You Can't Appeal Every Call

Yesterday, the United States Men's National Team advanced in the FIFA World Cup. But the victory came at a cost.

Forward Folarin Balogun received a red card that many believed was undeserved. Fans questioned the decision. Commentators debated it. The U.S. coaching staff clearly disagreed with the referee's call.

But none of that changed the outcome.

Under FIFA's rules, the automatic one-match suspension resulting from the red card could not be appealed. Whether the referee got it right or wrong was no longer the question. The rulebook controlled.

There's a valuable bar exam lesson in that.

Every bar applicant spends months learning the rules of evidence, contracts, constitutional law, and civil procedure. But relatively few take the time to learn the rules that govern the bar exam itself.

One of those rules concerns what happens after scores are released.

Many applicants assume that if they miss passing by a point or two, they can simply appeal their score. In many jurisdictions, however, that's not an option.

Tennessee is one example. Once scores are released, there is no appeal of the grading decision:

"Once released, grades are final. The only recourse for failing to achieve a passing score is re-examination."

Other jurisdictions have similar rules. Some provide limited review procedures, some automatically reread certain borderline scores, and a handful permit narrow forms of review. But many do not allow applicants to appeal simply because they believe an essay deserved a higher score.

That's why it's important to know your jurisdiction's rules before you ever need them.

If you're taking the exam in Ohio, learn Ohio's procedures. Ohio provides an automatic regrade for applicants whose total scaled score falls within two points below the minimum passing score. Applicants whose scores fall outside that range are not eligible for a regrade.

If you're sitting elsewhere, become familiar with your jurisdiction's rules. Don't assume every state handles post-exam review the same way.

The point isn't to prepare for an appeal. The point is to understand the process.

The USMNT couldn't change the referee's decision because the rules didn't allow it. Likewise, bar applicants shouldn't be surprised after score release to discover that their jurisdiction doesn't permit the type of appeal they were hoping for.

As lawyers, we are trained to read the rule first. That habit shouldn't begin after you're admitted to practice. It should start before you ever sit for the bar exam.