July 9, 2009, the Seventh Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of the case, saying "we find ourselves in an evidentiary vacuum created by the early termination of the case," and remanded the case to the district court. Diploma privilege during the COVID-19 pandemic There has been a renewed interest in diploma privilege as an alternative to the bar examination, which is generally administered in large conference rooms and auditoriums every July and February, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 22, 2020, several legal scholars who study licensure identified "emergency diploma privilege" as an alternative that showed "considerable promise" in a working paper discussing how states may continue to license new lawyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), which writes the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), came out in opposition of diploma privilege in a white paper in which it argued that bar exams ensure lawyer competency. Several legal news outlets criticized the NCBE's position, noting that the NCBE has a conflict of interest as the developer of the UBE and that the NCBE's President and CEO, Judith Gundersen, is a recipient of diploma privilege herself. A number of petitions for emergency diploma privilege by law school deans, professors, and recent graduates in other states have grown. Organizations like United for Diploma Privilege have hosted webinars and organized recent graduates to circulate similar petitions in over 30 states. On March 27, New York became the first state to announce the postponement of its July 2020 bar examination as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several states and territories followed suit by postponing their exams to August, September, or October, while others have looked for alternative options to an in-person examination, including remote examinations or offering diploma privilege to qualified individuals. 39 jurisdictions postponed or canceled their July bar examinations, with postponed exams taking place in September, October, or other dates. 25 jurisdictions are offered remotely-administered examinations. On April 21, Utah became the first state to grant temporary, emergency diploma privilege during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, and the District of Columbia have all instituted temporary diploma privilege policies, as detailed in the table below. However, some Washington legal employers have told recent graduates that they will not recognize diploma privilege and want them to sit for the test regardless. In the District of Columbia, candidates who choose the diploma privilege option