Baby Bar study guide
Baby Bar · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX), often called the Baby Bar, is a California exam for certain law students after their first year of law study. It is not a standalone license. Students must take it if they complete their first year in a Juris Doctor program at a State Bar–unaccredited registered law school, through the Law Office Study Program, or-without two years of college work-at a California-accredited or ABA-accredited law school. Students who have advanced to their second year at an ABA- or California-accredited law school and have at least 60 semester or 90 quarter units of undergraduate work are generally exempt. Topics on this exam: Contracts, Criminal Law, and Torts. The Baby Bar study guide has 3 sections and about 959 words.
01Contracts: Formation, Defenses, and Remedies
Begin every contracts question by classifying the subject matter. Goods go to UCC Article 2; services, land, and everything else go to common law. Then test the three formation elements: offer (present intent to be bound, definite terms, communicated to the offeree), acceptance (mirror-image at common law; UCC 2-207 permits a contract despite differing terms), and consideration (a bargained-for exchange of legal detriment). Memorize the Statute of Frauds categories (marriage, year, land, executor, goods of $500 or more, surety) and the exceptions: part performance, specially manufactured goods, admission, payment.
326 words, about 2 min02Criminal Law: Elements, Homicide, and Defenses
A crime requires actus reus (a voluntary act or qualifying omission), mens rea, concurrence, and causation. Classify mens rea: specific intent (purpose), general intent (knowledge/recklessness), malice, and strict liability. Specific-intent crimes include burglary, larceny, embezzlement, false pretenses, assault, attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy; voluntary intoxication and mistake defenses work only against specific intent. Murder is unlawful killing with malice aforethought, shown by intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, reckless indifference (depraved heart), or felony murder.
315 words, about 2 min03Torts: Intentional Torts, Negligence, and Strict Liability
Battery is harmful or offensive contact; assault is apprehension of imminent contact; false imprisonment is confinement to a bounded area; IIED requires extreme and outrageous conduct plus severe distress. Property torts include trespass to land, trespass to chattels, and conversion. Intent transfers between torts and between victims. Defenses include consent, self-defense, defense of others, defense of property, and necessity.
318 words, about 2 min