SD Bar Multistate Essay 4

Question 1

A testator executes a valid will but later executes a second will that neither expressly revokes the first nor is inconsistent with it. The legal effect is:

Accepted Answer

Both wills are probated together and read as one instrument

Answer

When a later will does not expressly revoke a prior will and is not wholly inconsistent with it, both are admitted to probate and construed together as a single testamentary instrument.

Question 2

In an MEE question on secured transactions, a creditor loans money to a car dealer and files a financing statement covering 'all inventory.' The dealer later sells a car to a consumer. Under UCC Article 9, the consumer takes:

Accepted Answer

Free of the security interest as a buyer in the ordinary course of business

Answer

UCC § 9-320(a) provides that a buyer in the ordinary course of business from a merchant who sells that kind of goods takes free of a security interest created by the seller, even if perfected.

Question 3

During an arson investigation, police find accelerant on a suspect's clothing. The suspect is in custody and invokes Miranda. Police nevertheless question him for 20 minutes before he confesses. The confession is:

Accepted Answer

Inadmissible because continued questioning after invocation violates Miranda

Answer

Once a suspect in custody invokes the right to remain silent, police must scrupulously honor that invocation; continuing interrogation violates Miranda and renders the confession inadmissible.

Question 4

An architect designs a building that collapses due to a structural flaw, injuring a worker. The owner had hired an independent contractor to build it. The owner's liability to the worker turns primarily on whether:

Accepted Answer

The work was inherently dangerous or the owner retained control over the manner of work

Answer

Owners are generally not liable for independent contractors' torts, but exceptions apply for inherently dangerous work and where the owner retains control over the operative details.

Question 5

A state statute requires disclosure of personal financial information to vote in local elections. A registered voter challenges the statute under the 14th Amendment. The appropriate standard of review is:

Accepted Answer

Strict scrutiny, because the right to vote is a fundamental right

Answer

Laws that burden the fundamental right to vote are reviewed under strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause unless they are reasonably non-discriminatory regulations of the electoral process.

(SD Bar) South Dakota Bar Exam Practice Test

(SD Bar) South Dakota Bar Exam Practice Test

SD Bar Multistate Essay 4