My answers to the July 2012 California Bar Exam

So, a funny thing happened the other day. Some people were in the elevator with my wife and asked about whether I would write a series of posts on the July 2012 California Bar Exam similar to the posts I wrote for the July 2011 California bar exam.

As I noted then, there are four general kinds of questions:


Fastballs – your typical issue spotting racehorse question – typically Torts, Contracts, Evidence, Real Property, Wills/Trusts or Civil Procedure. The principles are usually straightforward.

Change-ups – a short question on a very particular area of law – typically Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure or Business Associations.

Curve-balls – a question that twists a two principles together. Here, you need to resolve the first part correctly, in order to resolve the second part.

Screw-balls – a nasty question that both focuses on a narrow area of law and does not contain the facts necessary to answer the question. Skilled exam takers will read “inferences” into the fact pattern in order to fill in the gaps. Less skilled exam takers will make up a rule based on the facts presented.

Here are links to my other posts on the questions themselves:

Question 1: Red Car Hits Blue Car (Civil Procedure)
Question 2: When Hal met Wendy (Community Property)
Question 3: Can I get a witness? (California Evidence)
Question 4: Who wants to be a Dental Hygienist (Contracts, Remedies)