Mixed Deck — All OH BAR Topics Flashcards

Ohio Civ. R. 53 authorizes courts to appoint a magistrate to perform which of the following functions?

Answer: Conduct hearings, make factual and legal findings, and issue decisions subject to objection and judicial review

Under Civ. R. 53, a magistrate can conduct hearings and issue decisions, but those decisions are subject to objections and must be adopted, modified, or rejected by the judge to become final.

Which of the following is a fault ground for divorce in Ohio?

Answer: Habitual drunkenness

Habitual drunkenness is one of Ohio's statutory fault grounds, while irretrievable breakdown is not an Ohio ground and the other options are not statutory grounds at all.

A lawyer learns that her client intends to commit perjury in an upcoming civil trial. The client insists on testifying falsely. What is the lawyer's proper course of action?

Answer: Attempt to dissuade the client, and if unsuccessful, seek to withdraw or refuse to offer the false testimony

Under Rule 3.3, a lawyer must first remonstrate with the client and may not knowingly offer false evidence, seeking withdrawal or other remedial measures if necessary.

A lawyer refers clients needing accounting services to her brother's firm, receiving a 10% referral payment for each client sent. She does not tell the clients about the payment. This arrangement is:

Answer: Improper because the personal financial interest creates a conflict requiring disclosure and informed consent

Under Rule 1.7(a)(2), a lawyer's undisclosed financial interest in referrals creates a material limitation conflict requiring disclosure and informed consent.

Which Ohio court has original jurisdiction over civil actions where the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000?

Answer: Ohio Court of Common Pleas

Ohio Courts of Common Pleas have original jurisdiction over civil actions in which the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000, while municipal courts handle smaller civil claims.

A grantor conveys the same parcel twice: first to X, who does not record, then as a gift to Y, who records immediately without knowledge of X. Under Ohio's race-notice statute, who owns the parcel?

Answer: X, because Y is a donee and not a purchaser for value protected by the statute

Recording acts protect only subsequent purchasers for value, so a donee like Y cannot use the statute to defeat the prior unrecorded deed.

A fixture dispute arises when a commercial tenant removes built-in refrigeration units it installed, patching the walls afterward, before the lease ends. Was removal proper?

Answer: Yes, trade fixtures may be removed by the tenant before lease expiration if damage is repaired

The trade-fixture doctrine lets a business tenant remove fixtures it installed for its trade before the lease term ends, provided it repairs any damage.

Police arrest a driver, handcuff him, and place him in the patrol car, then search his vehicle's passenger compartment. Under Arizona v. Gant, the search is valid only if:

Answer: The arrestee could access the car at the time of the search, or it is reasonable to believe the car contains evidence of the offense of arrest

Gant limits vehicle searches incident to arrest to situations where the arrestee can access the vehicle or the vehicle may contain evidence of the offense of arrest.

A promisor's duty is subject to an express condition precedent that has not occurred. What is the effect on the promisor's performance obligation?

Answer: The duty to perform never arises

An express condition precedent must occur before the conditioned duty to perform ever becomes due.

During trial, a lawyer states in closing argument, 'I personally believe my client is innocent and the police officer lied.' This statement is:

Answer: Improper, because a lawyer may not assert personal opinions about a witness's credibility or a party's guilt or innocence

Rule 3.4(e) prohibits a lawyer from asserting personal knowledge of facts in issue or personal opinions about credibility, culpability, or guilt.

A lawyer solicits a wealthy accident victim in person at the hospital, offering legal services for a fee. The victim is not a lawyer, family member, or prior client. This conduct is:

Answer: Prohibited in-person solicitation because it involves live contact for pecuniary gain with a vulnerable stranger

Rule 7.3 prohibits live in-person solicitation for pecuniary gain unless the target is a lawyer, family member, close friend, prior client, or routine user of such services.

Before the performance date, a seller unequivocally tells the buyer, 'I will not deliver the goods.' Which option is NOT available to the buyer?

Answer: Waiting until after the performance date to treat the statement as a breach and doing nothing to mitigate indefinitely

A nonrepudiating party may sue immediately, suspend performance, or await performance for a commercially reasonable time, but cannot ignore mitigation indefinitely.

What is the exclusionary rule?

Answer: Evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights is inadmissible at trial

The exclusionary rule prevents the prosecution from using evidence obtained through unconstitutional means, deterring law enforcement from violating constitutional rights.

Under Ohio Civ. R. 15(A), a party may amend a pleading once as a matter of course within how many days after serving the pleading?

Answer: 28 days

Ohio Civ. R. 15(A) allows a party to amend its pleading once as a matter of course within 21 days after serving it, or within 21 days after service of a responsive pleading or certain motions.

Under Ohio's equitable division statute, marital property is presumptively divided how?

Answer: Equally, unless an equal division would be inequitable

Ohio Rev. Code 3105.171 starts with a presumption of equal division of marital property, departing to an equitable division only when equal would be inequitable.

A buyer accepts goods, then discovers a latent defect that substantially impairs their value. The buyer wants to return them. What must the buyer show to revoke acceptance?

Answer: Acceptance was induced by difficulty of discovery or the seller's assurances, and revocation occurred within a reasonable time

UCC 2-608 permits revocation of acceptance only for substantial impairment where the defect was hard to discover or the seller gave assurances, and revocation must be timely.

An Ohio defendant sentenced to prison for a fourth-degree felony appeals, arguing his sentence is contrary to law. The appellate court reviews the sentence under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2) and may modify or vacate it only if:

Answer: It clearly and convincingly finds the record does not support required findings or the sentence is otherwise contrary to law

R.C. 2953.08(G)(2) permits appellate modification or vacatur only upon clear and convincing evidence that the record does not support statutory findings or the sentence is contrary to law, not mere abuse-of-discretion review.

In an Ohio criminal case, the defense demands discovery under Crim.R. 16. Which of the following is the prosecutor generally NOT required to disclose?

Answer: The prosecutor's internal legal memoranda and work product analyzing trial strategy

Crim.R. 16 mandates disclosure of defendant statements, exculpatory material, and test results, but protects the prosecutor's work product from discovery.

O conveys "to A for life, then to A's children who reach age 25." A has one child, age 3, at the conveyance. Under the common-law Rule Against Perpetuities, what happens to the children's interest?

Answer: It is void, because a child could reach 25 more than 21 years after all lives in being end

An afterborn child of A could satisfy the age-25 condition more than 21 years after the deaths of A and the living child, violating the Rule.

Police attach a GPS tracker to a suspect's car without a warrant and monitor it for 28 days. Under United States v. Jones, this conduct is:

Answer: A Fourth Amendment search, because the physical trespass on the vehicle to obtain information triggers constitutional protection

Jones held that physically installing a GPS device on a vehicle to monitor its movements is a search under the trespass-based theory of the Fourth Amendment.