California Bar Exam (July 2013) thread Forum

[Emma.]

Just saw a cargo truck unloading what appeared to be boxes of your exams. At the Oakland convention center. Hope they have enough power outlets this year

Go steal one for us?

[Reinhardt]

Just saw a cargo truck unloading what appeared to be boxes of your exams. At the Oakland convention center. Hope they have enough power outlets this year

Go steal one for us?

"Wouldn't that be nice," said Reinhardt. Mick Haller then hired a professional thief to steal a box of the exams. Thanks to this, Reinhardt passed the exam, when he otherwise would have failed. Which of the following, listed in descending order, is the most serious crime Reinhardt can convicted of?

A. Larceny
B. Conspiracy
C. Solicitation
D. No Crime

[Emma.]

Just saw a cargo truck unloading what appeared to be boxes of your exams. At the Oakland convention center. Hope they have enough power outlets this year

Go steal one for us?

"Wouldn't that be nice," said Reinhardt. Mick Haller then hired a professional thief to steal a box of the exams. Thanks to this, Reinhardt passed the exam, when he otherwise would have failed. Which of the following, listed in descending order, is the most serious crime Reinhardt can convicted of?

A. Larceny
B. Conspiracy
C. Solicitation
D. No Crime

I think Emma is guilty of solicitation, but I don't think "wouldn't it be nice" is sufficient encouragement for accomplice liability (inexplicably not an answer choice ) so probably no crime until you actually get the stolen exam. Then you'd be guilty of receiving stolen goods?

[Reinhardt]

I would likely only receive a digital copy of the stolen exam, which would not meet the requirement that I "intend to permanently deprive" unless you get into some really fancy legal reasoning.

[Foosters Galore]

Man, reading some of these essays on baressays gives me mixed feelings. Some of these 60's are well-written and spot every issue. Then, I'll come across a 65 that misses a ton of stuff and is incomplete in the analysis.

[Mick Haller]

Security seemed pretty tight. There were two guys moving the pallet, another guy keeping watch. Boxes were very tightly shrink wrapped.

You'd be a dummy to try to pull off a heist of the bar exam. That would result in a permaban with serious real world consequences.

[a male human]

What if the 3 guys were in a conspiracy?

[softey]

good luck everyone

[Old Gregg]

Man, reading some of these essays on baressays gives me mixed feelings. Some of these 60's are well-written and spot every issue. Then, I'll come across a 65 that misses a ton of stuff and is incomplete in the analysis.

I really think that with the amount of essays and the amount of time to review them in, a "good" structure will get you more points than a well-written and thorough answer. By "good," I mean something that'll stand out to the weary eyes of a bar grader. Sign post everything, bold every issue, bold every conclusion, don't do big paragraphs, etc.

I would honestly devote 50 minutes to writing and 10 minutes to formatting everything so it's easy for the bar reviewer to read. There should be no creativity. Just straight up IRAC and bold the "issue name" (i.e., part performance of a land sale) and bold the conclusion. Put any preliminary analysis at the top (i.e., in community property what the basic presumptions are) and label it as such.

[Mroberts3]

Man, reading some of these essays on baressays gives me mixed feelings. Some of these 60's are well-written and spot every issue. Then, I'll come across a 65 that misses a ton of stuff and is incomplete in the analysis.

I really think that with the amount of essays and the amount of time to review them in, a "good" structure will get you more points than a well-written and thorough answer. By "good," I mean something that'll stand out to the weary eyes of a bar grader. Sign post everything, bold every issue, bold every conclusion, don't do big paragraphs, etc.

I would honestly devote 50 minutes to writing and 10 minutes to formatting everything so it's easy for the bar reviewer to read. There should be no creativity. Just straight up IRAC and bold the "issue name" (i.e., part performance of a land sale) and bold the conclusion. Put any preliminary analysis at the top (i.e., in community property what the basic presumptions are) and label it as such.

I generally agree with both of these comments. My goal is to avoid 55s by making sure my essay is easy to read format-wise, ignores irrelevant topics, and isn't too conclusory. So many of the 55s on baressays have irrelevant stuff or insufficient analysis. Whether you get a 60 or 65 seems to be some amount of luck. As long as you get thru 5 minutes without annoying the grader, you will probably get a 60, which is enough to pass with good MBE and PTs.

Most essays have like 3-5 main issues. So my plan is to have good headings, short and simple rule statements, argue both sides for any disputed element and then conclude. It seems like good irAc will keep you away from the danger zone. Perfection is the enemy of the good here.

[Old Gregg]

Dumb Q: Difference between per sterpes and per capita distribution?

[softey]

Dumb Q: Difference between per sterpes and per capita distribution?

per stirpes distributes at first level

per capita distributes at first level someone is living

[Reinhardt]

I haven't seen a wills question where the difference has even mattered. Then again, I haven't done that many practice essays.

Per Capita with Representation (default rule in California when not specified and for intestate succession):
Find the nearest generation of issue with a living person. At that generation, distribute one share to each living person, and one share to each dead person who has living issue (and these living issue of that specific dead person share it equally among themselves)

Per Stirpes:
Find living issue. Give one share to their ancestor nearest the testator (some dead child of the testator).

Per Capita at Each Generation:
Do the procedure for PCwR, but then make sure everyone in the same generation takes the same amount by putting all of that generation's inheritance into a pool and then dividing it equally among them.

AND softey's explanation is much better than mine.

Am I even correct? Do dead people with no living issue ever take? No, right?

[softey]

I haven't seen a wills question where the difference has even mattered. Then again, I haven't done that many practice essays.

Per Capita with Representation (default rule in California when not specified and for intestate succession):
Find the nearest generation of issue with a living person. At that generation, distribute one share to each living person, and one share to each dead person who has living issue (and these living issue of that specific dead person share it equally among themselves)

Per Stirpes:
Find living issue. Give one share to their nearest ancestor (some dead child of the testator).

Per Capita at Each Generation:
Do the procedure for PCwR, but then make sure everyone in the same generation takes the same amount by putting all of that generation's inheritance into a pool and then dividing it equally among them.

AND softey's explanation is much better than mine.

Am I even correct? Do dead people with no living issue ever take? No, right?

Yeah, as you said, one cannot ignore representation. Issue of predeceased at level of distribution take in equal parts (edit: unless anti-lapse doesn't apply for some reason). Haven't seen any practice Qs more complicated than this.

[Emma.]

Fuuuuck. Maybe not taking the test tomorrow. Flights canceled. Too far to drive in the next 18 hours.

[Reinhardt]

Fuuuuck. Maybe not taking the test tomorrow. Flights canceled. Too far to drive in the next 18 hours.

Damn. Priceline to get a non-horribly priced last minute flight? Or even horribly priced it might be better than our nonrefundable bar exam fees.

[Emma.]

Fuuuuck. Maybe not taking the test tomorrow. Flights canceled. Too far to drive in the next 18 hours.

Damn. Priceline to get a non-horribly priced last minute flight? Or even horribly priced it might be better than our nonrefundable bar exam fees.

$$ is no object. No flights to buy seats on.

[Reinhardt]

I doubt that I'm very helpful but even so, I'd call the office of admissions and see what they say. For instance if you're supposed to take it in Santa Clara but there's a flight to LA, maybe they could accommodate. Alternatively, could fly somewhere there is a flight and then drive the rest of the way.

[Old Gregg]

Thanks guys. Also, what damages are doctors liable for in malpractice?

[softey]

Thanks guys. Also, what damages are doctors liable for in malpractice?

Is this just general compensatory damages for negligence? Those that are certain/non-speculative (relaxed for non-economic losses), caused by D's conduct, foreseeable at time of breach, unavoidable by P. And punitive if gross conduct?

Or is there a "special" rule?

[Old Gregg]

Remember seeing Q about doctor malpractice causing child birth. Q asked if doctor is liable for lifetime child expenses.

[Old Gregg]

Fuuuuck. Maybe not taking the test tomorrow. Flights canceled. Too far to drive in the next 18 hours.

Damn. Priceline to get a non-horribly priced last minute flight? Or even horribly priced it might be better than our nonrefundable bar exam fees.

$$ is no object. No flights to buy seats on.

Fly into SF or Oakland and take the Caltrain down.

[ben bernanke]

Just to clarify....

Evidence Essays are FRE, unless the question specifically states: "Answer according to California law"

Correct me if I'm wrong...

[DwightSchruteFarms]

^^ That is correct.

Also, worst morning before the exam ever. Opened up my laptop at 8AM to check email. Heard some crazy ads going on. Ctrl+Alt+Del and serached for any tasks that were weird...couldnt find any. Ran three checks for malware, spyware, and other crap...couldnt find anything and the ads were sitll playing in the background. Ran to computer repair and some blessed soul was there. Sat me down, ran a few more tests, did some quick searches and fixed the problem with a system restore.

Also, make sure you are all there before 820 (at least in Santa Clara). Need to get there before if you want to use your laptop or else you will be forced to harndwrite. Had that happen to an amigo last year...he still passed.


Good luck everyone! See you on the other side.

[existenz]

Fuuuuck. Maybe not taking the test tomorrow. Flights canceled. Too far to drive in the next 18 hours.

Damn. Priceline to get a non-horribly priced last minute flight? Or even horribly priced it might be better than our nonrefundable bar exam fees.

$$ is no object. No flights to buy seats on.

Where are you trying to get from/to? Good luck dude, that sucks.