OR BAR Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the OR BAR exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 OR BAR Exam Format at a Glance
📚 OR BAR Topics to Study (69)
✍️ Sample OR BAR Questions & Answers
1. Under the Free Exercise Clause, a neutral law of general applicability that incidentally burdens religious practice is subject to:
Employment Division v. Smith held that neutral, generally applicable laws incidentally burdening religion need only satisfy rational basis review, not strict scrutiny.
2. What is the primary standard Oregon courts apply when making initial child custody determinations?
ORS 107.137 directs courts to determine custody based on the best interests and welfare of the child.
3. A commercial building that was lawfully built before a new zoning ordinance was enacted but now violates the current zoning code is best described as:
A nonconforming use or structure predates the enactment of the zoning ordinance and is grandfathered in, though zoning law typically restricts expansion or reconstruction after substantial destruction.
4. A landowner orally tells a neighbor, 'You may use my driveway whenever you need.' Without more, this creates:
Oral permission to use land creates a revocable license, not an easement; an easement requires a writing to satisfy the Statute of Frauds and is not freely revocable.
5. Under Oregon law, a party seeking judicial review of a final contested case order must file a petition within:
ORS 183.482 requires a petition for judicial review of a final contested case order to be filed within 60 days of service of the final order.
6. Which of the following motions is used to challenge the legal sufficiency of the opposing party's pleading?
A Motion to Dismiss is the appropriate procedural tool used to challenge the legal sufficiency of an opposing party's pleading, such as a complaint. This motion asserts that even if all the facts alleged in the pleading are true, they do not establish a valid legal claim or defense. It seeks to have the case or a specific claim thrown out before trial due to a legal defect.