AL BAR Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield AL BAR facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. The Erie doctrine requires federal courts sitting in diversity to apply: → State substantive law and federal procedural law
2. Under the Takings Clause, when the government physically invades or occupies private property, this constitutes: → A per se taking requiring just compensation
3. A condition precedent in a contract is one that must occur: → Before a party's duty to perform arises
4. Which of the following is a common method used in legal reasoning? → All of the above
5. Strict liability applies to abnormally dangerous activities when the activity creates a serious risk of harm that: → Cannot be avoided even with reasonable care and is inappropriate for the location
6. What is the significance of the "supremacy clause" in relation to judicial review? → It ensures that the Constitution and federal laws are the supreme law of the land
7. Under FRE 407, evidence of subsequent remedial measures is inadmissible to prove: → Negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the event
8. In a negligence action, the professional standard of care requires a defendant professional to act as: → A reasonably competent professional in the same field would under similar circumstances
9. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, hearsay is defined as an out-of-court statement offered to prove: → The truth of the matter asserted
10. Relevant evidence may be excluded under FRE 403 when its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of: → Unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, or wasting time
11. The political question doctrine bars courts from deciding matters that are: → Committed to another branch by the Constitution or lack judicially manageable standards
12. To establish negligence, a plaintiff must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages. The 'but-for' test establishes: → Actual cause (cause-in-fact)
13. What is the purpose of a counterargument in legal analysis? → To anticipate and address potential objections to the argument
14. Interpleader under FRCP 22 allows a party holding property to: → Join all competing claimants to determine who is entitled to the property
15. An assignment of contract rights is generally valid unless it: → Changes the obligor's duty, risk, or chance of receiving return performance
16. The Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects: → Rights of national citizenship only, per the Slaughterhouse Cases
17. Battery as a tort requires the defendant to have: → Intentionally caused an offensive or harmful contact with the plaintiff's person
18. Under strict products liability, a manufacturer is liable for a defective product when the product is: → Defective and the defect causes harm when the product is used as intended
19. A landowner builds a fence that encroaches 2 feet onto a neighbor's land. After 10 years, the neighbor sues. Under Alabama law, what is the likely outcome? → The encroacher has acquired title by adverse possession
20. In Alabama, a deed must be recorded in which office to provide constructive notice to subsequent purchasers? → Probate court of the county where the land is located
21. A mortgage is executed in Alabama. If the mortgagor defaults, what is the lender's primary remedy? → Judicial foreclosure or nonjudicial foreclosure by power of sale
22. A class action may be certified under FRCP 23 only if the action meets all four prerequisites of: → Numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation
23. The standard for granting a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) under FRCP 50 is whether: → A reasonable jury could not find for the non-moving party on the evidence presented
24. Under Alabama law, a claim for invasion of privacy based on the public disclosure of private facts requires that the disclosed information be: → True, highly offensive to a reasonable person, and not of legitimate public concern
25. The defense of assumption of the risk in Alabama bars recovery when the plaintiff: → Voluntarily and knowingly encountered a specific risk that caused the injury
26. The Establishment Clause primarily prohibits the government from: → Officially endorsing or sponsoring religion
27. What is the primary function of statutory interpretation in legal thinking? → To interpret the meaning of existing laws
28. Which clause prohibits Congress from passing a law that declares a specific person or group guilty of a crime without a trial? → Bill of Attainder Clause
29. Which covenant in a general warranty deed warrants that the grantor has not previously conveyed the same estate to anyone other than the grantee? → Covenant of seisin
30. Under UCC Article 2, a merchant's firm offer is irrevocable for up to how long without consideration? → 3 months