NextGen Bar Exam Sample Questions

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

Almost half the exam time will be devoted to stand-alone multiple-choice questions with between four and six answer options and one or more correct answers. Initially, many of these questions will closely resemble Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) questions; this will ensure stability between scores for the current and NextGen bar exams. In future administrations, the variety of multiple-choice question types will increase. This sample set of questions includes both new question types and questions in the current MBE format. Note that some multiple-choice questions may also appear in the integrated question sets and longer writing tasks.

Multiple-Choice Question 1

You are a criminal defense lawyer representing a client who has been charged with fentanyl possession. The police found the fentanyl in the guest bedroom of the client’s uncle’s house when responding to a noise complaint at the house. Before entering the house, the officers knocked on the door. When the uncle answered the door, the officers asked if they could look inside the house, and the uncle agreed. The client did not live in the house and was not there at the time of the search. The client had stayed in the guest bedroom of the house two nights prior to the search. The uncle told the officers that the client was the last person to have slept in that room.

You are considering filing a motion to suppress the fentanyl under the Fourth Amendment.

Which of the following legal topics are the most important for you to research to determine the likelihood of success on a motion to suppress? Select two.

1. 1. Consent search.
   2. Exigent circumstances.
   3. Hot pursuit.
   4. Probable cause.
   5. Reasonable suspicion.
   6. Standing.

Multiple-Choice Question 2

Your client owns a carpet cleaning company. The company recently contracted with a customer to clean the carpets throughout the customer’s ten-story building for $15,000, with payment due in 30 days. Before payment was due, the customer sent your client a check for $12,000 along with a note specifying that several of the carpets still had stains and included pictures of the stained carpets. The customer’s note also said that if your client cashes the check, the remainder of the customer’s debt will be discharged.

Your client now seeks your advice as to whether the company can cash the check without relinquishing its right to recover the remainder of the customer’s debt.

Which of the following search term(s) would be the most likely to produce resources that will answer the client’s question? Select one.

1. 1. Accord and satisfaction.
   2. Consideration.
   3. Novation.
   4. Offer and acceptance.

Multiple-Choice Question 3

A defendant is being prosecuted for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. At trial, the government seeks to have its agent testify to a conversation that he overheard between the defendant and a coconspirator regarding the incoming shipment of a large quantity of methamphetamine. That conversation was also audiotaped, though critical portions of it are inaudible. The defendant objects to the testimony of the agent on the ground that it is not the best evidence of the conversation.

Is the testimony of the agent admissible? Select one. 

1. 1. No, because the testimony of the agent is not the best evidence of the conversation.
   2. No, because the testimony of the agent recounts hearsay not within any exception.
   3. Yes, because the best evidence rule does not require proof of the conversation through the audiotape.
   4. Yes, because the audiotape is partly inaudible.

Multiple-Choice Question 4

Your client, a bank, purchased a mortgage and promissory note from a credit union that had lent a borrower money to help finance the purchase of a home. The borrower has stopped making the payments on that obligation, and the client has initiated a foreclosure action. Another lender has now come forward, claiming that they have a prior mortgage on the same land and should be paid before your client from any money collected via foreclosure.

Which of the following legal topics is the most likely to affect whether the client can collect what is owed on its mortgage and promissory note before the other lender? Select one.

1. 1. Covenants of title.
   2. Deficiency statutes.
   3. Recording statutes.
   4. Statute of frauds.

Multiple-Choice Question 5

A construction worker sued an insulation manufacturer in federal court, claiming that he had developed a chronic health condition as a result of 20 years of exposure to the manufacturer’s insulation at his work sites. The manufacturer answered, denying all liability and stating that it had never supplied its insulation to the worker’s employer.

The worker’s attorney deposed the manufacturer’s president, and the manufacturer’s attorney deposed the worker. Immediately thereafter, the manufacturer moved for summary judgment on the ground that the worker had no evidence showing that the insulation had ever been used by the worker’s employer.

What would be the worker’s best response to the motion for summary judgment? Select one. 

1. 1. Argue that more time is needed for additional discovery to show the manufacturer’s liability, and attach a declaration describing the desired discovery.
   2. Argue that the motion should be denied, because a central issue in the case will be the manufacturer’s credibility on the question of its distribution of the insulation, and only a jury can decide questions of credibility.
   3. Argue that the motion should be denied, because the manufacturer failed to attach any evidence to its motion to show that the insulation was not used by the worker’s employer.
   4. Make a cross-motion for summary judgment arguing that the manufacturer has introduced no evidence to show that its insulation did not harm the worker.

Multiple-Choice Question 6

You are representing a client in a dispute with a neighbor. The client owns a single-family home with several acres of surrounding land. Recently, the client noticed that his neighbor had built a fence that extends onto the client’s land. The client is unsure when the fence was built because that part of the client’s land is obscured by large trees. When the client contacted the neighbor about the fence, the neighbor claimed that she did not know the location of the property line. The client has shown you a recent survey of the property that confirms the encroachment and has asked you whether he has a claim against the neighbor.

Which of the following legal topics are the most important for you to research before advising the client? Select two.

1. 1. Adverse possession.
   2. Conversion.
   3. Implied easement.
   4. License.
   5. Negligence.
   6. Trespass.

Multiple-Choice Question 7

Your client, a state college, hired a tennis coach at a salary of $60,000 per year. The parties orally agreed on a start date but did not discuss a contract duration. Seven months after the coach started, the client now wants to fire the coach without holding a hearing because of budget cuts to the college’s athletic department. The client has asked for your advice about the potential legal repercussions of firing the coach.

Which of the following legal topics are the most important for you to research before advising the client? Select two.

1. 1. Employment at will.
   2. Parol evidence.
   3. Procedural due process.
   4. Substantial performance.
   5. Substantive due process.
   6. Takings clause.

Multiple-Choice Question 8

A landlord and a tenant orally agreed to a commercial tenancy for a term of six months beginning on July 1. Rent was to be paid by the first day of each month, and the tenant paid the first month’s rent at the time of the agreement.

When the tenant arrived at the leased premises on July 1, the tenant learned that the previous tenant had not vacated the premises at the end of her lease term on May 31 and did not intend to vacate. The tenant then successfully sued the previous tenant for possession. The tenant did not inform the landlord of the eviction action until after the tenant received possession.

The tenant then sued the landlord, claiming damages for that portion of the lease period during which the tenant was not in possession.

If the court finds for the landlord, what will be the most likely explanation? Select one. 

1. 1. By suing the previous tenant for possession, the tenant elected that remedy in lieu of a suit against the landlord.
   2. The landlord had delivered the legal right of possession to the tenant.
   3. The tenant failed to timely vacate as required to sue for constructive eviction.
   4. The tenant had not notified the landlord before bringing the eviction action.

Your law firm encourages you to take on pro bono cases. Recently, you agreed to take on a pro bono case through your local bar’s volunteer lawyers program in which you represent a tenant whose apartment has flooded. The following is an excerpt from your notes from the initial interview with the client:

Notes from the Initial Interview

During a recent hurricane, a lot of water entered the client’s apartment. The apartment has carpet throughout, which was completely soaked. The property manager refuses to do anything about the flooding and said that the lease the client signed makes this the client’s responsibility. The property manager also claims that the client did not take proper precautions before the storm, which made the flooding worse. The client disagrees. After the storm, the property manager recommended that the client buy a water pump and some fans to “dry things out.” The client tried this, but it didn’t fix the problem. The apartment is still wet and smells “unbearably bad.” The client can’t afford to try to fix it anymore. The client does not want to move but can’t keep on living in these conditions.

The client is in a month-to-month lease. The lease identifies the landlord as “Rentals LLC.” The lease was signed by both your client and the property manager, who signed as “the Managing and Sole Member of Rentals LLC.” The lease includes the following provision:

Condition of the Premises

Landlord (“Rentals LLC”) makes no covenants or warranties about the condition of the leased premises and disclaims all responsibility for the condition of the leased premises. Tenant agrees to be solely responsible for maintaining the condition of the leased premises. Tenant waives any and all rights to the contrary, including but not limited to a right to bring a claim related to the habitability of the leased premises.

The lease does not include any provision on what damages may be available in the event of breach. Your jurisdiction has a residential landlord-tenant statute that applies to the lease. The following is an excerpt from that statute:

6-20-5 Landlord’s Duty to Maintain Premises; Prohibited Conduct

(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c), a landlord has a nonwaivable duty to maintain the premises in a habitable condition, including making necessary repairs. The duty includes but is not limited to a requirement that the landlord ensure that the premises . . . have effective waterproofing and weather protection of the roof and exterior walls, including windows and doors. . . . Tenants have a cause of action for breach of this duty, with remedies as set forth in § 6-20-10 [Tenant Remedies]. This cause of action supplants any common-law claims for breach of the landlord’s implied warranty of habitability.

(b) The landlord’s duty in subsection (a) is relieved if the uninhabitable condition of the premises was caused by an unreasonable act or omission of the tenant, the tenant’s immediate family member, or the tenant’s guest.

(c) If the premises are substantially damaged by a fire, other casualty, or natural disaster and continued occupancy of the unit is unlawful or dangerous or requires repairs that can be made only if the tenant vacates the premises, the landlord may terminate the lease by giving the tenant reasonable written notice.

(d) Any provision in a lease that purports to waive the landlord’s duty in subsection (a) is unenforceable. If the landlord seeks to enforce such a provision or accepts the tenant’s voluntary compliance with such a provision, the tenant has a cause of action in the amount of three times the periodic rent. This cause of action accrues irrespective of any claim the tenant may have for breach of the duty described in subsection (a).