Epilogue

I'm not going to discuss my answers because it is of no use to me or you. There are boards out there with discussions that do a very good job of analyzing the questionns. I have nothing to add. I have read some of it, and have a pretty good idea of where I screwed up. I am optimistic that I passed, but not certain.

I think I was probably clinically depressed during the exam. For the three days, I stopped tasting food. I remember that big exam hall inside Oakland Convention Center, but I cannot tell you what colors the walls were. My memories of it is in black and white. It feel like I've been working inside in a coal mine for three days. And now I'm out, a bit worried about having to go back in again later.

Home now. Books everywhere. The calendar still shows July. On the table is a suicide note I wrote to myself before I left. I hooked up the TV and watched some local news. Still some residual tiredness.

I won't have much to say from here on out. I started the blog to talk about the bar, and now it is, as they say in the law of trusts, without a valid purpose. I might leave everything up though. I need to go thru everything and redact information about me...

Slideshow

I made this slide show of me* this summer studying for the bar. Enjoy.

* Yes, I've been told I look a lot like a thinner better-looking Kevin Costner.

:-)

• Complete the necessary general education; (check)
• Register with the Committee of Bar Examiners as a law student or attorney applicant; (check)
• Complete the requisite legal education; (check)
• File an application to take the First-Year Law Students' Examination and pass, or establish exemption from the examination; (not necessary)
• File an application to take the bar examination and after eligibility has been confirmed, take and pass the examination; (waiting for score)
• File an application for a moral character determination and receive a positive moral character determination from the Committee of Bar Examiners; (check)
• File an application, take and pass the MPRE with a scaled score of 79.00 or greater, which examination is administered and graded by the National Conference of Bar Examiners; (check)
• Be in compliance with California court ordered child or family support obligations. (check)

Last Three Essays

So, it looks like we could have gotten by this summer learning *only* the MBE subjects. And CP. More stuff I *just knew* wasn't going to be on there: First Amendment, criminal homincide, and no PR. And for CP, a rule that hasn't been tested before (I don't think): business goodwill. Not really a CP topic at all. This formula is so obsure that I don't even really have it in my outline. I made up some BS about value of the firm minus earnings. Then normalize into radians. Take the cosine. Squared.

Final Round

- You seem pretty calm...
- Well, I figured, if I don't pass, there's always February.
- Exactly.

Afternoon MBEs

So, are there like two versions of the MBE test booklets? I think perhaps it depends on the color of your id card they have facing the proctors. I notice they are alternating colors.

Anyhow, for me at least, the afternoon was much more trickier. New fact patterns where you had to think. Were these on PMBR? Or were these the new ones that the state bar made up and PMBR / Barbri hasn't copied yet? About a bit more than half way thru my exam, I got like 10 D's in a row. This really psyched me out. Did anyone else get this?

Morning MBEs

I don't know what to say about these. I guessed on quite a few. I normally guess a lot so these didn't feel any better or worse than the recent released questions I've done. 65% would be cool. 70% would be awesome.

The firm sent a fruit basket. I don't eat a lot of fruits but it also contains lots of chocolates.

Fling It Up Against the Wall!

As if people weren't stressed enough already...some funny bar exam stories today on Above the Law.

PT A

Yesterday's lack of sleep really took a toll on me this afternoon. I was pretty much zoned on during PT A. When they asked us to do the finger prints, i used the ink to draw several marks across my face rambo-style. Instead of staying inside the box, I made a huge hand print over my handwriting sample, which, instead of the ridiculous paragraph they gave us, was an alternative ending to the adventures of Huckleberry Finn--where Huck ends up going to law school. I know this is going to pay off big for me. To top it off, all the Red Bull I drank during lunch produced enough excess gas to sustain, throughout a good portion of the session, a strange gurgling sound in my stomach. I'm not sure if the others around me can hear this, but with the earplugs in, it sounded like a walrus was making a dying declaration in my stomach. This is perhaps why the examinee next to me left early.

The PT itself had simple instructions (I did read that right right? There was only one piece of work product???) I should have used the cases better, but whatever. I made a good faithed attempt, and that's all anyone can do on these. Cited some case law, made up some facts, analyzed a few self-made hypos, concluded in iambic pentameter.

First Three Essays

Number 1 was a surprise. Landlord-tenant again! I wasn't really prepared for that one. Didn't know the law. And it's dawning on me just now that I missed a big issue.

Number 2 was products liability. It was hard to go off track here, b/c the question limited you to negligence and strict liability. The calls were phrased solely in terms of defenses but you probably should discuss the prima facie case...although if you did it that way, it was kinda strange b/c you had to discuss the defect itself at the end because of the way the calls were ordered.

Number 3 was evidence. Civil. Mostly testimonial evidence. Mostly hearsay. I was rushed on this last one.

I don't think I nailed any of the three, and I think I did fairly badly on the first one. Not feeling very good about the session.

Anyhow, because of the lineup this morning, this makes MBE subjects such as conlaw and crimpro fairly unlikely for day 3.

Tim Dugan's Bar Exam Vlog

This kid is taking the Ohio bar, and documenting it on video, day by day. He kinda reminds me of my college roommate.

Shoulda Brought an Extra Power Strip

Between my alarm clock, Black & Decker nosehair trimmer, and eggo waffle maker, there just aren't enough holes in the wall.

Oakland in the Hiz'ouse

I wasn't very discriminating in packing, so I ended up with a *huge* bag. Because the bag was so heavy, I took a taxi here. Got kinda nauseous on the way over the bridge.

Anyways so I'm here. The Marriott is nice; there wasn't line at check in.

Walked around the blocks east of Broadway. Lots of Asian boutique stores. Didn't buy anything.

Kinda nervous right now. Will watch some CNN to calm myself down.

Good Luck All

I'm turning off the computer for a bit.

For you CA takers, remember, there is nothing you can fuck up on the first day, that you can't make up for on the third.

To be continued...

Poll Results

Are here. Thanks for voting.

Plan for today:
- lightly go over the last 4 subjects
- pack
- check in
- dinner

For Those of You Burning the Midnight Oil...

Another classic post from Wings & Vodka. It gets funnier every time you read it. I swear.

The "List of Crap I'm Gonna Bring" Post

I was going to make this list anyways, might as well do it here. Two past takers have published their list here and here.

As for me:
- laptop, power cord, internet cord.
- alarm clock + batteries
- cellphone + cord
- sleeping pills, advil
- brush, paste, plus other things
- clothes (to be decided after laundry)
- map of Oakland
- CMR, CEWB, Sakai's lists
- ziplock bag
- pens, my lucky pencils
- watch
- earplugs
- ticket, id

Will supplement if I think of anything else.

Selected Examinee Answers

Some of the wording in these answers crack me up. Answer B for Question 6, winter 2004 goes:

The rationale for [the indispensible party] requirement is that defendant should not be allowed to *torpedo* the plaintiff's proper diversity jurisdiction by bringing in a non-diverse party.

Emphasis added.

I think the word is "destroy," but "torpedo" works too.

To Keep You Company

A fellow CA bar taker. No, it doesn't get any better after the first 10 seconds.

NCBE Online Exam

I did okay on these (relatively speaking). Questions were definitely easier. I estimate that this exam is maybe 25-35 questions (out of 200) easier than Barbri's simulated exam.

Glad I did it for the experience. Glad I didn't bomb.

Perseverance

Intrusion

Getting Close

Today I did PR and agency/pship essays. For the agency/pship ones, I just did the last few on that Barbri Word document. It seems that given what Barbri gave us, there is very little variation that can be tested with agency/pships. For agency, it is basically respondeat superior and authorities. And for pships we add formation (just a definition then the facts), dissolution, and fiduciary duties.

I'm not really doing great on the PR essays, but I'm getting the picture.

This basically wraps up my prep for these two subjects. I might outline another PR one or two but I'm basically moving on.

Oh and. I didn't do a PT. My heart wasn't in it. I read the file and then the answer.

I did an evidence essay on the CA bar website by accident. One of the two answers got the law kinda wrong. It's easy for me to say b/c I have the law right in front of me.

Here is a thought. Instead of making us actually write out an essay for the bar, why not have us grade one instead? Sort of like a giant MBE where you have to write a few sentences (so they know we speak English). This reduces (1) the amount of bullshit that gets spewed out onto paper every 6 months, and (2) the amount of bullshit that bar graders have to read.

A Conversation

Lucas [agitated]:
Look. If you take joint-title in a piece of property as H and W, the property is presumed CP, and any SP that you spend towards that property is presumed to be CP!!!

Auntie Lucas [calmly]:
Now hold on. Upon divorce, this presumption that you speak of can be rebutted by the parties' agreement, either on the deed or in a separate writing.

Lucas: [silent.]

Auntie Lucas:
And further, SP is entitled to reimbursement for any post-1984 SP spent towards (1) the property's purchase price, (2) the repayment of its mortgage, or (3) its improvement.

Lucas: [sighs.]

[exeunt.]

I Should Quit Watching Youtube So Much

Earthquake?

I didn't feel nothing. But apparently it happened today:

No, you didn't dream it! There was a 4.2 temblor this morning at around 4:42 a.m., centered two miles east of Oakland on the dreaded Hayward Fault. It knocked out power in Oakland[.]

Hope the Marriott is okay.

Prioritizing

I won't have the time to do all the essays I want. So I will have to gamble. As of now, the poll reveals the following in terms of likeliness:

PR 55, civpro 53, CP 44, E 39, rem 39, A-P 35, Ks 31, Ts 22, crimpro 19, Trusts 19, conlaw 18, corps 11, wills 10, property 9, crimlaw 6.

I think I will write out outline as many of the top 7 as possible.

Typos

So in wills, the doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation shows up in many places and we like to abbreviate it as "DRR." The outline I'm using however, consistently refer to it as "DDR," which in my mind is the universally-accepted abbreviation for this. So the following passage made me laugh:

If will is typed but then has handwritten interlineations, do we have a valid will w/holographic codicil? NO b/c the material provisions will not all be in handwriting. PLUS the original gift would be revoked! ...
BUT if original gift was to give less (so attempted change was to increase gift): DDR.

Neighbors

My neighbors across teh hall had a huge fight last night. At 3 am. And it spilled into the common areas. It was so loud it was like they were in bed with me. I'm not what sure they were arguing about (it was all in Russian) but the screams and the door slams continued until about 4:30. I'm a bit tired today. Will try to push thru wills, but que sera sera.

First: brushing the ol' teeth.

Final Phase

Hopefully by the end of tomorrow (or Friday at noon), I will wrap up the "learning" phase of my prep. Here is what I'd like to do before the exam.

1) do a PT.
2) do that NCBE MBE exam, go over
3) tear up all my MBE flashcards
4) outline as many essays as possible (esp'ly for Evidence and PR)
5) go over H-berg's PT lecture notes
6) go over the Barbri checklists
7) pack

In hindsight, I should probably have practiced more and tried to memorized less. But I just couldn't feel comfortable practicing something I didn't memorize first. Oh well.

Travis Wise said that, by this week, you should pretty much be at peace with yourself. I don't think I am really there. I feel calm when I'm not thinking about the exam. But I nervous when it creeps into my mind. Hopefully I will find peace by this weekend.

Shopping

I mentioned before how I liked to pace when I memorize things. So I live *real* close to the grocery store and I've began going there a lot (6 to 8 times a day).

Recently, I've noticed that as I speedwalked up and down the aisles, a clerk is always following me around. So, I started buying random groceries from there out of guilt. So far, I've gotten popsicles, and lean cuisines (I never eat in), smokes (I don't smoke), and cough drops (I don't have the coughs, but they may come in handy if I ever decide to start smoking). Who needs a care package when you live close to Safeway?

Also. I would like to confess that I committed a common law crime earlier. Concentrating really hard, I formed an intent to permanently deprive. With said intent, I pushed a shopping cart several feet towards my apartment. Luckily, no one was watching.

Evidence Essays

I don't know shit about evidence and I'm planning to go over the rules again (b/c I forgot everything in a matter of 5 days). However I nail the issues when I write evidence essays. Why? Becuase the model answers' headings are SO predictable. So for each piece of evidence that comes up, I just blindly write down the following:

Logical Relevance - Legal Relevance - Character Evidence - Personal Knowledge - Opinion - Authentication - Impeachment - Hearsay* - Privileges.

llcpoaihp. Got that?

If you do that, You will probably hit 90% of all the issues.**

*make sure you mention that the existing hearsay rules are not impacted by Prop 8, even though apparently NOTHING is impacted by Prop 8.

**I mean, how often do subsequent remedial measures come up anyways? And if it comes up, you'll definitely see it.

The Procrastination Song

How I Sleep At Night

I'm lying in bed. I fantasize about getting up the next morning, putting on a clean change of clothes, and just leaving it all behind. My cell, my books, the bar, my new job, everything. I shall take on a new identity doing something I know I won't hate. Maybe something involving photography. Maybe I will buy some camping gear and hide out in the woods somewhere. Maybe become a professional truck driver and spend my days going up and down the west coast. I think a lot of the pain I feel, a lot of the fear, is from the expectations of those around me. If I actually got up tomorrow morning and decided to shed all of that, maybe everything will be better.

Also, drinking some wine and taking a shower usually does the trick to help me fall asleep too.

CEWB - Last Torts Essay

Holy Mother of Jesus.

If you hadn't done this one yet. You may stop reading.

I didn't realize this question was going to go so much into PR. The model answer basically regurgitated the PR outline in its entirety. I couldn't have done this even if it was a takehome. I made a few minor points but...damn.

On the other hand, I didn't exactly remember malicious prosecution or abuse of process but I BS'ed those okay (I think). The only thing I got the law right on is defamation. And that's only b/c I went over it yesterday by accident. *sigh*.

10b-5

Is it me or is this like 3 different torts wrapped up into one? So:
1) D lying to P, and P buys or sells in reliance (fraud)
2) D has insider info, and deals with P (insider trading), and
3) D has insider info, and tell D2, who then trades (tipping)

Why not explain the three separately in terms of elements? Why, instead, is it presented to us as one giant tort with 12 elements? The only elements that are in common among the three are the jurisdictional hook, D's intent, and materiality of the info. It's like saying battery and false imprisonment is somehow one tort.

Corporations

I kinda liked this subject in law school. But now I can't stand it. So. Much. Stuff.

What I wouldn't give, to know for sure that it won't be on the exam!!

Serenity now... serenity now...

Nightly Reflections

Again I'm going to bed frustrated by how little I can remember. It is impossible to learn everything, yet I still try. What else is there to do?

It's a bit absurd to think about it too much. Would it really impress a grader if I was able to nail a really obscure rule? Even if I were to get one essay completely right, would s/he recognize that it's perfect? Or would it just get the standard pass? Can you really say that a 5-page answer is perfect from a 2-3 minute reading?

And how the heck does someone like Kathleen Sullivan fail?

Just Took Another Software Push from Apple

Everytime it does this it makes its own applications the default players for like every file format on my computer. iThanks.

Has Anyone Done Civ Pro Essay 6 in CEWB?

I am confused. Google talk? [Redacted - this is clearly not going to work...]

Agency-Partnership Essays

Barbri gave us 6 questions on agency and partnership, but they weren't assigned in the paced program. Are any of you doing these? They seem to be outside of the scope of the lectures.

Moving on...

Oldie

Well this video has been out there for a while now, and I've posted about it before. But I think it deserves a repost, b/c the video was made one week before the bar exam, and this is where we are now. When I originally posted the video, I didn't know what the PMBR blue book looked like...

Poop

Yall might have read this already but if you haven't, over on Poobah's blog, someone comments:

We have a 17 year old mini dachshund, who wears diapers and has like doggy dimensia...
So what my parents told me when I got home was that she had fallen down the stairs, and then pooped. She then proceeded to walk through the poop and walk all over the basement. By the time they got home the original pile of poop was no more, and instead there was a thin cover of dog poop covering the entire floor, and what’s worse, my neatly piled outlines, CMRs, and lecture notes, were now scattered across the entire floor covered in footprints of doggy-doo.

Yikes!

Post-Barbri Plan

For some bloggers, these last few days can't go fast enough. If you'd asked me this about three days ago, I would have thought that was crazy. I'm still rushed for time, but now I sort of am ready for this to be over with too. The longer it goes, the longer everyone else has time to study. So it really doesn't matter if we had another week, or two, or however many, relatively speaking. Even if the bar exam is tomorrow, it's okay, because there are others who are not "ready".

I never really made a real "plan" after Barbri. I basically prioritized the subjects and am going over them one per day. During lunch and dinner, I'll do some MBEs; and if I have time left over (like today) I'll outline some essays. On the last day or two, I'll do a few more essays, maybe a PT, and look at the checklists. That's it. That's my plan.

Are These Guys Taking CA?

Hope so.

Miyako

If you're ever in the Pacific Heights area of SF, you should try this restaurant. It's kinda awesome. Further, you should order the ramen noodles with duck. Mixed reviews here.

Discuss.

So. Apparently Remedies wasn't much of a subject, so I had some extra time to outline a few essays today. It really amazes me how I can miss so many issues. The question can go on and on about all the elements to this one defense, and I don't mention it.

I think that's why I feel safer with the MBE's. Often, you don't have to "see" issues. You just have to recognize correct statements of the law.

Of course, on one essay question I somehow managed to completely ignore a part of the call. There is no excuse for that.

I like essays with lots of calls. It keeps people like me from having to spot things. I hate it when it just says "Discuss." But those are the ones worth practicing.

Why I Went to Law School

And to Depress Yall Further

From an xoxo thread titled, "hit bottom this morning re: the Bar Exam":

was sitting in the waiting room for about an hour before he came in to see me. i was there to get ambien bc ive been having trouble sleeping. i was pretty stressed, and while i was waiting i began to make plans to take 20 ambiens tonight and die. i think if i had had the pills there with me, i wouldve done it.

i guess that wouldve been dumb because its just the bar exam. now a lot of my anxiety has dissipated and i figure i really need to work my ass off the next two weeks and none of this obsessive bullshit.

that's all i have to say right now...

Someone replies:

I wish I was this anxious...I might not have spent the whole day not studying.

Break Time

If you saw the movie A Lawyer Walks into a Bar, at one point Megan throws her arms up in frustration and says "I can't learn anymore!" That's how I feel right now.

True Story

I couldn't sleep last night. I was sitting on the couch surfing the web about the bar exam, when the phone rings. It was 3:00 or so. Hello I said, startled by my own voice. It was some lady asking for a Tiffany. She was mad. Tiffany was supposed to report in for work but didn't. I told her she had the wrong number. She hangs up. Half an hour later, she calls back, this time furious. She refuses to believe me when I tell her that I don't know any Tiffanies. She yells, you'd better tell her to get to work! Click. I was tired by then so I'm not sure if I dreamt all of this up. But maybe I should unhook the phone tonight.

A Solicitation of Offers

I would like to have an electronic outline of either: corps, evidence (with CA distinctions), or trusts. I will trade my awesome civpro outline (snapshot left). It is 15 pages long.

If interested, please email me at [redacted]. Thanks.

[Edit:] Many thanks.

Not Sure What To Do

I'm in a rut.

MBE scores are not really improving. I'm not sitting down to do a whole mess of them, about 15 per sitting. Maybe that's too small a sample size. But my scores fluctuate wildly. I'd like to take the MBE more seriously but I still need to memorize like 7 subjects and that's a full-time job.

I'm also forgetting a lot of what I thought I memorized. But a lot of it pop back in my mind after I just glance at a flashcard. I think I need to do a lot of essays so the commonly tested things gets exercised in my mind.

I dunno.

Running to the Grocery Store for a Bit...

Please post some entertaining links in the comments. Nothing obscene or I will have to erase your comment.

[Edit:] Alternatively, ask me anything about torts, property, civ pro, evidence, conlaw, contracts, or PR.

[Edit2:] Or better yet, just give me encouragement and tell me I'm special.

Too Much Detail?

Jury issues:

1. Which issues (law / equity) gets decided first?
- Fed: law
- CA: equity

2. If damages are only incidental to claim, right to jury trial?
- Fed: yes.
- CA: equitable cleanup.

3. When to demand jury trial?
- Fed: 10 days after last pleading raising jury issues.
- CA: 5 days after setting of trial.

4. How to select jury?
- Fed: 3 unlimited for cause, 3 peremptory, per side; preemptory cant be based on race / gender.
- CA: unlimited for cause, 6 peremptory per party; preemptory cant be based on nationality, sex orientation, etc.

5. Quorum?
- Fed: 6-12, at least 6 for verdict.
- CA: 12.

6. Verdict?
- Fed: unanimous.
- CA: 3/4 enough.

Is this all right? Should I memorize this?

Not Good Progress Today

Tried to memorize half of civ pro. I should now know, jurisdiction, venue, Erie, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. Did some MBEs. Outlined two essays. I also finished a nagging chore. From now on no more nagging chores. It's just me and the materials.

Still 7 subjects that I need to memorize. As I'm going over these, I'm afraid I'm slowly forgetting stuff too. Especially evidence. I never really understood that subject, and my brain just rejects all the little rules. When I write evidence essays, I would basically write down words taht randomly pop into my head: relevance! conformity! turpitude! Kelley-Frye! I really need to develop an issue-spotting list...

Tomorrow, the nitty gritty of pleadings, joinders, discovery, pre-trial adjudication, etc, etc.

Civ Pro Question

Federal court, issue preclusion (collateral estopppell).

For this to apply, we need:
1) final judgment on the merits
2) an issue that was already litigated
3) the issue was essential in the old case
4) party seeking relitigation was a party in the old case, AND
5) if party asserting preclusion (the other one) is using it offensively, it needs to be "fair." (some factors).

First of all, is the above basically right?

And second, can all this still work if the party seeking relitigation (in 4) is (a) in privity with a party in the old case, or (b) merely had notice of the old case?

More Wings and Vodka

Apologies for the lack of content; life is boring at the moment. All I have for you are two of my favorite posts from "Best Of" W&V, here and here. Enjoy.

What I Did Today

Bought giant see-thru ziplock bag.
Did some MBEs.
Outlined 2 essays.
Tried to memorize my PR outline. (Go ahead ask me something.)
Crossed off "11" on my calendar.
Stared at my spreadsheet of subjects.

I don't have a systematic way of memorizing things. One thing I do is to read something and then repeat what I read (internally) from memory. When I'm repeating, I like to pace around. Recently I've taken this into the streets. I can't wander too far away, however, b/c all my materials are on the laptop. But if I had a printer, I could just take a printout and walk all over San Fran. Such good weather recently too...

On My Own

Went to the H-berg lecture earlier today. He went over the latest fact gathering PT (which I didn't do). He also went over the simulated written exam PT (about age discrimination) and a previously graded PT (about mall curfew). Apparently I did pretty bad on the age discrimination one. Oh well. He then talked about more PT types - I can't really even tell you what he said at this point. I was really tired this morning and my notes consisted mostly of doodles. Like many people, I'm just going to wing it for the PTs. He of course had more of the same old stories. Maybe it was because of my fatigue, but I laughed hysterically at his "good ideea?" and "fabulous" punchlines.

I felt kinda sad that Barbri is over. I said good luck to one person whom I usually commiserate with (whose name I dont even know). And then we all quickly packed up and got outta there. I've really come to hate that huge hall below St Mary's Cathedral. I took the long way home. It was liberating to walk the wrong way for a while. Then I got hungry and had to wander back to Geary because those are the only restaurants I know.

Last Essay Workshop

First of all, if you go, bring your in-class workbook materials, and not the simulated essay stuff. I stupidly left my in-class workbook materials at home, so I couldn't outline the essays w/everyone else. I think we only did three. Also, he didn't really go over the simulated written exam, which is odd, b/c the subjects were CP, wills, and PR (all topics discussed today).

He gave us a nice attack plan for CP, and urged us to formulate our own study plans.

He made "predictions," although it was certainly not in absolute terms. However, here is what I managed to take down:
- conlaw: free speech unlikely
- conlaw: executive power for war possible, equal protection likely
- crim law: last time extensively tested, crim pro more likely.
- evidence: likely narrative format question, not transcript.
- property: lots of landlord tenant stuff recently, unlikely this time.
- property: easements, conveyancing likely.
- torts: defamation / invasion o'privacy likely.
- corps: tested last 4 out of 5, usually CL fid duties. unlikelY?
- civ pro: *very* likely. jurisdiction, res judicata, col estoppel. know CA distinctions.
- CP: *very* likely. look for crossover with wills.
- PR: always. probably full question this time.
- remedies: likely to be piggybacked on another topic.
- wills: tested last 2 times. trusts more likely, especially fid duties of trustee.

I don't know if these are accurate, but knowing that this info *will* influence people's studying decisions, I shall follow along. We are all part of the herd. It is in our individual interests to do what everyone else is doing, even if that is wrong. So. Please pay attention to this list. Please tell your friends. And please supplement anything I missed.

BTW, if you have the time, do stay for Sakai's last hour. I thought he was quite funny.

It's a Marathon Not a Sprint

I think this video captures it well. I don't have much to say today except that I am scared.

On the final two weeks, Travis Wise writes:

The final two weeks are very nerve wracking, and for many people the hardest most stressful time in their lives. The volume of information you have to know seems overwhelming. This is the time for memorization. Focus on the concepts that are difficult for you. Don't avoid a difficult subject, because Murphy's Law says that is the subject that will be on the bar exam.
...
For those of you reading this who are in your final two week period before the bar exam, rest assured that tens of thousands of other people have gone through what you are going through now - you are not alone. It is a uniquely difficult time, and one which you will never forget. But you will make it through as long as you don't give up, and don't let yourself start panicking. You have the capability within your mind to pass the exam. At this point, it is just a matter of getting that ability from your brain down to your hand and onto the paper.
...
Several days before the bar exam, many students feel a sense of serenity descend upon them. The material has "gelled" by this point, and there is not much more that you can study and retain. By this point, you either have it or you don't. Don't stop yet. Keep reviewing flashcards and checklists. But allow your self-esteem to rise, knowing that you've given it your all, and that you are ready. The increase in your self esteem will be needed to overcome the extreme nervousness and fear which you will face in the coming week.

Thinking Out Loud

Two more weeks. I still need to finish outlining PR, and then CP. Then memorize everything. Then outline the essays.

Goals:
- must finish outlining CP by next Wednesday at some point.
- try to finish memorizing everything by 7/22.
- omg omg omg

Looking at the Paced Program, they have us:
- finishing most of the essays
- finishing the MDR mixed MBEs
- finishing the MDR released MBEs
- 2 more PTs (should I do these?)
- and reviewing some checklists

I wonder if I should skip Essay workshop 4 and PT workshop 3. Essay workshops have been pretty useless. He briefly goes over a subject and basically have us outline essays. But I should be outlining that stuff anyways, so I think I will go. Plus he's going to give us his predictions, so that's worth something. Am not sure about the PT workshop though...but I like his pep talks.

MBEs That Are Not Bullshit

Just did 34 released questions on torts. I got like 80%. Just 3 days ago, I got around 60% on the Barbri Mixed MBEs. Now I didn't learn any new tort law between now and then. I think the difference is that the released MBEs don't really demand that you apply the law to the facts. If you know the law, you're clearly going to get it right. The fact pattern is just a good illustration of a piece of law. The Barbri and PMBR questions involve hard facts, so that even when armed with the law, reasonable people can differ on the result. At least that's ONE of their unfair tricks. I don't know where these "released" MBEs came from. But I do know they are a heluva* lot more reasonable.

* hostile, exclusive, lasting for 20, uninterrupted, visible, actual.

Tort Law BacK!

Kinda long. I recommend you skip past the credits to 1:30 (or 4:10 if you count backwards).

In Your Opinion...

What are the most likely CA bar essay subjects this summer?
	PR
	Conlaw
	K
	T
	P
	E
	Crim Law
	Crim Pro
	Civ Pro
	Remedies
	Corps
	Agency-Pship
	CP
	Wills
	Trusts
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Simulated Written Exam

Well. I'm not going to spoil the fun for you CA Barbri folks about which subjects you are going to have. I will say that I did badly on one of the essays. Well actually all three essays. But for one, I did particularly bad, mistating the law for basically every subpart. Things like this make me feel really good inside.

The ear plugs worked out well. After a while, I forgot I had them in. When I took them out, man it was loud. Especially at the end of the afternoon PT portion, when you know pretty much everyone is getting their bullshit on.

If you are feeling nervous, think about this:
1) you're guaranteed 40 for sitting down, and for the most of you, a good score is only 80. So from extremely bad to extremely good, we're only talking about 40 points.
2) You can save yourself from two bad essays by doing one good PT. And you don't need to know anything for that. Of course, I messed up the PT too.

So. Basically, you want to "hit" two out of three essays, and not F up on the PT. God I'm tired.

Panic Setting In

A "fun" thread from xoxo. Warning, contains foul language.

Tomorrow is my Simulated Regurgitation Day. I will wear some foam ear plugs to keep my legal knowledge from leaking out.

Things I Should Remember When Writing Essays

Always always talk about defenses to torts.
It's "servient" estate. Not "subservient."
That is all.

Also, I noticed that all the evidence answers robotically use the headings "logical relevance," "legal relevance," and "personal knowledge." I thought I heard Sakai say NOT to do this. Are you going to stick to those headings?

"Lets Stop Raping Cows Please"

A landlord has no tort liabilities, except:
- Latent defects (must tell T)
- Short term furnished dwellings (strict liability)
- negligent Repair undertaken
- Common areas, and
- Public premises (major defect, T will not fix, land used by public).

You can thank me later for this jewel.

It seems, the word "cow" often pops into my head when I'm trying to think of mnemonics. Half of my monics involve cows. Maybe after all this is over, I will write a story about cows, in which every word triggers an element in the law of real property.

Reality Check

Well. July 4th has passed. It is now plainly clear to me that I will not be able to outline every subject. So here is what I'm going to do. As I said before, I'm going to outline CP and PR. Also, tomorrow, I'm going to outline res judicata in civ pro. For all the rest, I'm going to memorize off of the lecture notes. I realize that even with this scaled-back plan, time is now tight. So I will reevaluate again the end of next week. I hope that by the end of next week, all I am doing is memorizing and practicing. Que sera sera.

USA!

From AP:

In a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged Wednesday as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a record-setting yet repulsive triumph. ...
The victory by the San Jose, Calif., resident ended Japan's long dominance of the contest.

This is great. BTW you should read the story about what Kobayashi did afterwards.

This story really inspired me because eating hot dogs is just like learning the law. You just have to keep going. Until the test day. Then you have to do what Kobayashi did.

Happy Fourth Yall

I went downstairs for a bit. A car drove by. It left behind a familiar smell: the smell of probable cause. Looks like someone started celebrating 4th of July a little early.

As for me, I'm going to celebrate tomorrow by memorizing conlaw. That's kinda patriotic right? God, this is going to be the worst Independence Day ever.

MDR Mixed 51-100

66%. It sure didn't feel like 66%, b/c I was guessing all the way. I didn't time myself either. I did these over lunch and dinner. I'll go over them tomorrow.

I'm looking to start the civ pro outline. But it's like 70 pages long! That's longer than the CMR! Did Freer really think we needed all this stuff? I'm going to go at this for another 20 minutes.

Done With Remedies

I must say Conviser did a good job with the hand out. He basically gave the headings that you need to hit. Plus mnemonics.

Next up, civ pro. I will def'ly outline that, and community property, and PR. The rest I will play by ear.

If You Say So...

Man these PMBR explanations really make me mad. I went thru five in a row where either a) it's a really minute area of law that is no way testable, or b) we had to make an impossible evaluation of the facts.

As to b), for eg:

- D says he wishes to remain silent. On the way to the police station, two cops places D in the police car and says "gosh I hope no one finds that gun." D confesses. Answer: this is NOT an interrogation. The explanation distinguishes that case with similar facts!

- cops go into a house on a valid warrant for a stolen stereo. They see another stereo, *with the serial number scratched off*. Seizure. Answer: it is NOT immediately apparent that this is a fruit of crime and the seizure is bad. This whole result turned on the words in the facts: "upon inspection." Totally debatable.

And finally, it really doesn't help that their explanations cite *cases*. Like I'm going to read the case. Why not cite to the outline?

My Understanding of the Exclusionary R and Fruits

So there are two types of bad evidence.
1) those that are gotten *directly* from illegal police conduct. We'll call these illegal evidence.
2) those that are gotten, *indirectly* from the illegal evidence. We'll call these fruits.

There are two sets of rules.
The first takes the exclusionary rule entirely out of play. When they apply, both (1) and (2) are admissible.
The second only makes "fruits" admissible. These either break the causal chain, or are grounded in the idea that the causal relationship is too tenuous in those cases to support the policy behind the fruits doctrine.

Under the first set of rules, we have:
- grand juries, impeachment uses (I think), and good faith reliance (I think).
And under the second set of rules, we have:
- indep source, inevitable discovery, indep act of free will, "fruits" from violation of Miranda rights (I think), and "fruits" from violation of the knock-and-announce R.

The trouble is, neither the CMR nor the big outline organizes things this way. Maybe I'm just wrong.

Feel free to comment.

Unethical

I just did the first PR essay in CEWB.

First of all, the lecturer told us to start each paragraph with "X has a duty of [something] to Y." The model answer did nothing of the sort. And neither did I (only because I couldn't remember what rule went with what duties).

Second, the last paragraph reminded me of my 1L summer job. I worked at a personal injury law firm that summer. In fact, it was run mostly by paralegals. They didn't meet with witnesses or clients one-on-one. But guess what, they negotiated over the phone with insurance adjusters. And that, it appears, is unauthorized practice of law. Good thing I don't have a duty to report.

Things I'm Thinking About Taking To The Exam

Miranda Question

I have a question for you people.

The cops drag a guy to the station and make him confess, in violation of his Miranda rights. From the confession, the cops obtain a search warrant. With the warrant they find a murder weapon.

Now, his confession is excluded, b/c of the exclusionary rule. But the gun is *in*, because 1) there is a valid warrant and 2) the fruits doctrine don't apply to evidence obtained from Miranda violations.

Is that right??? Please explain.

Last Substantive Lecture

PR, delivered by Ms. Hsieh. You couldn't really tell from her lecture (well maybe a little), but she is an ACLU lawyer (along with all the stereotypes). She strikes me as someone who is 1) talented, 2) ambitious, and 3) idealistic. It's a rare combination and I'm always impressed by these people. Lecture overall was so so. She had these stories that sounded like jokes but there were no punchline. After a while I just stopped paying attention.

A nap right now. Then...work. The paced program says I should outline the first two PR essays today. *yawn* Oh and there is no class tomorrow? But we have to do 50 MBEs :(

Memorizing Evidence

This may help some of you (or not):

Potential issues under "legal relevance": liab insurance, subsequent remedial measures, settlement offers, withdrawn guilty pleas, offers to pay Medical bills.
Mnemonic device: We Must Stop Licking Salt.

Similar occurrences are generally inadmissible, except: Very similar occurrences, History of conduct to show intent, Feasibility, prior sales to show Fair market value, Industry custom to show standard of conduct.
Mnemonic device: I Have Five Ford Vehicles.

And when you think objections (Leading, Culmulative, Compound, call for Narrative, call for Speculation, Argumentative, unduly Harassing, Assumes facts not in ev, Conclusory, lacks Foundation, Unresponsive), think of the great Trojans running back: calf chan, usc

Done With Crimes

Outlining crim pro really helped my understanding. I think this is when outlining really helps, if you're not really that familiar with the subject. I should def'ly outline Community Property.

I turned over my wall calender to the "July" page. It has a nice scene of a mountain with some yellow flowers. On the bottom are three large blue dots. The 24th, 25th, and 26th. I don't plan to study on the 23rd. So we're looking at 3 weeks. One way or another, we'll get there.

PR In-class Notes?

For yous taking Barbri in California, is there a set of notes for PR in the in-class workbook? I can't seem to find mine.

First of July

I think I posted too much in June. Most of the entries probably didn't make a whole lot of sense. I should report that over this past week, the traffic to my blog has increased significantly. This is due to a combination of a few regular readers freaking out, plus Google searches that involve words such as "mbe" and simulated."

Currently plan is still trying to outline. I feel like I'm wasting my time, but really, I feel like I'm wasting time no matter what I'm doing.

Next week is pretty light. Especially July 4. Then on Friday: simulated written exam day. Then...