Delaware Supreme Court Building

Delaware's 2020 state bar exam has been canceled, Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. announced Friday.

The decision to cancel the in-person exam, which was earlier rescheduled from July to September and was planned to be held at the state fairgrounds in Harrington to allow for social distancing between test takers, was made in response to ongoing concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19, Seitz said.

Instead of sitting for the exam, those hoping to be admitted to Delaware's bar are expected to be allowed to practice law temporarily and under supervision. The Supreme Court and Board of Bar Examiners are reportedly working on a temporary limited practice rule.

"The health and safety of all involved in the exam is our first priority. The court and the board had hoped that the temporary relocation of the bar exam to the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington and the use of a wide array of safety procedures consistent with state and CDC guidelines would allow us to hold an in-person exam this year," Seitz said. "But we are not where we hoped to be from a public health standpoint. The pandemic continues to evolve, and it is unclear how well the virus will be contained by September."

Of specific concern, Seitz noted, was the fact that almost 60% of those scheduled to sit for the bar exam would be traveling from other states to do so, with some coming from areas designated as COVID-19 hot spots or subject to quarantine restrictions in their home states.

"I commend the chief justice and the Supreme Court and the bar authorities for this wise decision," said Rodney A. Smolla, dean of Widener University Delaware Law School. "The health and safety of the candidates is the most important consideration. Although it's a difficult decision, I think it was an eminently prudent and wise one."

A growing number of jurisdictions during the past month have canceled their in-person July or September bar exams, citing rising COVID-19 cases. But unlike Delaware, most of them have unveiled plans to administer online bar exams instead. Among the jurisdictions that now plan to give an abbreviated online bar exam prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners on Oct. 5 and 6 are New York, California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. Several more jurisdictions are giving examinees the option to take the online October test, including Texas, Arizona and Oregon.

Delaware's plan to create a provision under which law graduates may practice under the supervision of a licensed attorney until they have a chance to sit for the bar exam hews more closely to an option unveiled Wednesday by the Hawaii Supreme Court. Hawaii still plans to give an in-person bar exam in September—unlike Delaware—but is giving candidates the option to work under the watch of an experienced attorney until July 2022, after which they must take a pass the bar exam.

Kelly Phillips Parker, executive director of the Board of Bar Examiners, was not available for comment Friday afternoon after the state announced the exam's cancellation.