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This landmark ruling approves alternative methods for demonstrating competency and acquiring a law license, following a 2020 initiative where a task force was established to explore this matter.

The Bar Licensure Task Force discovered that the conventional exam “disproportionally and unnecessarily blocks” individuals from marginalized groups from entering the legal profession and deemed it “at best minimally effective” in ensuring competency, as per a news announcement from the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts.

Washington thus becomes the second state, after Oregon, to eliminate the bar exam requirement, with Oregon having made the change at the beginning of this year. Other states like Minnesota, Nevada, South Dakota, and Utah are also considering alternative licensure pathways.

“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,” Washington Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, who chaired the task force, said.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to enforce a contentious new law that gives local police the power to arrest migrants.

The conservative-majority court, with three liberal justices dissenting, rejected an emergency request made by the Biden administration, which said states have no authority to legislate on immigration, an issue the federal government has sole authority over.

That means the law can go into effect while litigation continues in lower courts.

The law in question, known as SB4, allows police to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border from Mexico and imposes criminal penalties. It would also empower state judges to order people to be deported to Mexico.

… When host Jonathan Capehart asked if he regrets using the word “illegal,” Biden said “yes.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized Biden, saying that he “Should have said undocumented” as well.

The Biden re-election campaign’s national co-chair, Mitch Landrieu also slammed the president’s choice of word.

“He probably should’ve used a different word and I think he would know that. But what you should notice about that is not that he made a small mistake,” Landrieu told CNN. “The big thing that he didn’t write, and this is what this president always does, is express empathy to people, he expressed kindness to people. He understands because, as you know, he lost a number of children in his life.”

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill) said that he was “Disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal.’”

Meanwhile, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) complained that Biden’s choice was “incendiary” and “wrong.”