Multistate Bar Exam Practice Test 5

Question 1

A statute makes it a crime to 'knowingly possess a firearm with an obliterated serial number.' The defendant claims he did not know the serial number was obliterated. What mental state must the prosecution prove?

Accepted Answer

The prosecution must prove the defendant knew the firearm had an obliterated serial number

Answer

When a statute uses 'knowingly,' the MPC and most courts require the prosecution to prove the defendant was aware of each material element, including the obliteration of the serial number.

Question 2

A homeowner hires a contractor to build a deck. The contractor negligently constructs a defective railing. A guest of the homeowner falls through the railing and is injured. Under respondeat superior, is the homeowner liable?

Accepted Answer

No, because the contractor is an independent contractor, not an employee

Answer

Respondeat superior does not extend to independent contractors; an employer is generally not liable for the torts of an independent contractor unless an exception such as non-delegable duty applies.

Question 3

Congress passes a law prohibiting states from enacting any regulations governing the disposal of nuclear waste. A state thereafter enacts such regulations. Are the state regulations valid?

Accepted Answer

No, because Congress has expressly preempted the field of nuclear waste regulation

Answer

Under the Supremacy Clause, when Congress expressly preempts a field, state laws in that field are void regardless of the state's police power interest.

Question 4

An adverse possessor has openly, continuously, and exclusively used a neighbor's land for 9 years in a jurisdiction with a 10-year statute. The original owner conveys the land to a bona fide purchaser. Does the clock reset?

Accepted Answer

No, because adverse possession runs against successive owners and the statute does not reset on transfer

Answer

Adverse possession runs against the land and not just the person; transferring the land to a new owner does not restart the statute of limitations, and the adverse possessor's period of possession tacks against all successive owners.

Question 5

A plaintiff's attorney wants to call the defendant as a witness in the plaintiff's case-in-chief. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, can the plaintiff's attorney use leading questions when examining the defendant?

Accepted Answer

Yes, because the defendant is a hostile witness or adverse party, permitting leading questions

Answer

Under FRE 611(c), a party may use leading questions when examining a witness who is an adverse party or identified with an adverse party, without needing to establish hostility.