 6, 2008) (TABLE) (citing Petition of Nenno, 472 A.2d at 818–19 (citing
In re Huntly, 424 A.2d 8, 12 (Del. 1980))).
53
   Opening Br. at 17. Murphy also re-articulates her argument that the upward grade adjustment
was insufficient to cure her lost time. In Murphy I, this Court held that the Board’s upward grade
adjustment “was not arbitrary or manifestly unfair” to Murphy or any other test-taker. Murphy I at
1170. This argument already was resolved by our Opinion and cannot be raised again.
54
   Opening Br. at 17–18.
55
   App. to Opening Br. at A157 (Hearing Tr.). Murphy argues this Court should take judicial notice
that her testimony stating it took “a minute” for her to calm down after the software crashed was
used as an idiom that means a “brief period of time” and not just sixty seconds. The rules of

                                               10
crashed, it took her “less time” than the first to reorient herself. 56 During the third

computer crash, Murphy testified that she was not as stressed as the first time.57 Her

assertion that “a minute” means a “brief period of time” does not substantiate her

argument that she was deprived of “significant time.”58 Murphy argues the record

is “replete” with testimony that it took her “significant time” to return to equilibrium

after the outages, but she fails to cite any support in the record.59

       (20) Even in her briefs, Murphy fails to specify how much time she lost. 60

The failure of proof regarding Murphy’s double-time deprivation is compounded by

her argument that “if [she] was deprived of twenty, thirty, or forty-five minutes

because of [test outages] she was denied her accommodation.”61 Murphy took the

Bar Exam over the course of five days; losing twenty, thirty, or forty-five minutes

does not deprive her of her double-time accommodation.62

judicial notice do not permit the Court to reinterpret Murphy’s testimony. Regardless, the Panel
points out that Murphy “took some additional time to calm herself,” indicating it did not take
Murphy’s use of “a minute” literally. Opening Br. Ex. A at 11.
56
   Id. at A167.
57
   Id.
58
   Opening Br. at 1. See Opening Br. Ex. A at 11 (“While [Murphy] took some additional time to
calm herself and recreate missing work, no evidence was presented that [Murphy] could not (or
did not) proceed with taking the Bar Exam in the remaining time she was granted or that the
disruptions were significant enough to deprive her of the double-time accommodation.”).
59
   Reply Br. at 11-14.
60
   Id. at 14.
61
   Id.
62
   App. to Opening Br. at A176 (Hearing Tr.).
                                              11
       (21) Murphy further argues that the proctors’ technology-based distractions

and coughing represent a deprivation of her private-room accommodation.63

Although the Panel acknowledged that the proctors caused distractions and that these

distractions affected Murphy more than they did other test-takers, it held that these

distractions “did not rise to the level of denying [Murphy] the granted

[a]ccommodations.”64 That conclusion was supported by substantial evidence.

Murphy conceded that she was aware proctors would be present in the room with

her as she took the exam, and although she indicated in her request for

accommodations that she is “easily distracted” by the sound of people clicking their

keyboards, she did not request a “silent” room.65

       B. The Panel did not abuse its discretion when it declined to award
          damages.

       (22) Finally, Murphy argues that the Board incorrectly determined that she

was not entitled to damages. Specifically, she contends that she is entitled to

compensatory damages under ADA case law and Board Rule 32(c). She also argues

she is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 12205.

       (23) Because the Panel determined that Murphy was denied scratch paper, it

concluded that she was entitled to a waiver of the application fee and recommended

63
   Opening Br. at 18.
64
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 12–13.
65
   App. to Opening Br. at A161 (Hearing Tr.); Opening Br. Ex. A at 4.
                                              12
that the Board re-approve her previously approved accommodations.66 The Panel

further held that Murphy was not entitled to a damages award because: 1) she failed

to raise her ADA claim until post-hearing briefing, and, as a result, she did not create

a record that her accomodations were “reasonable” under the ADA;67 2) the Board

was not a court or agency of competent jurisdiction under the relevant statute; and

3) regardless, Murphy failed to prove that the Board acted with “deliberate

indifference.”68

       (24) Further, the Panel correctly determined that it does not have authority to

award damages under Rule 32(c). Rule 32(c) provides:

            In addition to having the authority to grant or deny permission to sit
        for the Bar Examination or gain admission to the Bar, the Hearing Panel
        shall be vested with the authority to fashion and impose such remedies
        as it shall deem appropriate under the circumstances, including but not
        limited to the imposition of conditions to be satisfied by the applicant
        prior to his or her admission to the Bar.

     (25)   Contrary to Murphy’s argument, Rule 32(c) does not provide the Board

with a mechanism for awarding damages simply because it includes the word

“remedies.” Instead, the rule pertains to a hearing panel’s authority over an

applicant’s admission status, providing a catch-all provision so that the panel may

66
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 14, 18.
67
   To overcome the apparent procedural flaw of failing to raise her ADA claim until post-hearing
briefing, Murphy argues that because her testing accommodations were provided in an effort to
comply with the ADA, her petition—although not explicitly addressing the ADA—sounded in
ADA claims and her remedy therefore should be consistent with the ADA.
68
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 18–20.
                                              13
impose various conditions on an applicant’s admission, as well as remedies

regarding admission to the bar.

       (26)    Even if the Panel had the authority to award damages, Murphy is not

entitled to them. Because Murphy’s damages argument rests on this Court holding

that she was deprived of all the accommodations for which she appeals, and we have

concluded otherwise for the reasons set forth above, we affirm on the basis that she

was not subjected to “deliberate indifference” by the Board. 69

       (27) Further, the record does not support a deliberate-indifference finding.70

Under that standard, a petitioner first must show that the government had knowledge

that a federally protected right was substantially likely to be harmed and failed to

act upon that likelihood.71 A petitioner can show that a right was substantially likely

to be violated by alleging either “a failure to adequately respond to a pattern of past

occurrences of injuries like [theirs],” or “facts that ‘prove that the risk of . . .

cognizable harm was so great and so obvious that the risk and the failure . . . to

respond will alone support finding deliberate indifference.’”72 A petitioner also must

show that the failure to act was the result of “a deliberate choice, rather than

69
   Opening Br. at 20 (“Here, we are not talking about one but three instances where the Board
failed to provide the Appellant reasonable accommodations. Appellant avers that is sufficient to
demonstrate that there is deliberate indifference on the part of the Board of Bar examiners.”).
70
   The Third Circuit has consistently applied the “deliberate indifference” standard to cases where
ADA violations are alleged.
71
   S.H. ex rel Durrell v. Lower Merion School Dist., 729 F.3d 248, 265 (3d Cir. 2013).
72
   Matthews v. Penn Dept. of Corrections, 827 Fed.Appx. 184, 187 (3d Cir. 2020) (quoting S.H.
ex rel. Durrell, 729 F.3d at 266).
                                                14
negligence or bureaucratic inaction.”73 Here, Murphy did not allege a pattern of past

occurrences, that the Board was aware of a risk of her accommodations being

deprived, or that the Board or its representatives made a “deliberate choice” to

deprive her of scratch paper.74

       (28) For her attorneys’ fees and costs argument, Murphy relies on 42 U.S.C.

§ 12205.75 The Panel determined that it was not a court or agency of competent

jurisdiction within the meaning of that statute and therefore could not award

attorneys’ fees thereunder.76 The Panel also concluded that Section 12205 was

inapplicable because Murphy’s petition did not allege any ADA claims.77 In

response to that holding, Murphy contends that because her accomodations were

granted to comply with the ADA, her case “implicates the application of ADA legal

principles.”78    Regardless of any procedural flaw, Section 12205 provides for

attorneys’ fees at the court or agency’s “discretion.” Accordingly, even if the Panel

73
   Chambers v. School Dist. Of Philadelphia Bd. Of Educ., 537 Fed.Appx. 90, 95 (3d Cir. 2013)
(quoting S.H. ex rel. Durrell, 729 F.3d at 263).
74
   Murphy solely relies on her argument that the deprivation of three different accommodations
provides sufficient evidence of the Board’s deliberate interference. Opening Br. at 20.
75
   Section 12205 provides: “In any action or administrative proceeding commenced pursuant to
this chapter, the court or agency, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the
United States, a reasonable attorney’s fee, including litigation expenses, and costs, and the United
States shall be liable for the foregoing the same as a private individual.”
76
   Opening Br. Ex. A at 20. Murphy, for her part, does not address the Panel’s jurisdictional
determination in her briefs.
77
   Id.
78
   Opening Br. at 21.
                                                15
had jurisdiction under Section 12205, Murphy has not established that the Panel

abused its discretion in deciding not to award attorneys’ fees and costs.

      NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the Board of Bar Examiner’s

decision is AFFIRMED.

                                              BY THE COURT:

                                               /s/ Abigail M. LeGrow
                                              Justice

                                         16