Mississippi Bar Examination (MS Bar) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Under MBE Evidence, the best evidence rule requires production of the original document primarily when:

Any witness testifies about the document
The opposing party disputes the document's authenticity
A party seeks to prove the contents of a writing (Correct answer)
The document is more than 30 years old

Correct answer: A party seeks to prove the contents of a writing

The best evidence rule (FRE 1002) applies when a party seeks to prove the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph.

Question 2: On the MBE, a plaintiff suing in negligence must establish the defendant's duty of care. What standard applies to a landowner toward a licensee?

Reasonable care under all circumstances
Duty to inspect and repair all dangerous conditions
No duty of care whatsoever
Duty to warn of known concealed dangers (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Duty to warn of known concealed dangers

A landowner owes a licensee only the duty to warn of known concealed dangers that the licensee would not reasonably discover.

Question 3: Under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 407, subsequent remedial measures are inadmissible to prove:

Negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the injury (Correct answer)
A party's financial condition
A witness's prior inconsistent statement
The existence of a contract

Correct answer: Negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the injury

MRE 407 bars evidence of subsequent remedial measures when offered to prove negligence or culpable conduct, encouraging safety improvements.

Question 4: Under Mississippi law, a Governor's veto of legislation can be overridden by what vote?

A three-fourths vote in both chambers
A two-thirds vote in both chambers (Correct answer)
A simple majority in both chambers
The Supreme Court must approve the override

Correct answer: A two-thirds vote in both chambers

The Mississippi Legislature can override a gubernatorial veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.

Question 5: Under the mailbox rule, an acceptance sent by mail is effective:

When the offeror actually reads it
At the moment the offeree deposits it in the mail (Correct answer)
When the offeror receives it in their mailbox
48 hours after the offeree sends it

Correct answer: At the moment the offeree deposits it in the mail

Under the mailbox rule (dispatch rule), acceptance is effective upon dispatch — the moment the offeree sends it — not when the offeror receives it.

Question 6: A delegation of contractual duties is generally prohibited when:

The delegate is a stranger to the original contract
The delegating party fails to give written notice to the obligee
The duties require special skills or personal trust and the contract prohibits delegation (Correct answer)
The contract involves a payment of money

Correct answer: The duties require special skills or personal trust and the contract prohibits delegation

Delegation is impermissible when the duties involve unique personal skills or special trust (personal service contracts), or when the contract expressly forbids delegation.

Question 7: Specific performance as a contract remedy is available when:

The breaching party acted with fraudulent intent
The subject matter is unique and monetary damages are an inadequate remedy (Correct answer)
The breach involves a very large monetary sum
The parties expressly agreed to specific performance in the contract

Correct answer: The subject matter is unique and monetary damages are an inadequate remedy

Specific performance is an equitable remedy that courts grant when the contract subject matter is unique — such as real property or rare goods — and money damages cannot adequately compensate the non-breaching party.

Question 8: On a Mississippi bar essay addressing the Statute of Frauds in contracts, an oral contract for the sale of real property is enforceable under the part performance exception when the buyer:

Pays the purchase price, takes possession, and makes improvements attributable to the contract (Correct answer)
Obtains a signed letter of intent from the seller acknowledging the agreement
Records a notice of the oral agreement in the county deed records
Makes a substantial down payment only

Correct answer: Pays the purchase price, takes possession, and makes improvements attributable to the contract

Mississippi's part performance exception requires conduct — typically payment, possession, and improvements — that is unequivocally referable to the oral contract, taking it out of the Statute of Frauds.

Question 9: Under Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3, a lawyer who knows another lawyer has committed a significant ethics violation must:

Report it only if the violation involves a felony
Inform the client of the other lawyer's conduct
Report it to the police
Report it to the appropriate professional authority (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Report it to the appropriate professional authority

MRPC 8.3 requires Mississippi lawyers to report known significant violations by other lawyers to the appropriate disciplinary authority.

Question 10: Mississippi's constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial applies to which courts?

Only federal courts in Mississippi
Only capital cases
All criminal prosecutions in Mississippi courts (Correct answer)
Only circuit courts

Correct answer: All criminal prosecutions in Mississippi courts

Mississippi's speedy trial right applies to all criminal prosecutions under Article III of the state constitution.

Question 11: In a Mississippi criminal law essay, defendant is charged with common law burglary. Which element distinguishes burglary from trespass most precisely?

Any unlawful entry into any structure with intent to steal
Daytime breaking and entering with intent to commit any crime
The breaking and entering must occur at nighttime with intent to commit a felony therein (Correct answer)
The use of force to enter any enclosed property

Correct answer: The breaking and entering must occur at nighttime with intent to commit a felony therein

Common law burglary requires breaking and entering the dwelling house of another at nighttime with the specific intent to commit a felony inside.

Question 12: In Mississippi, which of the following statements about lay opinion testimony is correct?

Lay witnesses may never give opinion testimony
Lay witnesses may give opinions rationally based on their perception and helpful to the trier of fact (Correct answer)
Lay witnesses may testify on any topic a jury might find persuasive
Lay opinion is only admissible in civil cases

Correct answer: Lay witnesses may give opinions rationally based on their perception and helpful to the trier of fact

Under MRE 701, lay witnesses may give opinion testimony if it is rationally based on their perception, helpful to the fact-finder, and not requiring specialized knowledge.

Question 13: Expectation damages in contract law are intended to:

Place the non-breaching party in the position they would have occupied had the contract been performed (Correct answer)
Punish the breaching party for their wrongful conduct
Return both parties to their pre-contract positions
Compensate only for direct out-of-pocket expenditures

Correct answer: Place the non-breaching party in the position they would have occupied had the contract been performed

Expectation damages — the standard contract remedy — aim to give the non-breaching party the benefit of the bargain, putting them in the economic position the full performance would have provided.

Question 14: Under Mississippi law, the statute of limitations for most personal injury tort claims is:

2 years
5 years
3 years (Correct answer)
1 year

Correct answer: 3 years

Mississippi's general statute of limitations for personal injury actions is 3 years from the date of injury.

Question 15: Under the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, which duty survives the termination of the attorney-client relationship?

The duty of diligence
The duty of loyalty
The duty of confidentiality (Correct answer)
The duty of communication

Correct answer: The duty of confidentiality

The duty of confidentiality under MRPC 1.6 continues even after the attorney-client relationship ends and applies indefinitely.

Question 16: Under Mississippi law, which type of deed provides the greatest level of warranty to a grantee?

General warranty deed (Correct answer)
Bargain and sale deed
Quitclaim deed
Special warranty deed

Correct answer: General warranty deed

A general warranty deed provides the broadest protection, warranting title against all claims regardless of when they arose.

Question 17: On the MPT, what is the primary purpose of the "File" provided to examinees?

It contains the legal authorities examinees must apply
It explains the grading rubric for the task
It contains the factual documents specific to the client's case (Correct answer)
It provides model answers from prior administrations

Correct answer: It contains the factual documents specific to the client's case

The File holds case-specific factual materials such as memos, transcripts, and correspondence, while the Library holds the legal authorities.

Question 18: Under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 609, a witness's prior felony conviction is admissible to impeach if the conviction occurred within how many years?

15 years
5 years
7 years
10 years (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 10 years

Under MRE 609, prior felony convictions are admissible for impeachment if the conviction or release from confinement occurred within 10 years.

Question 19: Under Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9, a former client conflict of interest arises when a lawyer:

Represents any new client in any matter
Represents a new client in the same or substantially related matter adverse to the former client without consent (Correct answer)
Uses general skills learned from representing the former client
Discusses prior representation with colleagues

Correct answer: Represents a new client in the same or substantially related matter adverse to the former client without consent

MRPC 1.9 bars representing a new client in the same or substantially related matter adverse to the former client without informed consent.

Question 20: Under Mississippi professional responsibility rules, a lawyer serving as a mediator should:

Advocate for the party who retained the mediator
Disclose mediation communications to the court if requested
File a report with the bar association after each mediation
Remain neutral and avoid representing any party in the same dispute afterward (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Remain neutral and avoid representing any party in the same dispute afterward

A lawyer acting as a mediator must maintain neutrality and is generally prohibited from representing any party in the same dispute in subsequent litigation.

Question 21: Under Mississippi evidence law, judicial notice of adjudicative facts requires that the fact be:

Found in a prior court decision
Supported by at least two witnesses
Generally known in the jurisdiction or capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources of unquestionable accuracy (Correct answer)
Stipulated to by both parties

Correct answer: Generally known in the jurisdiction or capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources of unquestionable accuracy

Judicial notice is proper for facts that are commonly known locally or that can be accurately verified through indisputably reliable sources.

Question 22: The non-breaching party's duty to mitigate damages requires that they:

File a lawsuit within 30 days of the breach
Take reasonable steps to reduce their losses after the breach (Correct answer)
Notify the breaching party in writing before seeking damages
Accept any substitute performance offered by the breaching party

Correct answer: Take reasonable steps to reduce their losses after the breach

After a breach, the non-breaching party must take reasonable steps to minimize their losses; damages recoverable are reduced by losses that could have been avoided through reasonable mitigation.

Question 23: In Mississippi, which of the following is true regarding the right to a preliminary hearing?

A preliminary hearing is mandatory in all criminal cases.
A preliminary hearing must be held within 10 days of the defendant's arrest.
The defendant can waive their right to a preliminary hearing, and it may be waived at any time.
A preliminary hearing is required to determine if there is probable cause to hold the defendant for trial. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A preliminary hearing is required to determine if there is probable cause to hold the defendant for trial.

In Mississippi, a preliminary hearing serves as an initial judicial review to determine if there is sufficient probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that the defendant committed it. This hearing protects the defendant from being held for trial without adequate evidence. While it can be waived, its primary purpose is to establish probable cause before proceeding with a full trial.

Question 24: Mississippi adopted which rules of evidence as its primary evidentiary framework?

The common law rules of evidence only
The Mississippi Rules of Evidence, modeled after the Federal Rules (Correct answer)
A hybrid of civil law and common law rules
The Federal Rules of Evidence verbatim

Correct answer: The Mississippi Rules of Evidence, modeled after the Federal Rules

Mississippi adopted the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, which are closely modeled after the Federal Rules of Evidence with some state-specific modifications.

Question 25: On the MBE Contracts essay, when both parties are mistaken about a material fact at the time of contracting, the contract is generally:

Reformed by a court to reflect the true intent
Void and unenforceable
Enforceable as written since both parties agreed
Voidable at the election of the adversely affected party (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Voidable at the election of the adversely affected party

A mutual mistake of material fact renders the contract voidable at the option of the party adversely affected.

Question 26: Under the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer may not communicate ex parte with a judge about a pending matter unless:

The case has not yet been assigned to the judge
Authorized by law or court order, or with the consent of all parties (Correct answer)
The communication concerns only scheduling matters with no substantive content
The lawyer knows the judge personally

Correct answer: Authorized by law or court order, or with the consent of all parties

MRPC 3.5 prohibits improper ex parte communications with judges except as authorized by law, court rule, or with consent of all parties.

Question 27: The frustration of purpose doctrine excuses performance when:

An unforeseen event destroys the principal purpose of the contract (Correct answer)
Performance becomes more expensive than originally anticipated
The contract terms turn out to be ambiguous
One party discovers a more profitable alternative after contracting

Correct answer: An unforeseen event destroys the principal purpose of the contract

Frustration of purpose excuses a party's performance when an unforeseen supervening event substantially destroys the purpose for which the contract was made, even though performance remains physically possible.

Question 28: While reading the MPT Library, you find a case from a jurisdiction outside the fictional state of Franklin. How should you treat it?

Treat it as persuasive authority unless the materials indicate otherwise (Correct answer)
Treat it as binding because it appears in the Library
Cite it only in a footnote as improper authority
Ignore it because only Franklin law can be cited

Correct answer: Treat it as persuasive authority unless the materials indicate otherwise

Out-of-jurisdiction cases in the Library are generally persuasive, not binding, and were included because they are useful to the analysis.

Question 29: An MPT statute in the Library has three numbered elements, but the Library cases interpret only two of them. What should you do about the third element?

Analyze it using the statutory text and the File facts (Correct answer)
Skip it because no case discusses it
State that the element cannot be analyzed without more law
Rely on your memory of real-world case law to fill the gap

Correct answer: Analyze it using the statutory text and the File facts

When cases are silent, examinees should apply the plain statutory language to the facts rather than skip the element or import outside law.

Question 30: In Mississippi, which standard applies when a trial court rules on the admissibility of evidence?

Beyond a reasonable doubt
Preponderance of the evidence (Correct answer)
Abuse of discretion on appeal; prima facie on initial determination
Clear and convincing evidence

Correct answer: Preponderance of the evidence

Trial courts assess preliminary questions of fact for evidentiary admissibility under the preponderance of the evidence standard.

Mississippi Bar Examination (MS Bar)

The Mississippi Bar Exam is a two-day hybrid examination that tests candidates on multistate and Mississippi-specific legal subjects, including the MBE, MEE, MPT, and Mississippi-specific essays, required for admission to practice law in Mississippi.

Questions

35 min

Time Limit

66%

To Pass

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