Georgia Bar Examination — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Georgia law recognizes which privilege as a complete defense to an intentional tort claim when a store owner briefly detains a suspected shoplifter based on reasonable grounds?

Defense of property privilege
Shopkeeper's privilege (Correct answer)
Citizen's arrest privilege
Self-defense privilege

Correct answer: Shopkeeper's privilege

The shopkeeper's privilege (OCGA § 51-7-60) allows merchants to detain suspected shoplifters briefly and reasonably without incurring false imprisonment liability.

Question 2: A regulated party uncertain whether a proposed course of action complies with an agency rule may, under the Georgia APA:

Request a congressional opinion through the state legislature
Petition the agency directly for a declaratory ruling on how the statute or rule applies to the party's specific situation (Correct answer)
File suit in superior court for a pre-enforcement ruling
Seek an advisory opinion from the Attorney General only

Correct answer: Petition the agency directly for a declaratory ruling on how the statute or rule applies to the party's specific situation

Georgia's APA authorizes agencies to issue declaratory rulings, giving regulated parties a mechanism to obtain binding guidance before they act.

Question 3: The MPT Library contains cases from Franklin (the controlling jurisdiction) and Columbia (another fictional state). How should you treat Columbia cases?

Columbia cases supersede Franklin cases if they are more recent
Neither is binding; only statutes from the controlling jurisdiction bind
Both Franklin and Columbia cases are equally binding
Franklin cases are binding; Columbia cases are only persuasive authority (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Franklin cases are binding; Columbia cases are only persuasive authority

Only the law of the adjudicating jurisdiction is binding; cases from other jurisdictions are merely persuasive.

Question 4: Georgia's Long Arm Statute (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-91) permits a Georgia court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant who:

Has ever visited Georgia for any business or personal purpose
Transacts any business within Georgia or commits a tortious act or omission within Georgia (Correct answer)
Has signed a contract that is to be performed entirely outside the state of Georgia
Is a resident of any state that shares a geographic border with Georgia

Correct answer: Transacts any business within Georgia or commits a tortious act or omission within Georgia

O.C.G.A. § 9-10-91 extends Georgia's long arm jurisdiction to nonresidents who, among other acts enumerated in the statute, transact business in Georgia or commit a tortious act or omission within Georgia.

Question 5: Miranda warnings are constitutionally required before custodial interrogation. A person is 'in custody' for Miranda purposes when:

They are questioned inside a police vehicle or station house
A reasonable person in the circumstances would not feel free to terminate the encounter and leave (Correct answer)
They are formally arrested and booked at a police station
Police have probable cause to arrest them even if no formal arrest has occurred

Correct answer: A reasonable person in the circumstances would not feel free to terminate the encounter and leave

Miranda custody is determined objectively: whether a reasonable person in the suspect's position would have felt free to terminate the interrogation and leave.

Question 6: Which of the following is NOT a recognized exigent circumstance that justifies a warrantless entry?

Hot pursuit of a fleeing felon
Emergency aid to a seriously injured person
Imminent risk of destruction of evidence
An officer's desire to conduct a thorough investigation (Correct answer)

Correct answer: An officer's desire to conduct a thorough investigation

Exigent circumstances are limited to genuine emergencies such as hot pursuit, imminent destruction of evidence, or emergency aid—an officer's investigative desire does not qualify.

Question 7: A residential tenant holds over after a fixed-term lease expires and the landlord accepts a rent payment. The tenancy most likely converts to a:

License revocable at will
Tenancy at sufferance
Month-to-month periodic tenancy (Correct answer)
New fixed-term tenancy identical to the original

Correct answer: Month-to-month periodic tenancy

When a landlord accepts rent from a holdover tenant, the majority rule converts the tenancy into a periodic tenancy measured by the rent payment interval.

Question 8: Which of the following creates the strongest legal presumption of paternity under Georgia law?

The man was married to the mother at the time of the child's conception or birth (Correct answer)
The man's name appears on the child's birth certificate
The man has lived with the child for at least one year after birth
The man provided financial support to the mother during pregnancy

Correct answer: The man was married to the mother at the time of the child's conception or birth

Georgia law presumes that a man married to the mother at the time of conception or birth is the legal father, creating the marital presumption of paternity.

Question 9: The specially manufactured goods exception to the UCC Statute of Frauds applies when:

The goods are not suitable for sale to others and the seller has made a substantial beginning of manufacture (Correct answer)
The seller is a merchant who specializes in those goods
The buyer has paid a deposit on the goods
The goods cost more than $5,000

Correct answer: The goods are not suitable for sale to others and the seller has made a substantial beginning of manufacture

Under UCC 2-201(3)(a), an oral contract is enforceable for specially manufactured goods not suitable for resale if the seller has made a substantial beginning of manufacture before repudiation.

Question 10: Georgia's crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege applies when:

The attorney discovers ongoing criminal activity by the client during the representation
The client sought the lawyer's advice to enable or assist in what the client knew or reasonably should have known was a crime or fraud (Correct answer)
A third party overhears the confidential communication between attorney and client
The client later commits a crime unrelated to any advice given by the attorney

Correct answer: The client sought the lawyer's advice to enable or assist in what the client knew or reasonably should have known was a crime or fraud

The crime-fraud exception strips the privilege when the client consulted the attorney to further a crime or fraud, even if the attorney was ignorant of the wrongful purpose.

Question 11: A Georgia corporation's board of directors wishes to declare a dividend. Under the Georgia Business Corporation Code, which test must be satisfied?

Dividends require approval of at least two-thirds of shareholders
The distribution must not render the corporation unable to pay debts as they become due or make total assets less than total liabilities (Correct answer)
Only preferred shareholders may receive dividends without a surplus
The corporation must have retained earnings exceeding par value of all shares

Correct answer: The distribution must not render the corporation unable to pay debts as they become due or make total assets less than total liabilities

Georgia law prohibits distributions that would render the corporation insolvent or that would make total liabilities exceed total assets.

Question 12: The attorney-client privilege in Georgia protects confidential communications between attorney and client made for the purpose of:

Seeking or providing legal advice (Correct answer)
Negotiating a settlement on the client's behalf
Discussing any business matter between them
Any communication that the client wishes to keep confidential

Correct answer: Seeking or providing legal advice

The attorney-client privilege protects only confidential communications made in the context of seeking or providing legal advice, not all communications between attorney and client.

Question 13: To have standing to challenge an allegedly unconstitutional search, a defendant must demonstrate:

That the defendant was physically present at the location during the search
A personal, legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched or the items seized (Correct answer)
That police conducted the search in an unlawful manner
That the seized evidence was introduced against the defendant at trial

Correct answer: A personal, legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched or the items seized

Fourth Amendment standing requires the defendant to show a personal and legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched or the item seized—the right is personal, not derivative.

Question 14: Under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, a court may dismiss or transfer a case when:

The plaintiff's chosen forum is a federal court and a state court in the same jurisdiction would be more convenient
The defendant requests transfer to a different forum where all defendants maintain their principal place of business
An adequate alternative forum exists and the balance of private and public interest factors strongly favors litigation in that alternative forum (Correct answer)
The plaintiff has filed suit in a state other than the defendant's state of incorporation or principal place of business

Correct answer: An adequate alternative forum exists and the balance of private and public interest factors strongly favors litigation in that alternative forum

Forum non conveniens permits dismissal when an adequate alternative forum is available and the balance of private interest factors (witness and evidence access) and public interest factors (court congestion, local interest) strongly favor the alternative forum.

Question 15: To obtain a modification of a child custody order in Georgia, the moving party must generally demonstrate:

Any change in the child's or parent's situation since the last order
The child's preference alone, if the child is 11 or older
A material change in circumstances substantially affecting the child's welfare (Correct answer)
That the other party has violated the existing parenting plan at least once

Correct answer: A material change in circumstances substantially affecting the child's welfare

Georgia requires proof of a material change in circumstances affecting the child's welfare before a court will modify a prior custody order.

Question 16: What protections does the Equal Protection Clause provide?

It prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (Correct answer)
It guarantees equal income for all citizens
It requires identical treatment in all circumstances regardless of differences
It only applies to racial discrimination

Correct answer: It prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits arbitrary government discrimination, requiring similarly situated persons to be treated alike under the law.

Question 17: A deed must be delivered and accepted to pass title. Which of the following best illustrates delivery?

The grantor hands the deed to the grantee with intent to pass title immediately (Correct answer)
The grantor records the deed without notifying the grantee
The grantor executes the deed but keeps it in a drawer
The grantor mails the deed to a third party escrow agent indefinitely

Correct answer: The grantor hands the deed to the grantee with intent to pass title immediately

Delivery requires both physical transfer (or constructive equivalent) and the grantor's present intent to divest herself of title.

Question 18: The public safety exception recognized in New York v. Quarles permits officers to question a suspect without Miranda warnings when:

The suspect appears physically dangerous to the arresting officers
The alleged offense involves a firearm
There is an immediate, objectively reasonable need to protect the public from danger (Correct answer)
Members of the public are observing the arrest

Correct answer: There is an immediate, objectively reasonable need to protect the public from danger

Quarles established that Miranda warnings may be deferred when there is an immediate and objectively reasonable threat to public safety requiring urgent questioning.

Question 19: Under Georgia's rape shield law, evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior is generally inadmissible EXCEPT to:

Show consent through prior sexual conduct with the defendant or explain the source of physical evidence (Correct answer)
Demonstrate the victim's reputation in the community for sexual promiscuity
Impeach the victim's credibility on cross-examination
Show the victim had motive to fabricate the charge

Correct answer: Show consent through prior sexual conduct with the defendant or explain the source of physical evidence

Georgia's rape shield law permits prior sexual behavior evidence only to show past acts with the accused (for consent) or to explain the origin of physical or forensic evidence.

Question 20: The attenuation doctrine permits admission of evidence tainted by an unlawful search when:

The tainted evidence was corroborated by independent sources
Police took corrective action before seizing the tainted evidence
The defendant had a prior criminal history relevant to the offense charged
The causal connection between the illegality and the evidence has become sufficiently attenuated (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The causal connection between the illegality and the evidence has become sufficiently attenuated

Under Brown v. Illinois, the attenuation doctrine allows admission of otherwise tainted evidence when the causal link between the constitutional violation and the evidence has sufficiently dissipated.

Question 21: A periodic tenancy from month-to-month is properly terminated by giving notice equal to:

30 days regardless of payment period
One full rental period (one month) (Correct answer)
Only by court order
Two rental periods (two months)

Correct answer: One full rental period (one month)

At common law, a month-to-month periodic tenancy requires notice equal to the length of one period — one month — to terminate.

Question 22: Under FRE 404(a)(2), a criminal defendant who introduces evidence of the victim's pertinent character trait thereby opens the door to the prosecution offering evidence of:

The victim's prior criminal record
The victim's character for untruthfulness
Only the defendant's character for violence
The same trait of the victim's character and the defendant's same trait (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The same trait of the victim's character and the defendant's same trait

FRE 404(a)(2)(B) provides that once a defendant introduces victim character evidence, the prosecution may offer evidence of the same trait of the victim and also of the defendant's same trait.

Question 23: After a lender forecloses on a mortgage, the borrower's right to reclaim the property by paying the full debt before the foreclosure sale is complete is called the:

Right of reinstatement
Equity of redemption (Correct answer)
Deficiency right
Statutory right of redemption

Correct answer: Equity of redemption

The equity of redemption is the borrower's common law right to redeem the property before the foreclosure sale by paying the entire debt.

Question 24: Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-41(a), the effect of a plaintiff's second voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the same claim in Georgia is:

The second dismissal operates as an adjudication on the merits, barring any future re-filing of the same claim (Correct answer)
The statute of limitations is tolled indefinitely until the plaintiff chooses to re-file
The plaintiff must obtain court approval before any subsequent filing of the same action
The plaintiff retains the unlimited right to re-file the claim at any time within the limitations period

Correct answer: The second dismissal operates as an adjudication on the merits, barring any future re-filing of the same claim

Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-41(a), a second voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the same claim by the same plaintiff operates as an adjudication on the merits under Georgia's two-dismissal rule.

Question 25: Under the O'Brien test, a law that incidentally burdens symbolic speech is constitutional only if it:

Is within the constitutional power of the government, advances an important interest unrelated to suppressing expression, and the incidental burden is no greater than essential (Correct answer)
Passes strict scrutiny with a compelling governmental interest
Is a narrowly tailored content-neutral restriction with no alternative means of advancing the government's interest
Satisfies rational basis review because symbolic speech receives less protection than pure speech

Correct answer: Is within the constitutional power of the government, advances an important interest unrelated to suppressing expression, and the incidental burden is no greater than essential

United States v. O'Brien (1968) established a four-part test requiring the law to be within government power, further an important non-speech interest, and restrict speech no more than necessary.

Question 26: Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) as adopted in Georgia, the issuing state retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction over a child support order as long as:

The order is fewer than five years old
The child or either obligor or obligee continues to reside in the issuing state (Correct answer)
The child was born in the issuing state
The child continues to reside in the issuing state

Correct answer: The child or either obligor or obligee continues to reside in the issuing state

UIFSA's continuing exclusive jurisdiction rule provides that the issuing state retains jurisdiction over its support order so long as the child, obligor, or obligee remains a resident there.

Question 27: The Double Jeopardy Clause protects against successive prosecutions for the 'same offense.' Under the Blockburger test, two offenses are the 'same' if:

The greater offense subsumes all elements of the lesser offense
They arise from a single criminal transaction or act
Each offense does not require proof of a fact that the other does not (Correct answer)
A conviction for one would necessarily imply acquittal of the other

Correct answer: Each offense does not require proof of a fact that the other does not

Blockburger v. United States (1932) asks whether each offense requires proof of an element the other does not — if not, they are the same offense for double jeopardy purposes.

Question 28: A Terry investigatory stop is constitutionally permissible when an officer has:

A valid arrest warrant
Consent from the suspect
Probable cause to believe a crime has been committed
Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity

Terry v. Ohio permits brief investigatory stops based on reasonable articulable suspicion, which is a lower standard than probable cause.

Question 29: Under Georgia's Civil Practice Act (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a)), how many days does a defendant have to file an answer after service of the summons and complaint?

30 days (Correct answer)
20 days
60 days
45 days

Correct answer: 30 days

O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a) requires a defendant to serve an answer within 30 days after service of the summons and complaint upon the defendant.

Question 30: When a defendant's negligent act combines with a pre-existing condition to produce indivisible harm, Georgia apportionment principles require:

The defendant pays for all harm because of the eggshell skull rule, regardless of apportionability
The defendant pays only the portion of harm attributable to their negligence, with the plaintiff bearing the rest (Correct answer)
The defendant and the pre-existing condition are treated as joint tortfeasors sharing liability equally
No recovery if the pre-existing condition was a substantial contributing cause

Correct answer: The defendant pays only the portion of harm attributable to their negligence, with the plaintiff bearing the rest

When harm is divisible and some is attributable to a pre-existing condition, the defendant is liable only for the aggravation caused by their negligence.

Georgia Bar Examination

The Georgia Bar Examination is a two-day UBE-format exam testing law graduates on multistate legal principles across seven MBE subjects plus Georgia-specific essay questions and performance tasks. A scaled score of 270 out of 400 is required to pass.

Questions

35 min

Time Limit

68%

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