A Simple Request

State Bar of California officials were scratching their heads Monday as the pass rate for the July bar examination hit an 18-year low.

Results released late Friday show that only 48 percent of the 8,062 individuals who took the test passed. The pass rate for a main test date hadn't been that low since 1986, when it was only 44 percent.

"Generally, across the country, I hear we need to look at bar pass rates," said Smith, dean of San Diego's California Western School of Law.

He also said pass rates in California are "noticeably lower" than in other states and that it might be time to reconsider how harshly the state's exams are graded.

More than reconsider before the July 2006 bar, please.