Fact Check: Did Kamala Harris Fail Her Bar Exam on First Try?

Claim:

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris failed the California bar exam on her first attempt, soon after she graduated law school in 1989.

Rating:

True ( About this rating? )

Context:

Harris eventually succeeded in the bar exam and was admitted to the California bar in 1990, a year after she graduated law school.

On July 24, 2024, at a campaign rally, former U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic frontrunner for president, on her lawyer credentials. Trump claimed she was a "lousy student" and "couldn't pass her bar exams."

A number of posts on X discussed Harris' credentials, questioning why she became a prosecutor and later attorney general of California after having failed her bar exam.

Harris did fail the California bar exam on her first attempt but she later passed and was admitted to the California bar in 1990, just a year after she graduated. As such, we rate this claim as "True" with added context.

The bar exam is a qualifying written exam administered by a jurisdiction for lawyers to practice law in that particular state.

According to a 2016 New York Times profile of Harris about her Senate campaign, she did fail the bar exam on her first try. Harris described consoling a recent law graduate who did not make it either: "[Harris] failed the bar exam the first time she took it. Harris says she recently consoled a young law graduate who also didn't pass; 'I told her, it's not a measure of your capacity.'"

Harris was admitted to the bar in June 1990 according to the State Bar of California records. She graduated from the University of California Hastings school of law in 1989.

The California bar exam has been described as notoriously difficult. According to the Los Angeles Times there was an only 41.8% pass rate in 1985. In July 1989, according to the Los Angeles Times , 59.5% of people passed and won the right to practice law from the July 1989 exams, and the pass rate was 72.2% among the 4,909 people taking the exam for the first time.

We have not been able to confirm the pass rate for when Harris took the exam again. Only 33.9% of people passed the February 2024 general bar exam.

Sources:

"Bar Examination." LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bar_examination . Accessed 26 July 2024.

Bazelon, Emily. "Kamala Harris, a 'Top Cop' in the Era of Black Lives Matter." The New York Times, 25 May 2016. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-era-of-black-lives-matter.html . Accessed 26 July 2024.

"Kamala Devi Harris # 146672." Attorney Licensee Search. https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/146672 . Accessed 26 July 2024.

Kepley, John. "UC Law SF Congratulates Kamala Harris '89: California's next U.S. Senator." UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings), 9 Nov. 2016, https://uclawsf.edu/2016/11/09/uc-hastings-congratulates-kamala-harris-89-californias-next-u-s-senator/ . Accessed 26 July 2024.

Oliver, Myrna. "41.8% Pass Rate Baffles Experts : Legal Profession Frets as Bar Exam Failures Soar." Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 1985, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-20-mn-10438-story.html . Accessed 26 July 2024.

"PASSING THE BAR EXAM." Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 1990, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-03-me-1540-story.html . Accessed 26 July 2024.

"State Bar Releases Results of February 2024 Bar Exam." The State Bar of California, http://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/News/News-Releases/state-bar-releases-results-of-february-2024-bar-exam . Accessed 26 July 2024.

"Trump Turns His Focus to Harris at His First Rally after Biden's Exit from the 2024 Race." NBC News, 25 July 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-turns-focus-harris-first-rally-bidens-exit-2024-race-rcna163496 . Accessed 26 July 2024.

"Trump Turns His Full Focus on Harris at His First Rally since Biden's Exit from the 2024 Race." AP News, 24 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-charlotte-north-carolina-harris-7c7e6e405fecc8927a63763c76f2db1e . Accessed 26 July 2024.