The State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees on Thursday ‌unanimously voted to start using the NextGen bar exam in July 2028, when the current version of the national bar exam will no longer be available. The California Supreme Court must still approve the recommendation, which appears likely after ​it ordered the State Bar to return to elements of the national test last year.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reaffirmed that federal courts reviewing state criminal proceedings relating to petitions for habeas corpus must apply a highly deferential standard, rejecting an inmate’s assertion that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled jurisprudence demanding that agency interpretations be given weight, calls the principle into question.

(Subscription required) Enderton-Speed, a former Judicial Council executive, has held the bar’s top administrative post since November. She received bipartisan support from the Senate Rules Committee at an April 30 hearing, and her appointment drew no debate on the Senate floor Thursday.

(Subscription required) Under state rules, a nominee will come from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), whose second term concludes in January. And while the state’s coming June and November elections are likely playing into Newsom’s calculation on timing, the extended opening on the seven-member tribunal has largely left legal experts stumped.