Maryland Bar Exam (UBE) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Which of the following crimes requires proof of specific intent under Maryland law?

Second-degree murder
Battery
Burglary (Correct answer)
Involuntary manslaughter

Correct answer: Burglary

Burglary requires the specific intent to commit a crime inside the dwelling at the time of entry.

Question 2: Under Maryland Rule of Professional Conduct 5.3, what are a lawyer's obligations regarding the conduct of non-lawyer assistants?

A lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure non-lawyers' conduct is compatible with the lawyer's professional obligations (Correct answer)
All non-lawyer staff must pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
Non-lawyer staff may not communicate directly with clients under any circumstances
A lawyer must provide annual ethics training to all paralegals and legal assistants

Correct answer: A lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure non-lawyers' conduct is compatible with the lawyer's professional obligations

Rule 5.3 requires lawyers to make reasonable efforts to ensure non-lawyer assistants' conduct is compatible with the lawyer's own professional obligations.

Question 3: A person petitions a Maryland agency to adopt a new regulation. Under the APA, the agency must:

Adopt the requested regulation automatically
Consider the petition and either initiate rulemaking or explain its refusal within a reasonable framework (Correct answer)
Ignore the petition unless signed by 10,000 voters
Forward the petition to the Governor for decision

Correct answer: Consider the petition and either initiate rulemaking or explain its refusal within a reasonable framework

Maryland's APA permits interested persons to petition for rulemaking and obligates the agency to consider and respond to the petition.

Question 4: Under Maryland's accomplice liability doctrine, what is required for a person to be guilty as an accomplice?

Physical presence at the crime scene
Financial benefit from the crime
Intentional assistance or encouragement of the principal's crime (Correct answer)
Mere knowledge that a crime would be committed

Correct answer: Intentional assistance or encouragement of the principal's crime

Accomplice liability requires that the defendant intentionally aided, abetted, or encouraged the principal in committing the crime.

Question 5: A Maryland court may impute income to a parent for child support purposes when the parent is what?

Earning less than the other parent
Voluntarily impoverished, meaning they freely chose to reduce or forgo income (Correct answer)
Working fewer than 40 hours a week
Unemployed for any reason, including disability

Correct answer: Voluntarily impoverished, meaning they freely chose to reduce or forgo income

Income may be imputed based on potential income only if the parent is voluntarily impoverished, not if unemployment is involuntary or due to disability.

Question 6: Under Maryland common law, which element is NOT part of common law burglary?

A dwelling house
Nighttime
Intent to commit theft specifically (Correct answer)
Breaking and entering

Correct answer: Intent to commit theft specifically

Common law burglary requires intent to commit any felony inside the dwelling, not theft specifically.

Question 7: What is the Commerce Clause power of Congress?

The constitutional authority to regulate activities substantially affecting interstate commerce (Correct answer)
The power to regulate only international trade
Authority limited to physical goods crossing state lines
Power to set all commercial regulations at the state level

Correct answer: The constitutional authority to regulate activities substantially affecting interstate commerce

The Commerce Clause grants Congress broad authority to regulate channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce and activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

Question 8: Under Maryland Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2, which of the following decisions belongs exclusively to the client rather than the lawyer?

Which witnesses to call during the defense case at trial
The order in which evidence will be presented to the jury
Which procedural motions to file during pretrial litigation
Whether to accept a settlement offer in a civil matter (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Whether to accept a settlement offer in a civil matter

Rule 1.2(a) reserves to the client the ultimate decision whether to settle a civil matter, while tactical and procedural decisions generally belong to the lawyer.

Question 9: The Maryland General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review (AELR) primarily serves to:

Adjudicate contested cases on appeal from the OAH
License administrative law judges
Review proposed agency regulations and, if concerns arise, delay or trigger gubernatorial review of their adoption (Correct answer)
Issue binding advisory opinions to circuit courts

Correct answer: Review proposed agency regulations and, if concerns arise, delay or trigger gubernatorial review of their adoption

The AELR Committee provides legislative oversight of proposed regulations and can delay adoption or refer objections to the Governor.

Question 10: What privilege protects spousal communications?

Confidential communications between spouses during marriage are privileged and cannot be compelled (Correct answer)
All conversations between married people are privileged forever
Only written communications between spouses are protected
Spousal privilege only applies in divorce proceedings

Correct answer: Confidential communications between spouses during marriage are privileged and cannot be compelled

The marital communications privilege protects confidential communications made between spouses during the marriage. The privilege generally survives divorce for communications made during the marriage.

Question 11: Under Maryland law, which crime is typically classified as a misdemeanor rather than a felony?

First-degree assault
Robbery
Burglary
Simple (second-degree) assault (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Simple (second-degree) assault

Simple (second-degree) assault without aggravating factors is generally classified as a misdemeanor in Maryland.

Question 12: What is the incorporation doctrine?

A corporate law principle about forming businesses
A rule about incorporating evidence into the record
A doctrine about merging multiple lawsuits
The process by which the Bill of Rights is applied to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The process by which the Bill of Rights is applied to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment

Through selective incorporation via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, most Bill of Rights protections have been applied against state and local governments.

Question 13: Under Maryland law, the felony murder rule applies when a killing occurs during the commission of which type of felony?

Any crime punishable by more than one year
Any felony
Only robbery or burglary
An inherently dangerous felony (Correct answer)

Correct answer: An inherently dangerous felony

Maryland's felony murder rule applies when a death results from the commission of an inherently dangerous felony.

Question 14: Under Maryland criminal procedure, which situation does NOT trigger Miranda warnings?

Formal arrest followed by questioning at the station
Questioning after a suspect is placed in handcuffs
Roadside questioning during a routine traffic stop (Correct answer)
Interrogation of a suspect who is not free to leave

Correct answer: Roadside questioning during a routine traffic stop

Routine roadside questioning during a traffic stop generally does not constitute custody for Miranda purposes because it lacks the coercive restraint of formal arrest.

Question 15: What is substantive due process?

A rule about proper notice in court proceedings
Constitutional protection of fundamental rights from government interference regardless of the procedures used (Correct answer)
A requirement that all legal processes follow specific steps
A standard for evaluating police conduct

Correct answer: Constitutional protection of fundamental rights from government interference regardless of the procedures used

Substantive due process protects certain fundamental rights from government interference, even if the government follows proper procedures. It encompasses rights like privacy and liberty.

Question 16: What is the doctrine of sovereign immunity?

A rule that only applies to foreign governments
Protection that applies only during wartime
Complete immunity for all government employees
The principle that the government cannot be sued without its consent (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The principle that the government cannot be sued without its consent

Sovereign immunity holds that the government cannot be sued unless it has waived its immunity or consented to suit, as established by the Eleventh Amendment for states.

Question 17: A contractor agrees to build a deck for $20,000. Midway through, the contractor demands $5,000 more due to rising lumber costs, and the homeowner agrees. Under common law, is the modification enforceable?

No, because all modifications must be in writing
Yes, because the homeowner's agreement constitutes a waiver
No, unless supported by new consideration or unanticipated circumstances making it fair and equitable (Correct answer)
Yes, because contract modifications never require consideration

Correct answer: No, unless supported by new consideration or unanticipated circumstances making it fair and equitable

Under the common law pre-existing duty rule, a modification requires new consideration unless fair and equitable in light of unanticipated circumstances.

Question 18: Under Maryland Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3, which of the following best describes a lawyer's duty of candor to the tribunal?

A lawyer must not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal (Correct answer)
A lawyer must disclose all facts that may be favorable to the opposing party
A lawyer must agree with the court's factual findings during oral argument
A lawyer must share all privileged communications with the court upon request

Correct answer: A lawyer must not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal

Rule 3.3(a)(1) specifically prohibits a lawyer from knowingly making any false statement of material fact or law to a tribunal.

Question 19: In Maryland, which statement about corporate dissolution is TRUE?

Dissolution may be voluntary (by shareholder action) or involuntary (by court order) (Correct answer)
Dissolution requires unanimous consent of all shareholders
A dissolved corporation may no longer defend pending lawsuits
Dissolution immediately extinguishes all corporate liabilities

Correct answer: Dissolution may be voluntary (by shareholder action) or involuntary (by court order)

Maryland corporations may be dissolved voluntarily through shareholder action or involuntarily through a court order for specified statutory grounds.

Question 20: What is the Rule Against Perpetuities?

A rule preventing property from being sold more than once
A rule requiring that future interests must vest within a life in being plus 21 years (Correct answer)
A rule that limits lease terms to 99 years
A rule against multiple mortgages on one property

Correct answer: A rule requiring that future interests must vest within a life in being plus 21 years

The Rule Against Perpetuities invalidates future interests that might not vest within 21 years after the death of a measuring life in being at the creation of the interest.

Question 21: What is a material breach of contract?

A breach that occurs on a material (physical) object
A breach by a materials supplier
A breach so substantial that it excuses the non-breaching party from further performance (Correct answer)
Any minor deviation from the contract terms

Correct answer: A breach so substantial that it excuses the non-breaching party from further performance

A material breach is a failure to perform a substantial part of the contract, going to the essence of the agreement and depriving the other party of the expected benefit.

Question 22: Under Maryland Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9, a lawyer who formerly represented a client may represent an adverse party in the same or a substantially related matter ONLY if:

The new client gives informed consent confirmed in writing
The Maryland State Bar Association approves the representation
More than two years have passed since the prior representation ended
The former client gives informed consent confirmed in writing (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The former client gives informed consent confirmed in writing

Rule 1.9 prohibits adverse representation in substantially related matters unless the former client — not the new client — gives informed consent confirmed in writing.

Question 23: What protections does the Equal Protection Clause provide?

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

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 24: In a Maryland general partnership, which statement is TRUE regarding partner liability?

Partners are not personally liable for torts committed by co-partners
Only the managing partner bears personal liability
Partners have limited liability up to their capital contribution
Partners are jointly and severally liable for all partnership debts and obligations (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Partners are jointly and severally liable for all partnership debts and obligations

In a general partnership, all partners are jointly and severally liable for all debts and obligations of the partnership.

Question 25: Under Maryland corporate law, which statement best describes the 'business judgment rule'?

Directors must maximize short-term shareholder profits
Courts will not second-guess directors' business decisions made in good faith on an informed basis (Correct answer)
A director can ratify any action taken without prior board approval
Directors are personally liable for any business loss

Correct answer: Courts will not second-guess directors' business decisions made in good faith on an informed basis

The business judgment rule protects directors from liability for good-faith, informed business decisions that prove unfavorable.

Question 26: In Maryland, what is the Double Jeopardy Clause's primary protection in criminal proceedings?

Protection against cruel and unusual punishment
Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures
Protection against being tried twice for the same offense after acquittal or conviction (Correct answer)
Protection against compelled self-incrimination

Correct answer: Protection against being tried twice for the same offense after acquittal or conviction

The Double Jeopardy Clause protects defendants from being prosecuted a second time for the same offense following a final judgment.

Question 27: In Maryland, what standard applies when determining if a defendant breached their duty of care?

The reasonable person standard — what a prudent person would do under similar circumstances (Correct answer)
Whatever the plaintiff considers reasonable
The defendant's personal standard of conduct
A standard based solely on industry custom

Correct answer: The reasonable person standard — what a prudent person would do under similar circumstances

The reasonable person standard is an objective test measuring the defendant's conduct against what a hypothetical prudent person would do in the same situation.

Question 28: What is consideration in contract formation?

The physical contract document
A bargained-for exchange of legal value between the parties (Correct answer)
The amount of money involved in the deal
A required waiting period before signing

Correct answer: A bargained-for exchange of legal value between the parties

Consideration is the legal concept requiring each party to give something of value — a promise, performance, or forbearance — in exchange for the other's promise or performance.

Question 29: What is the strict scrutiny test in constitutional law?

A test applied exclusively to criminal laws
A standard requiring any rational basis for legislation
A test used only in property disputes
A standard requiring the government to show a compelling interest and narrowly tailored means for laws affecting fundamental rights (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A standard requiring the government to show a compelling interest and narrowly tailored means for laws affecting fundamental rights

Strict scrutiny is the highest standard of review, requiring the government to prove a compelling state interest and that the law is narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.

Question 30: Under Maryland's mutual consent divorce ground, what must the parties submit to the court?

A marriage counselor's certification
Proof of a 12-month separation
Affidavits of fault from both spouses
A written settlement agreement resolving alimony, property, and child custody and support issues (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A written settlement agreement resolving alimony, property, and child custody and support issues

Mutual consent divorce requires a written agreement resolving all alimony, property, and child-related issues, which the court reviews for the children's best interests.

Maryland Bar Exam (UBE)

The Maryland Bar Exam is a Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) testing candidates across three components: the MBE (200 multiple-choice questions), MEE (6 essay questions), and MPT (2 performance tasks), covering core legal subjects required for attorney licensure in Maryland. Maryland requires a minimum scaled score of 266 to pass.

Questions

35 min

Time Limit

66%

To Pass

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These practice questions were written with AI tools. They are not real exam questions. Exam facts are checked against the official sources listed below. Not reviewed by a subject-matter expert. Editorial policy

Sources & references

Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy

mdcourts.gov — Test delivery, exam dates, late registration, registration deadline, registration, passing score, score validity, score release, test dates, retake policy · verified Oct 2026
ncbex.org — Exam format · verified Oct 2026