MI Bar Multistate Bar 4

Question 1

A contractor emailed a client: 'I will not perform our May 1 contract under any circumstances.' It is now March 1. The client may:

Accepted Answer

Treat the statement as an anticipatory repudiation and sue immediately

Answer

An unequivocal statement of intent not to perform before performance is due is an anticipatory repudiation allowing immediate suit.

Question 2

A newspaper published a false story that a famous senator took bribes, based on a single anonymous tip it made no effort to verify despite doubts. The senator's defamation claim will likely:

Accepted Answer

Succeed, because publishing with reckless disregard for truth satisfies actual malice

Answer

A public official proves actual malice by showing the publisher acted with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard, such as purposeful avoidance of the truth despite serious doubts.

Question 3

In a battery prosecution, the defendant called a witness to testify to the defendant's reputation for peacefulness. The prosecution may now:

Accepted Answer

Offer evidence of the defendant's violent character to rebut

Answer

Once a criminal defendant opens the door with good-character evidence, the prosecution may rebut with evidence of the defendant's bad character for the same trait.

Question 4

A city ordinance bans all signs criticizing foreign governments but permits other political signs. The ordinance is:

Accepted Answer

Presumptively invalid, because content-based speech restrictions receive strict scrutiny

Answer

A regulation that restricts speech based on its subject matter is content-based and must survive strict scrutiny, which it almost certainly cannot.

Question 5

A defendant, intending to kill his rival, fired into what he believed was the rival's occupied bedroom, but the room was empty. The defendant is most likely guilty of:

Accepted Answer

Attempted murder, because he acted with specific intent and took a substantial step

Answer

Factual impossibility is no defense to attempt where the defendant had specific intent to kill and took a substantial step toward the killing.

(MI Bar) Michigan Bar Exam Practice Test

(MI Bar) Michigan Bar Exam Practice Test

MI Bar Multistate Bar 4