. Forum

[forza]

Wow, I literately felt like I didn't know what the fuck I was doing on MBE Set 8 and ended up with a 70%. My scores are STILL all over the place! The only subjects I've been able to stay reasonably consistent in is Contracts, Crim Pro and Con Law. The only thing that I know for sure has improved is my timing--in the beginning I really couldn't finish any sets on time, and now I'm finishing with 10-15 minutes left. I guess that could still be construed as a bad thing. Oh hell, I don't know how to feel about these MBE sets anymore.

Edit: I also forgot to add that I had six C's selected in a row...knew for sure I messed up in there somewhere.

70% on gameday would be money. That would be 140/200, a.k.a., a sick scaled score and serious room to flub the essays.

You're golden.

[as stars burn]

Uh, does anyone know how to access the model answers for the simulated essay exam? I still need to review the model answers for the MEE, and when I go through Flex Study > My Progress > Essay Exam, I can't click on anything, and all I see is "completed." HALP!

[forza]

Uh, does anyone know how to access the model answers for the simulated essay exam? I still need to review the model answers for the MEE, and when I go through Flex Study > My Progress > Essay Exam, I can't click on anything, and all I see is "completed." HALP!

Don't click on myProgress. Just go to Flex Study --> Essay Exams (right next to Essay PQs). Should be in there.

[Reinhardt]

Probably going to break down and get an NCBE test tomorrow. Since people generally did #1(?) I might buy #2 or #3 and see what that's like.

[Bikeflip]

I will never understand why the NCBE wants to hide the ball on Commercial Paper. Most other subjects have a prompt like:

1. What is the legal relationship of Talker, Fixer, and Manager? Explain.

2. Did Fixer have authority to hire Crafty on behalf of TFM? Explain.

3. Under what circumstances, if any, could Crafty collect from Talker the wages TFM owes Crafty? Explain.

Commercial Paper often just asks, "What rights does creditor have?" When that happens, I just make 4-5 headings, depending on whether or not there is a thief:

Is creditor a holder?
Is creditor a holder in due course?
Who is the debtor, and is there an accommodation party?
What real and personal defenses does debtor or accommodation party have?
If accommodation party, can they sue for contribution if the other party was discharged?
What were the presentment or transfer warranties?
Did the person accepting the NI know there was a thief or forger?

[forza]

The owner of undeveloped land had his attorney prepare a deed transferring the land to his niece as a surprise. The uncle signed the deed and had his attorney record it. However, before the uncle delivered the deed to his niece, the two had a falling out. After the man’s death, the niece learned about the deed when it was found among her uncle’s papers. She transferred her interest in the land by quitclaim deed to a good faith buyer for valuable consideration. The buyer promptly recorded this deed. By will, the owner left his real property to a nephew. The recording statute in the applicable jurisdiction states: “Any conveyance of an interest in land shall not be valid against any subsequent purchaser for value, without notice thereof, whose conveyance is recorded.” Who owns the land?

Answers

A. The nephew, because he was the devisee of the owner’s real property.
B. The nephew, because the buyer’s interest in the land was obtained through a quitclaim deed.
C. The buyer, because the uncle’s deed to his niece was recorded.
D. The buyer, because the buyer gave valuable consideration for the niece’s interest.

Answer choice A is correct. The uncle retained ownership of the land at his death because he never delivered the deed to his niece, and thus did not complete the gift. Accordingly, the land passed by will to his nephew. Answer choice B is incorrect because the property could have been transferred by quitclaim deed if the niece had owned it. The transfer of a real property interest through a quitclaim deed does not by itself place the transferee on notice as to a problem with the transferor’s ownership of the transferred property. Instead, a quitclaim deed merely limits the liability of the transferor. Answer choice C is incorrect because, although the recording of a deed generally protects a person who buys the property from the record owner, the recording of a deed does not validate an otherwise invalid transfer. Here, since the uncle did not complete the gift to his niece by delivering the deed to her, she did not obtain ownership of the land and therefore could not sell it to a third party. Answer choice D is incorrect because, although a good faith purchaser of real property from the record owner is generally protected from other claimants to the property, in this case the record owner never obtained ownership of the land.

Aw horseshit. I thought recording of a deed to someone serves as valid delivery (or at least in place of it).

[missinglink]

MBE SET 11 SPOILER

For an agreed price of $20 million, a builder contracted with a company to design and build on the company's commercial plot a 15-story office building. In excavating for the foundation and underground utilities, the builder encountered a massive layer of granite at a depth of 15 feet. By reasonable safety criteria, the building's foundation required a minimum excavation of 25 feet. When the contract was made, neither the company nor the builder was aware of the subsurface granite, for the presence of which neither party had hired a qualified expert to test. Claiming accurately that removal of enough granite to permit the construction as planned would cost him an additional $3 million and a probable net loss on the contract of $2 million, the builder refused to proceed with the work unless the company would promise to pay an additional $2.5 million for the completed building.

If the company refuses and sues the builder for breach of contract, which of the following will the court probably decide?
A. The builder is excused under the modern doctrine of supervening impossibility, which includes severe impracticability.
B. The builder is excused because the contract is voidable on account of the parties' mutual mistake concerning an essential underlying fact.
C. The company prevails because the builder assumed the risk of encountering subsurface granite that was unknown to the company.
D. The company prevails, unless subsurface granite was previously unknown anywhere in the vicinity of the company's construction site.
Incorrect: Answer choice C is correct. While neither party was aware of the existence of the granite, the possibility of encountering subsurface granite in an excavation is not so unusual that the non-occurrence of finding it could be found to be a basic assumption of the contract. The builder therefore assumed the risk that such granite would be found when he accepted the contract. Answer choice A is incorrect, as supervening impossibility only applies where an event occurs and the non-occurrence of which was a basic assumption on which the contract was made. Here, there is no indication that the non-existence of subsurface granite was a basic assumption of the parties. Answer choice B is incorrect. Mutual mistake occurs when both parties are mistaken as to an essential element of the contract. Here there was no "mistake." The parties simply did not consider what might be under the surface of the site. Answer choice D is incorrect, as even if subsurface granite was previously unknown anywhere in the vicinity of the company's site, the builder still assumed the risk of encountering subsurface granite that was unknown to the company.

I chose something other than C. I'm no geologist, but is the existence of encountering subsurface granite "not unusual." I have no clue. And it's ridiculous to assume that the average test-taker would know either.

I know we'll see nothing like this on game day ... just my rant of the day.

[kalvano]

I identify with all of these.


--LinkRemoved--

[releasethehounds]

Dear NCBE:

If you are going to make me answer 200 of these questions, there isn't any reason in this world or any other why any of them should contain a fact pattern that is over 500 words long.

There is even less reason to give me ten of them in a row.

[JDCA2012]

SPOILER - CRIMES MBE

42. (Question ID#26)
At a party for co-workers at the defendant's home, the victim accused the defendant of making advances toward his wife. The victim and his wife left the party. The next day at work, the defendant saw the victim and struck him on the head with a soft drink bottle. The victim fell into a coma and died two weeks after the incident. This jurisdiction defines aggravated assault as an assault with any weapon or dangerous implement and punishes it as a felony. It defines murder as the unlawful killing of a person with malice aforethought or in the course of an independent felony.

The defendant may be found guilty of murder:
A. only if the jury finds that the defendant intended to kill the victim.
B. only if the jury finds that the defendant did not act in a rage provoked by the victim's accusations.
C. if the jury finds that the defendant intended either to kill or to inflict serious bodily harm.
D. if the jury finds that the killing occurred in the course of an aggravated assault.
Incorrect: Answer choice C is correct. The defendant possessed the requisite malice aforethought if he intended to kill or inflict serious bodily harm when he struck the victim. Answer choice A is incorrect because, although intending to kill the victim would amount to malice aforethought, it is not the only way murder can be established. Answer choice C is a more complete statement of the law. Answer choice B is incorrect because even if the heat of passion defense WAS possible, the answer choice is still incorrect as the lack of provocation is not the only way a jury could find the defendant guilty of murder. Answer choice D is incorrect because aggravated assault is a lesser included offense to murder, and thus is not an independent felony as required by the murder statute.


I've read this over and over, and I think I just need a new perspective to explain it to me. Can someone help?

[Reinhardt]

Murder requires malice: intent to kill, intent to inflict SBI (serious bodily injury), reckless conduct demonstrating blah blah disregard of human life, or felony murder. Here, the statute seemingly covers felony murder with "in the course of an independent felony." I think we should probably read the word "independent" to exclude aggravated assault of the victim, because it should almost certainly merge with murder when the victim actually dies. Therefore a murder verdict would need intent to kill or inflict SBI (or depraved heart, which isn't an option).

[JDCA2012]

Murder requires malice: intent to kill, intent to inflict SBI (serious bodily injury), reckless conduct demonstrating blah blah disregard of human life, or felony murder. Here, the statute seemingly covers felony murder with "in the course of an independent felony." I think we should probably read the word "independent" to exclude aggravated assault of the victim, because it should almost certainly merge with murder when the victim actually dies. Therefore a murder verdict would need intent to kill or inflict SBI (or depraved heart, which isn't an option).

Great, thanks so much! I guess the "independent" part was throwing me off there.

I also have a completely unrelated question - does anyone know if there's a list, grid, or anything, that breaks down the type of performance test and frequency? I'm thinking of the similar data people collect on when essays in CA were tested.
I'm just wondering the odds of getting something funky I've never done before - and while people have reassured and said "even if you haven't done it, the directions will tell you exactly what do do" - that doesn't help my neurosis about this bar exam any less.

Just wondering if any info is out there, or even what the PT's were this past Feb and last July?

[JJWAL]

Wow, I literately felt like I didn't know what the fuck I was doing on MBE Set 8 and ended up with a 70%. My scores are STILL all over the place! The only subjects I've been able to stay reasonably consistent in is Contracts, Crim Pro and Con Law. The only thing that I know for sure has improved is my timing--in the beginning I really couldn't finish any sets on time, and now I'm finishing with 10-15 minutes left. I guess that could still be construed as a bad thing. Oh hell, I don't know how to feel about these MBE sets anymore.

Edit: I also forgot to add that I had six C's selected in a row...knew for sure I messed up in there somewhere.

70% on gameday would be money. That would be 140/200, a.k.a., a sick scaled score and serious room to flub the essays.

You're golden.

Is the score out of 200 or 190? I thought 10 were thrown out. If its out if 190, then 70% would get you a raw score of 133.

[Shawnology]

Here is what I watch for daily motivation. Helps me push through this last week. Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

[as stars burn]

Uh, does anyone know how to access the model answers for the simulated essay exam? I still need to review the model answers for the MEE, and when I go through Flex Study > My Progress > Essay Exam, I can't click on anything, and all I see is "completed." HALP!

Don't click on myProgress. Just go to Flex Study --> Essay Exams (right next to Essay PQs). Should be in there.

Thank you!! I'm completely brain dead.

[as stars burn]

Wow, I literately felt like I didn't know what the fuck I was doing on MBE Set 8 and ended up with a 70%. My scores are STILL all over the place! The only subjects I've been able to stay reasonably consistent in is Contracts, Crim Pro and Con Law. The only thing that I know for sure has improved is my timing--in the beginning I really couldn't finish any sets on time, and now I'm finishing with 10-15 minutes left. I guess that could still be construed as a bad thing. Oh hell, I don't know how to feel about these MBE sets anymore. :roll:

Edit: I also forgot to add that I had six C's selected in a row...knew for sure I messed up in there somewhere.

70% on gameday would be money. That would be 140/200, a.k.a., a sick scaled score and serious room to flub the essays.

You're golden.

Is the score out of 200 or 190? I thought 10 were thrown out. If its out if 190, then 70% would get you a raw score of 133.

Yeah, you're right--the real MBE is only graded off of 190. I just did a practice set of 50 questions so I'm not sure that's really how I will perform on game day because of the great disparity in questions and lack of stamina after the AM session, but forza made me feel good! It's amazing what positivity can do.

[as stars burn]

Here is what I watch for daily motivation. Helps me push through this last week. Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

This just made me feel really guilty for not feeling like I have enough time or energy to work out-run/more than once a week. I miss my life. I'd like it back now.

[forza]

Is the score out of 200 or 190? I thought 10 were thrown out. If its out if 190, then 70% would get you a raw score of 133.

Indeed, but a 133 raw is still around a 140+ scaled, giving you room to get a 44% or so average on the essays and still comfortably pass.

EDIT: anyone know why Themis all of a sudden drastically cut my workload down today and a lot of my tasks are pushed back to July 29, the Monday before the exam? Seems wrong.

[HETPE3B]

Is anybody else finding NY multiple choice questions fucking impossible?? Should we just concede the fact that there's no way to prepare for them and just try our best?

[dsclaw]

Is anybody else finding NY multiple choice questions fucking impossible?? Should we just concede the fact that there's no way to prepare for them and just try our best?

Just took the exam, and did better then average but thats about all I can say. I felt totally lost on most of the question. The questions are just ten times harder then MBE, the wording alone in many of the questions confuses me. For some reason I cannot get a single commercial paper question right, despite reading the outline like 2-3 times

[JD_done]

Is anybody else finding NY multiple choice questions fucking impossible?? Should we just concede the fact that there's no way to prepare for them and just try our best?

Indeed. I scored between 65-80% on the last couple of MBE sets and then scored 36% on NY MCQ set 3. It was as if I guessed the entire set.

[BarbellDreams]

6/6 on Property and 0/5 on ConLaw with an average ConLaw per question time of 2:13! Yeah, idk, this whole thing is messed up. I spent 3 hours reviewing ConLaw outline a few days ago and haven't even gotten to the property outline yet.

[HETPE3B]

Is anybody else finding NY multiple choice questions fucking impossible?? Should we just concede the fact that there's no way to prepare for them and just try our best?

Indeed. I scored between 65-80% on the last couple of MBE sets and then scored 36% on NY MCQ set 3. It was as if I guessed the entire set.

Just finished the 50-question set. 38% correct. Goal: 70%. Not even gonna review this shit.

[yeff]

Is the score out of 200 or 190? I thought 10 were thrown out. If its out if 190, then 70% would get you a raw score of 133.

Indeed, but a 133 raw is still around a 140+ scaled, giving you room to get a 44% or so average on the essays and still comfortably pass.

EDIT: anyone know why Themis all of a sudden drastically cut my workload down today and a lot of my tasks are pushed back to July 29, the Monday before the exam? Seems wrong.

how are the NY essays scored, and how does it translate from Themis' graded essays scoring out of 100?

[Agoraphobia]

Anyone else stopped doing the Themis tasks and just moving forward with what they know they personally need work with? I've been at 82% for days and am concentrating on memorizing all my stupid mnemonics in subjects that I think will show up on essays, and reviewing subjects I'm bad at on the MBE (contracts, property).