SC BAR Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield SC BAR facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. A lawyer discovers that a client intends to commit perjury in an upcoming civil trial. The lawyer's first obligation is to: → Attempt to persuade the client to testify truthfully
2. Which of the following is NOT required to create a valid private express trust in South Carolina? → A written instrument signed by two witnesses
3. An MEE constitutional law essay involves a state law that discriminates against out-of-state businesses. The essay should primarily analyze: → The dormant Commerce Clause
4. When a government action burdens a fundamental right under substantive due process, what standard of review applies? → Strict scrutiny
5. Which of the following classifications triggers strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause? → Race
6. A blasting company's explosives damage a neighboring South Carolina home despite all precautions. The company is: → Strictly liable because blasting is an abnormally dangerous activity
7. A lawyer receives a document from opposing counsel that was clearly sent by mistake and contains privileged material. Under Rule 4.4(b), the lawyer must: → Promptly notify the sender
8. Under South Carolina law, the statute of limitations for most personal injury negligence actions is: → Three years from when the injury was or should have been discovered
9. In the MPT File, a client interview transcript contains facts that contradict the client's affidavit. The best response in an objective memo is to: → Flag the factual inconsistency and analyze both possibilities
10. A party who is dissatisfied with a final decision of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court in a contested case generally seeks review in: → The South Carolina Court of Appeals
11. Under the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, which of the following is a duty an attorney owes to a client? → To maintain client confidentiality unless the client consents to disclosure
12. What is the exclusionary rule? → Evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights is inadmissible at trial
13. In South Carolina, what effect does a divorce have on a will executed during the marriage? → It revokes provisions in favor of the former spouse
14. What does the Fourth Amendment protect against? → Unreasonable searches and seizures by the government
15. Under a shipment contract designated F.O.B. seller's city, the goods are destroyed in transit through no one's fault. Who bears the risk of loss? → The buyer, because risk passed when goods were duly delivered to the carrier
16. A testator crosses out a devisee's name in his executed will and writes in a new name above it. Under South Carolina law, what is the likely effect? → The new gift fails because the change was not executed with will formalities
17. In an MPT, the Library contains a statute and two cases interpreting it from different angles. The strongest answers will: → Synthesize the statute and cases into a working rule applied to the client's facts
18. In South Carolina circuit court, a defendant served with a summons and complaint within the state generally must serve an answer within: → 30 days after service
19. South Carolina's recording statute protects a subsequent purchaser who: → Takes for value without notice and records first
20. What is specific performance as a contract remedy? → A court order requiring the breaching party to perform their contractual obligations
21. South Carolina follows which type of recording statute? → Race-notice
22. A man broke into a house at night intending to retrieve a television he honestly believed was his. He was charged with burglary. What is his best defense? → He lacked the intent to commit a felony inside because he believed the property was his
23. A wrongful death action in South Carolina must be brought by: → The executor or administrator of the decedent's estate for the statutory beneficiaries
24. In Davenport v. Cotton Hope Plantation, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that implied assumption of risk: → Is no longer a complete bar and is subsumed into comparative fault
25. What is the double jeopardy clause? → The Fifth Amendment prohibition against being tried twice for the same offense
26. An MEE question crosses two subjects, such as agency principles inside a partnership dispute. The examinee should: → Address issues from both subjects as raised by the facts
27. A defendant convicted in General Sessions court wishes to appeal. His notice of appeal to the South Carolina appellate courts must generally be served within: → Ten days after sentencing
28. Under Strickland v. Washington, a South Carolina PCR applicant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must prove: → Deficient performance and a reasonable probability the result would have differed
29. In South Carolina, a claim for loss of consortium may be brought by: → A spouse as an independent cause of action for loss of companionship and services
30. Under Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, a regulation that deprives a property owner of ALL economically beneficial use of her land constitutes: → A per se taking requiring full just compensation