Lawyer SMC Lawyer Certification 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b), evidence of prior bad acts is generally inadmissible to prove character but may be admitted to prove:
- That the defendant is a bad person
- Motive, intent, knowledge, or absence of mistake (Correct answer)
- The victim's credibility
- The jury's sympathy for the prosecution
Correct answer: Motive, intent, knowledge, or absence of mistake
Rule 404(b) permits prior act evidence for specific purposes such as proving motive, intent, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake.
Question 2: A 'charging lien' gives an attorney the right to:
- Sue the client in small claims court
- Retain funds from a judgment obtained for the client to satisfy unpaid fees (Correct answer)
- Garnish the client's wages
- Place a lien on the client's real property
Correct answer: Retain funds from a judgment obtained for the client to satisfy unpaid fees
A charging lien attaches to the proceeds of the judgment or settlement the attorney helped secure for the client.
Question 3: When a court applies the 'reasonable person' standard in a negligence case, it is assessing:
- The subjective intent of the defendant
- What an ordinary prudent person would have done in the same circumstances (Correct answer)
- Whether the defendant had a criminal history
- The plaintiff's contributory negligence only
Correct answer: What an ordinary prudent person would have done in the same circumstances
The reasonable person standard is an objective test measuring conduct against what an ordinary, prudent person would do under the same circumstances.
Question 4: Which rule of professional conduct requires a lawyer to act with competence, defined as the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary?
- Model Rule 1.1 (Correct answer)
- Model Rule 1.3
- Model Rule 2.1
- Model Rule 8.4
Correct answer: Model Rule 1.1
Model Rule 1.1 defines competence and requires lawyers to provide legally sound, thorough, and prepared representation.
Question 5: In a civil case, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur allows a plaintiff to establish negligence by showing:
- The defendant admitted liability in writing
- The injury would not ordinarily occur without negligence and the instrumentality was in the defendant's control (Correct answer)
- Strict liability applies as a matter of law
- The defendant violated a statute
Correct answer: The injury would not ordinarily occur without negligence and the instrumentality was in the defendant's control
Res ipsa loquitur permits an inference of negligence when the accident type implies negligence and the defendant had exclusive control.
Question 6: Under the attorney-client privilege, which of the following communications is NOT protected?
- A client's admission of past crimes to obtain legal advice
- Confidential legal advice given by the attorney
- The client's identity when it is not itself privileged information
- A communication made in furtherance of a future crime (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A communication made in furtherance of a future crime
The crime-fraud exception removes privilege protection from communications made to facilitate future crimes or frauds.
Question 7: A defense attorney in a criminal case is ethically permitted to put the prosecution to its proof even when:
- The attorney personally believes the client is guilty
- The client has confessed to the attorney
- The evidence is overwhelming
- All of the above (Correct answer)
Correct answer: All of the above
An attorney may require the prosecution to prove every element of its case regardless of the attorney's personal beliefs about guilt.
Lawyer SMC Lawyer Certification 4
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b), evidence of prior bad acts is generally inadmissible to prove character but may be admitted to prove: