Mnemonics

Question 1

MIMIC (admissibility of prior bad access)

Answer 1

MIMIC: Motive, Intent, Mistake (or lack thereof), Identity, or Common scheme or plan (including preparation).

Question 2

For methods of impeachment: I Can’t Believe This Son (of a) Bitch

Answer 2

Inconsistent statements, Convictions of crimes, Bias, Truthfulness (reputation/opinion), Sensory deficiency, Bad acts

Question 3

FAT BITCH for intentional torts (minus the H)

Answer 3

False Imprisonment, Assault, Trespass, Battery, IIED, Trespass to Chattel and Conversion

Question 4

WHALE to analyze for a material breach

Answer 4

WHALE to analyze for a material breach

Whether breach was intentional;

Hardship;

Adequacy of compensation for loss to the nonbreaching party;

Likelihood breaching party will cure;

Extent of performance

Question 5

FACTS for determining spousal support:

Answer 5

Financial resources of each party

-Ability of the spouse paying support to meet their own needs

-Contributions of the parties

-Times necessary for the party seeking support to obtain employment

-Standard of living established during the marriage

Question 6

MY LEGS

Answer 6

Statute of frauds: marriage, years (more than one), lease, executor, guarantor, sale ($500 or more)

Question 7

The ways to sever a joint tenancy can be remembered with the bar exam mnemonic G-SAM. T

Answer 7

he four ways to sever a joint tenancy are to Give it away during life (conveyance), to Sign a contract for sale, an Actual foreclosure/judicial sale by a judgment lien creditor, and to execute a Mortgage in a title theory state.

Question 8

Claim Preclusion: Soft Serve’s Freakin Outstanding!

Answer 8

Same Claim, Same Parties, Final Judgment, On the Merits

Question 9

Issue Preclusion: Soft Asses Are Necessary

Answer 9

Same Issue, Actually Litigated, Actually Decided, Necessary to the court’s judgment.

Question 10

BRAMS ACT for specific intent crimes.

Answer 10

Burglary, Robbery, Assault, Murder (first degree), Solicitation, Attempt, Conspiracy, Theft offenses

Question 11

Equitable distribution of property at divorce:

Some Cute Officers Have New Shiny Cases to Carry Deadly Firearms

Answer 11

Standards of living

-Career (income, skills, employability)

-Obligations for support arising out of a prior marriage

-Health of the parties

-Needs of the parties

-Support (distribution in lieu of support/alimony)

-Contributions made by each spouse towards accumulation of marital property

-Custody provisions

-Duration of the marriage

-Finances (debt, assets, liabilities)

Question 12

Warrantless Search Exception: “ESCAPES”

Answer 12

Exigent circumstances, search incident to arrest, consent, automobile, plain view, evidence from administrative warrant, stop and frisk

Question 13

Exceptions to the exclusionary rule (prevents evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights from being used in a court of law) unless:

GIIT:

Answer 13

Good faith reliance on warrant, Inevitable discovery, Independent source, Taint (attenuation of)

Question 14

Adverse Possession: COHESA

Answer 14

C- Continuous O- Open and Notorious H- Hostile E- Exclusive S- Statutory Period A- Actual Use

Question 15

Just learned a new one day for fixtures: DAMN - damage, adaption (extent of), manner attached, nature of item; I like MIAMI k-9 COP better than mimic for other acts in character evidence; Mylegs will always be a goodie; SAFE for issue preclusion (same issue, actually litigated, final judgement on merits, essential to outcome of case); APRIL for evidence unavailability (absent, refuse, privege, illness, lack of memory); WITNES for equitable servitudes (writing intent touch and concern, notice, eq serv); I have more but I’m too stoned to remember.. i’ll be back tomorrow

CAMPERS for fundamental right to privacy: contraception, abortion, marriage, procreate, education (right to decide for child, private), Relations (family), sexual (lawrence v tx); ESCAPES for crim pro exceptions to warrants (emergency/evanesceng, seach incident to lawf arrest, consent, automobiles, plain view, ev obtained from admin searches, stop n frisk

Types of easements: PING - prescription, implied, necessity, grant; CAR for attachment of security agreement: collateral, authenticate, rights (given by debtor); Joint tenancy 4 unities PITT; SING for constructive eviction (substantial interference, notice, get out); A Hoe On Every Corner for adverse possession;

Question 16

A Hoe On Every Corner
(Adverse Possession)

Answer 16

Adverse

Hostile

Open & Notorious

Exclusive

Continuous

Question 17

Contracts that fall under the Statute of Frauds: Mr. SOUR

Answer 17

Marriage;

Suretyship;

One-year or more;

UCC sale of goods $500 or more;

Real Property.

Question 18

Specific Intent Crimes: FIAT

Answer 18

First-degree murder;

Inchoate crimes [CATS: Conspiracy, Attempt, Solicitation];

Assault with attempt to commit a battery;

Theft offenses [larceny, embezzlement, forgery, robbery, burglary].

Question 19

To remember what is needed for a real covenant to bind successors, you can use the bar exam mnemonic PINT.

Answer 19

We need Privity between the parties (for the burden to run, we need both horizontal and vertical privity – for the benefit to run, we need just vertical privity), Intent for the covenant to bind future successors, Notice to the person the covenant is being enforced against, and the condition must Touch and concern the land. Furthermore, for an equitable servitude to bind successors, we only need TIN, which is everything required for a real covenant except for privity (Touch and concern, Intent, and Notice).

Question 20

When considering whether a federal court has the ability to hear a claim, the general rule is that federal courts cannot decide political questions. Examples of political questions can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic SCREAM:

Answer 20

Seating of delegates at a national political convention, Challenges to impeachment and removal procedures, Republican form of government clause issues; Election and qualifications of Congress, procedures to Amend the Constitution, and Military or foreign affairs decisions by the President.

Question 21

In order to file a valid class action suit, the plaintiff must establish numerous prerequisites. These prerequisites can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic CANT(S):

Answer 21

Commonality (common issues of fact or law and common injuries), Adequacy (the named plaintiff and class counsel must fairly and adequately represent the class), Numerosity (the class is so numerous that joinder of all of them would be impracticable), Typicality (the claims of the named plaintiff are typical of the class), and Superiority (class action is superior to alternative methods of adjudication – this requirement is only needed in common question suits on the MBE, but some jurisdictions require it in any class action suit).

Question 22

Preliminary Injunctions: HELP

Answer 22

In deciding whether to grant a preliminary injunction, the court will consider four factors. These factors can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic HELP: whether the party seeking the injunction would suffer irreparable Harm if the injunction were not granted, Evaluate the risk that the party seeking the injunction would be harmed more by the absence of an injunction than the opposing party would by granting injunctive relief, the Likelihood that the party seeking the injunction will prevail on the merits, and the harm to the Public interest if the injunction were to be issued.

Question 23

Invasion of Privacy (Umbrella Tort): A FLIP

Answer 23

• Appropriation - of plaintiff’s personality for a defendant’s own commercial advantage
• False Light - publication of facts that place a plaintiff in a false light
• Intrusion - on plaintiff’s affairs or seclusion
• Private - public disclosure of private facts

Question 24

When a Declarant is Unavailable (SAILS)

Answer 24

Whether or not a declarant is unavailable is very important for determining issues of hearsay. To remember the situations in which a declarant would be deemed unavailable, use the bar exam mnemonic SAILS: Stating a claim for privilege, Absent from the jurisdiction, Ill or dead, Lacks memory, or Stubbornly refuses to testify.

Question 25

Bar Exam Mnemonic for Limitations on the Exclusionary Rule (SICK)

Answer 25

Generally, evidence obtained in violation of the 4th Amendment is not admissible under the exclusionary rule. However, there are limitations on this rule for situations where the rule will not apply, even if there were violations. A good bar exam mnemonic for these situations is SICK: Standing (where the person who is trying to suppress the evidence does not have standing to challenge the search), Impeachment (evidence can still be used to impeach the defendant’s testimony), Civil and other proceedings (unconstitutionally obtained evidence can be used in other proceedings), Knock and announce rule (violations of this rule will not result in exclusion).

Question 26

Pre-Existing Legal Duty Rule Exceptions: CLUSTER
The general rule is that the performance of a pre-existing legal duty cannot be consideration to form a valid contract. The exceptions to this rule can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic CLUSTER:

Answer 26

Changing the duty on one side, Lawsuit settlement or release (there is consideration for the settlement of a valid claim, or a claim for which there is a good faith belief for validity), Unforeseen difficulties (impracticability), Sale of goods under the UCC, Time-barred debt (written promise to pay a debt barred by the statute of limitations), Extra person involved, and Release of pre-existing debts.

Question 27

MOPPS
Laws implicating fundamental rights will be analyzed under strict scrutiny. One category of fundamental rights is privacy rights. The various privacy rights that fall under this category can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic MOPPS:

Answer 27

Marriage, Obscenity in the home (this does not extend to child porn, and there is no right to buy, sell, or transport obscene material), Parental and family rights, Procreation and contraception, and Sexual relations.

Question 28

Strict Products Liability: PDF

Answer 28

If you see an injury caused by a product, one of the possible causes of action is strict products liability. The elements for strict products liability can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic PDF: Proper parties (we need a proper plaintiff and a proper defendant), a product that is Defective from the time it left the manufacturer’s hands, and the plaintiff has made a Foreseeable use of the product at the time of the injury.

Question 29

Class Actions: CANT(S)
In order to file a valid class action suit, the plaintiff must establish numerous prerequisites. These prerequisites can be remembered by the bar exam mnemonic CANT(S):

Answer 29

Commonality (common issues of fact or law and common injuries), Adequacy (the named plaintiff and class counsel must fairly and adequately represent the class), Numerosity (the class is so numerous that joinder of all of them would be impracticable), Typicality (the claims of the named plaintiff are typical of the class), and Superiority (class action is superior to alternative methods of adjudication – this requirement is only needed in common question suits on the MBE, but some jurisdictions require it in any class action suit).

Question 30

Did the court enter a final judgement? Did the decision fully resolve the merits of a dispute, leaving nothing but enforcement? If so, look to see if an exception applies. If an exception applies then an appeal is allowed.

IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES AN APPEAL CAN BE MADE PREMATURELY

Answer 30

-Injunction
-Certification by district court
-Class action certification
-Appointment of receiver
-Admiralty cases
-Collateral-order doctrine
-Bankruptcy cases
-Mandamus
-Patent-infringement order

Question 31

Question about interest:

Each brother inherited a 1/3 interest in the building. The middle brother’s sale of his interest to the oldest brother severed the joint tenancy with respect to that interest. As a consequence, the oldest brother held a 1/3 interest as a tenant in common with the youngest brother. The oldest and youngest brothers held the remaining 2/3 interest as joint tenants. Upon the youngest brother’s death, his interest passed automatically to the oldest brother by virtue of the right of survivorship. This interest, combined with the remaining 1/3 interest that oldest brother possessed, gave the older brother complete ownership of the building. Answer choices B, C, and D are incorrect because the youngest brother’s joint tenancy interest in the building passed automatically to the oldest brother due to the right of survivorship. Consequently, the youngest brother did not have an interest in the building that he could devise to his daughter.

Answer 31

Each brother inherited a 1/3 interest in the building. The middle brother’s sale of his interest to the oldest brother severed the joint tenancy with respect to that interest. As a consequence, the oldest brother held a 1/3 interest as a tenant in common with the youngest brother. The oldest and youngest brothers held the remaining 2/3 interest as joint tenants. Upon the youngest brother’s death, his interest passed automatically to the oldest brother by virtue of the right of survivorship. This interest, combined with the remaining 1/3 interest that oldest brother possessed, gave the older brother complete ownership of the building. Answer choices B, C, and D are incorrect because the youngest brother’s joint tenancy interest in the building passed automatically to the oldest brother due to the right of survivorship. Consequently, the youngest brother did not have an interest in the building that he could devise to his daughter.

Question 32

Ten years ago, a landowner deeded land to a wildlife organization. The warranty deed stated that the land was transferred to the organization “provided that the land is maintained as a habitat for black-footed ferrets, an endangered species; if not, the organization’s estate is subject to the grantor’s right to re-enter.” Five years ago, the landowner made a valid will that devised all his real property interests to his friend. Two years ago, the landowner, by quitclaim deed, transferred any interest in the land to a speculator for $1,000. One year ago, the landowner died. By law, the landowner’s daughter was his only heir. The last surviving black-footed ferret recently died.

Who holds the current possessory interest in the land?

Answer 32

Following the warranty deed, the wildlife organization had a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent interest and the landowner retained a right of reentry in the land. Upon the violation of the condition subsequent, the holder of the right of reentry has the right to regain possession of the land. A right of reentry does not automatically terminate the fee simple defeasible estate upon the happening of the condition, however. Until the holder exercises the right of re-entry, the wildlife organization continues to hold the right to current possession of the land. Answer choice A is incorrect because, although the landowner devised all his real property interests to his friend, the landowner did not own the right of reentry at death—when his will took effect. A year before his death, the landowner transferred the right of reentry to the speculator. Answer choice B is incorrect because the daughter did not inherit the right of reentry because the landowner did not own the right of reentry at death having transferred it to the speculator a year before his death. Answer choice C is incorrect because the wildlife organization retains possession of the land until the holder of the right of reentry asserts it.

Question 33

MYLEGS

Answer 33

Marriage – a contract made in consideration of marriage
Year – a contract that cannot be completed within one year
Land – a contract for the sale or transfer of an interest in real property
Executor – a contract to pay an estate’s debt out of the executor’s personal funds
Goods – a contract for the sale of goods for $500 or more
Suretyship – a contract to answer for the debt or duty of another

Question 34

Special relationships imposing affirmative duty to aid
Live Carefully, But Save EVeryone Carelessly Injured

Answer 34

Landlord/tenants
Common carrier/passengers
Business/customers
School/students
Employer/employees
Custodian/prisoners
Innkeeper/guests