National Don't Step on a Bee Day

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Today, July 10, is National Don’t Step on a Bee Day, a day to promote awareness of the small, yet precious bee and its importance to the ecosystem. According to the United States Geologic Survey, the science agency for the Department of the Interior, of the 20,000 bees known worldwide, about 4,000 are native to the United States. (Sadly, the honeybee is not one of them.) These native bees are responsible for the pollination of approximately 75% of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States. Despite the importance of bees to the ecosystem, there are a lack of federal rules and regulations protecting these small creatures. The Honeybee Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 281 - 286, governs the importation of honeybees. Its goal is “to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases and parasites that are harmful to the bee population, the introduction of genetically undesirable germ plasm of honeybees, or the introduction and spread of undesirable species of subspecies of honeybees and the semen of honeybees.” Violations can result in a fine, imprisonment, or both.

Despite the relative lack of laws and regulations protecting the bee, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken steps to safeguard bees and other pollinators. In January 2020, the EPA released proposed interim decisions for certain chemical insecticides. Additional steps taken by the EPA include: implementing a policy protecting bees from agricultural pesticide spray and dust application while bees are under contract to provide pollination services, prohibiting the use of certain chemicals when bees are present, issuing guidance for assessing the risks and effects a proposed pesticide may have on bees, and developing a Pollinator Protection Initiative.

On the state level, the Texas Apiary Inspection Service (TAIS) is the agency tasked with safeguarding the apiary industry of Texas. The TAIS operates under the authority of Chapter 131 of the Texas Agriculture Code. Under the Texas Agriculture Code, the Director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station shall appoint a qualified entomologist to serve as chief apiary inspector. Tex. Agric. Code § 131.021 delineates the powers and duties of the inspector. Such powers include adopting rules to control, eradicate, or prevent the spread or dissemination of contagious diseases and seizing and ordering the destruction, treatment, or sale of products equipment that is determined to be diseased. The inspector also has the authority under Tex. Agric. Code § 131.022 to declare a quarantine should the need arise. The movement of bees (other than using their own wings) is also regulated by the chief apiary inspector. Permits for importation and intrastate shipment are required. However, the statute does not specify a similar requirement for exportation. Nevertheless, persons exporting bees may apply for a permit from the inspector.

Additional regulations governing bees can be found in Chapter 71 of the Texas Administrative Code. There, you will find rules regarding European honey bee certification, apiary quarantine, and complaints concerning the disease status of an apiary.

On this National Don’t Step on a Bee Day, please protect these little pollinators. Doing so helps our flowers flourish and our gardens grow. To learn more about native Texas bees, check out this article from the Native Plant Society of Texas.

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Bar Admission in Time of Covid

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If you are now, or have ever been, a licensed attorney, then you probably have a hazy constellation of bar exam memories seared into your brain. While each state handles its aspiring practitioners in different ways, for many lawyers nationwide the experience included being herded into a massive space packed with folding tables, borderline elbow-to-elbow with hundreds of other emotionally-exhausted recent graduates fueled by a summer’s worth of coffee and pizza, under the watchful eyes of a battalion of retiree proctors. Is it possible to replicate this special rite of passage in the time of Covid? The Texas Supreme Court, which ultimately controls the method of bar admission state-wide, decided on Friday it is not currently feasible to do so.

Some states, such as Washington and Utah, have decided to temporarily waive bar exam requirements for prospective attorneys who meet certain qualifications, like holding a JD from an ABA accredited school, or who fulfill a certain number of hours of supervised legal work. Here in Texas, law school deans, students, and prominent attorneys around the state, called for the state Supreme Court to similarly implement a “diploma privilege” that would have allowed JDs to earn licensure through supervised practice, or even just by virtue of having a JD.

Indeed, Texas has offered diploma privilege for bar admission in the past, though it has been almost 100 years. The requirement for a written examination was first implemented in Texas in 1903. Two years later, in 1905, UT Law graduates were able to join the bar without sitting for the exam (Texas Laws 1905, page 150, Laws 1919, page 63). In 1919, these rules were expanded to include graduates from other law schools, unnamed in the Act but enumerated in accompanying Rules. According to a 1978 article in the Houston Law Review, the reason for this expansion was lobbying from the then nascent (and now nonexistent) TCU law school to break the UT diploma privilege monopoly. (Stephen K. Huber & James E. Myers, Admission to the Practice of Law in Texas: an Analytical History, 15 Hou. L. Rev. 485, 512 (1978).) Rather than expand the diploma privilege to graduates of other Texas law schools, the Texas Supreme Court decided at that time to instead expand the privilege to graduates of law programs of high national renown, in order to encourage attorneys of quality to consider a move to Texas. The eight schools then covered besides UT were University of Virginia, Washington and Lee, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and George Washington University. (Id.) The Texas diploma privilege lasted in this form until its total repeal in 1935.

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Instead of reviving some version of the long-gone diploma privilege, even temporarily, this past Friday the Texas Supreme Court opted for a hybrid model. First, the Court outright cancelled the July 2020 exam administration previously scheduled for the end of this month. Next, the Court has ordered an in-person exam be administered September 9 – 11th, “subject to guidance from public health authorities.” Scoring will be rushed to only be delayed by three weeks from the typical release of July scores. Third, the Court has ordered a bar examination be offered on-line the first week of October. Finally, the Court has asked law school deans and local bar organization leaders to help identify practitioners willing to formally supervise practice by JDs who will sit for the bar in either September, October, or February 2021, thereby providing a path to begin practice despite disruption to the exam administration.

As Covid spread puts Texas on the map as a global hotspot, it seems likely the Texas Supreme Court may revisit the issue of diploma privilege again in the coming months. But with the bar now postponed at least six weeks, students can breathe a brief sigh of relief before getting back to their flashcards.

Texas Online Public Information - Courts (TOPICs)

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The Supreme Court of Texas has recently revised the rules governing citation by publication. The change was the result of Section 9.02 of Senate Bill 891, which amended Tex. Govt. Code §§ 51.607(a) and (b) and mandated the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to create and maintain a “public information internet website” that would house citations or other public notices that parties are required to publish under court rules. Furthermore, such website must be accessible and searchable by the public. To satisfy this legislative directive, the OCA has developed Texas Online Public Information - Courts (TOPICs) for the posting of citations and other legal notices. The OCA maintains the website, but the district clerks, county clerks, and court staff are the parties that upload the information. Users can search TOPICs by Name, Cause Number, and Court/County. Results include details, such as citation type, start and end date of the publication notice, and text of the citation/notice.

In connection with the legislative amendment, the Supreme Court of Texas revised Rules 116 and 117 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The revised Rule 116 requires, except in limited circumstances, that the citation be served in both a newspaper and on the Public Information Internet Website. Rule 117 was changed to specify the information that must be included on a return of citation served by publication. Although the order states that the effective date of the revised rules was June 1, 2020, due to COVID-19, the Texas Supreme Court delayed the effective date of the order until July 1, 2020.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

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Today, July 2, we celebrate the 56th anniversary of the signing into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This landmark legislation was the result of a steadfast campaign by NAACP lobbyist Clarence Mitchell in pursuit of racial justice through the legislative process and was originally proposed by President John F. Kennedy. It prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the workplace, public facilities, public education, and public accommodations. However, before its becoming law, the bill faced an uphill battle and launched what is widely regarded as the longest continuous debate in Senate history. The filibuster, which lasted for 60 days, including seven Saturdays, ended on June 10 when the Senate voted 71 to 29 to end the debate. Nine days later, the Senate passed the most comprehensive civil rights legislation in United States history. Less than one month later, President Lyndon B. Johnson, joined by Martin Luther King, Jr., signed the legislation into law on July 2 in a nationally televised broadcast.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, called for, among other things, the desegregation of public facilities and public education, and prohibited discrimination in federally assisted programs. The Act also guaranteed equal employment opportunities for all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency tasked with the prevention of unlawful employment practices, was also a product of this legislation.

Clarence Mitchell and Roy Wilkins of the NAACP

The Civil Rights Act would not exist today if it weren't for the supporters and lobbyists whose steadfast efforts were so instrumental in the passage of this groundbreaking legislation. Two individuals deserve recognition for their exceptional legislative efforts. Clarence Mitchell and Roy Wilkins, whose actions in the NAACP brought about the legislation's successful enactment, are remembered in the Library of Congress exhibit created for the 50th anniversary of its passage. Wilkins, the longest-serving NAACP leader, called the Act a “Magna Carta for the race, a splendid monument for the cause of human rights,” and Mitchell, nicknamed the "101st U.S. Senator,” described it as “a real showdown on civil rights.” Both men are profiled at the links below.

Another prominent NAACP member and leading civil rights figure, Medgar Evers, was killed at age 38 in 1963 and, therefore, did not live to see the passage of the Civil Rights Act that Mitchell and Wilkins worked so tirelessly to make a reality. Evers would be celebrating his 95th birthday today, July 2. His widow, Myrlie Evers, spoke with NPR on Wednesday about the legacy of her husband whose home state of Mississippi just voted to remove the Confederate insignia from its state flag.

Voices of the Era

In tribute to those who lived through the Civil Rights era, we’ve complied a list of resources that feature their voices and personal stories. At the links below, explore photographs and oral histories that document the experiences of people whose lives were impacted by the landmark legislation that was signed into law 56 years ago today.

We Applaud All Who Press For Justice

The promise of the legal system is stamped above the entryway of the U.S. Supreme Court: “Equal Justice Under Law.” Today, our law librarians applaud all who press to make that a reality and who seek to make the story told in the volumes on the Law Library’s shelves bend toward justice, just as Clarence Mitchell and Roy Wilkins did. We echo our colleagues at University of Houston Libraries and affirm our commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, and anti-racist practices and our pledge to use our skills and resources to advance the sharing and production of knowledge for racial justice.