MS Bar cheat sheet

Subject-matter jurisdiction: federal question under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 requires a federal claim on the face of a well-pleaded complaint; diversity under § 1332 requires complete diversity plus an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

Supplemental jurisdiction (§ 1367) reaches claims sharing a common nucleus of operative fact with an anchor claim, but in diversity cases it never extends to claims by plaintiffs against persons made parties under Rules 14, 19, 20, or 24 when inconsistent with § 1332.

Personal jurisdiction: general jurisdiction only where the defendant is at home (incorporation state and principal place of business for a corporation); specific jurisdiction requires purposeful availment, relatedness, and reasonableness under the fair-play and substantial-justice standard.

Removal: defendant files notice within 30 days of service of the initial pleading; no removal on diversity grounds more than one year after commencement absent bad-faith joinder; in-state defendant rule bars diversity removal.

Erie doctrine: federal procedural rules and statutes govern if valid under the Rules Enabling Act; absent a federal directive, apply state substantive law, including conflicts rules, statutes of limitations, and burdens of proof.

Rule 12 motion deadlines: 21 days after service of the summons and complaint; a motion under 12(b)(6) through (12)(b)(7) tolls the answer deadline; 12(b)(2)-(5) waivers occur if omitted from the first Rule 12 motion or answer.

Discovery scope: Rule 26(b)(1) permits any nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case; work product under Rule 26(b)(3) is discoverable only on substantial need and undue hardship.

Summary judgment under Rule 56 is granted when no genuine dispute of material fact exists and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; the nonmovant gets all reasonable inferences.

Preclusion: claim preclusion requires a final judgment on the merits, same claim, and same parties or privies; issue preclusion requires actual litigation, actual determination, and the issue was necessary to the judgment.

Standing requires injury in fact (concrete and particularized, actual or imminent), causation traceable to the defendant, and redressability; third-party standing requires a close relationship plus a hindrance to the rightholder's own suit.

Strict scrutiny applies to suspect classifications (race, national origin, alienage in most state contexts) and fundamental rights (voting, travel, privacy, marriage); the law must be necessary to a compelling interest.

Intermediate scrutiny applies to sex and illegitimacy classifications and to content-neutral time, place, and manner regulations of speech; the means must be substantially related to an important interest.

Rational basis review applies to age, wealth, disability, sexual orientation (per current doctrine), and ordinary economic regulation; the law must be rationally related to a legitimate interest.

Content-based speech restrictions are presumptively invalid; unprotected categories include incitement to imminent lawless action, true threats, fighting words, obscenity, and child pornography.

Commercial speech receives intermediate scrutiny under Central Hudson; the speech must concern lawful activity and not be misleading, and the regulation must directly advance a substantial interest.

Dormant Commerce Clause: a state law that discriminates against interstate commerce is per se invalid absent a legitimate local purpose that cannot be served by reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives; nondiscriminatory laws use the Pike balancing test.

Due process: procedural due process uses the Mathews v. Eldridge factors (private interest, risk of erroneous deprivation, government interest); substantive due process protects fundamental rights against arbitrary government action.

Fourth Amendment: a search requires a warrant supported by probable cause unless an exception applies, such as search incident to arrest, automobile, plain view, consent, exigency, or inventory.

Common law acceptance: the mirror image rule requires acceptance to match the offer; under UCC 2-207, a definite and seasonable expression of acceptance operates as acceptance even with additional or different terms.

Statute of Frauds categories: marriage, year, land, executor, surety, and sale of goods over $500 (UCC 2-201); a writing must be signed by the party to be charged and state quantity for goods.

Consideration requires a bargained-for exchange; past consideration, moral obligation, and illusory promises are insufficient; promissory estoppel requires a promise, reasonable reliance, and injustice absent enforcement.

UCC perfect tender rule: the buyer may reject goods if they fail in any respect to conform; the seller may cure if the time for performance has not expired or with reasonable notice of intent to cure.

Anticipatory repudiation allows the nonbreaching party to treat the repudiation as a breach or await performance; retraction is permitted until the aggrieved party materially changes position.

Expectation damages place the nonbreaching party in the position of performance; consequential damages require foreseeability under Hadley v. Baxendale; mitigation limits recovery.

Liquidated damages are enforceable if the amount is reasonable in light of anticipated or actual loss and difficult to estimate; penalties are unenforceable.

UCC 2-302 unconscionability examines both procedural unfairness (surprise, unequal bargaining power) and substantive unfairness (oppressive terms).

Impracticability under UCC 2-615 requires an unforeseen contingency making performance commercially impracticable; mere increased cost or market shift is insufficient.

Common law murder is unlawful killing with malice aforethought, shown by intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, or felony murder.

Voluntary manslaughter requires adequate provocation, heat of passion, no cooling time, and causation; involuntary manslaughter is criminal negligence or misdemeanor manslaughter.

Felony murder liability attaches during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony; the underlying felony must be independent of the killing, and agency limitations apply in some jurisdictions.

Self-defense permits reasonable force when the defendant reasonably believes unlawful force is imminent; deadly force requires a reasonable belief of imminent death or serious bodily harm, with no duty to retreat in most states.

Insanity tests: M'Naghten (did not know nature of act or wrongfulness), irresistible impulse, Durham (product test), and the MPC standard (lacks substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or conform conduct).

Fourth Amendment: warrantless arrest in public requires probable cause; searches incident to lawful arrest extend to the person and grab area; automobile exception requires probable cause to believe contraband is present.

Miranda warnings are required for custodial interrogation; the suspect must be informed of the right to remain silent, that statements may be used, the right to counsel, and appointed counsel if indigent.

Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at formal proceedings (indictment, information, arraignment, preliminary hearing); it is offense-specific and applies to all critical stages.

Exclusionary rule bars evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendment, subject to exceptions such as good faith, inevitable discovery, attenuation, and independent source.

Relevance requires that evidence have any tendency to make a fact of consequence more or less probable; Rule 403 permits exclusion if probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusion, or waste of time.

Character evidence is inadmissible to prove conduct, but is admissible for other purposes such as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake (Rule 404(b)).

Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted; nonhearsay includes prior consistent statements, prior inconsistent statements under oath, and opposing party admissions.

Hearsay exceptions independent of declarant availability include present sense impression, excited utterance, then-existing mental, emotional, or physical condition, medical diagnosis, recorded recollection, business records, and public records.

Confrontation Clause: testimonial hearsay is inadmissible unless the declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine; nontestimonial statements are governed by hearsay rules.

Impeachment methods include prior inconsistent statements, bias, sensory or mental capacity, character for truthfulness, and criminal convictions under Rule 609 (felony or crime involving dishonesty).

Privileges: attorney-client, physician-patient, psychotherapist-patient, spousal (confidential marital communications and testimonial privilege), and clergy; privilege is waived by voluntary disclosure.

Best evidence rule requires the original writing, recording, or photograph to prove its content; secondary evidence is admissible if the original is lost, destroyed, or unavailable.

Expert testimony under Daubert and Rule 702 requires reliable methodology, sufficient facts or data, and a fit between the testimony and the issue.

Estates: fee simple absolute is the fullest estate; fee tail is abolished in most states; life estate ends at the measuring life's death; defeasible fees (fee simple determinable, fee simple subject to condition subsequent, fee simple subject to executory limitation) are subject to future interests.

Future interests: reversion, possibility of reverter, right of entry, and remainder (vested or contingent); the Rule Against Perpetuities voids interests that may vest more than 21 years after a life in being plus 21 years.

Co-tenancy: joint tenancy requires the four unities (time, title, interest, and possession) and a right of survivorship; tenancy in common has no survivorship; tenancy by the entirety requires marriage.

Landlord-tenant: covenant of quiet enjoyment, implied warranty of habitability (residential), constructive eviction, and the tenant's right to assign or sublease absent a restriction.

Recording statutes: race, notice, and race-notice; a subsequent bona fide purchaser without notice prevails under notice and race-notice statutes; inquiry notice requires reasonable investigation of the property.

Mortgages: a deed of trust conveys title to a trustee; foreclosure by power of sale requires notice and sale; lien priority generally follows recording order, with purchase-money mortgages often first.

Easements: express, implied, necessity, and prescription; an easement appurtenant benefits a dominant estate and burdens a servient estate; easement in gross benefits a person.

Adverse possession elements: actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, and hostile possession for the statutory period; tacking is permitted with privity.

Zoning: nonconforming uses may continue; variances require unnecessary hardship (use variance) or practical difficulty (area variance); spot zoning is invalid if not in accordance with a comprehensive plan.

Negligence elements: duty, breach, causation (actual and proximate), and damages; the standard of care is a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances, with special standards for children, professionals, and emergencies.

Premises liability: trespassers owe a duty to refrain from willful or wanton injury; licensees owe a duty to warn of known dangers; invitees owe a duty to inspect and warn of latent defects.

Strict liability applies to abnormally dangerous activities, wild animals, and defective products; product liability theories include negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty.

Products liability under Restatement § 402A requires a defective condition unreasonably dangerous, in the ordinary course of business, and causation of physical harm; defenses include misuse and assumption of risk.

Defamation: a defamatory statement of fact, publication, fault, and damages; public officials and public figures must prove actual malice (knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard).

Intentional torts: battery (harmful or offensive contact), assault (apprehension of imminent contact), false imprisonment, trespass, conversion, and intentional infliction of emotional distress (extreme and outrageous conduct).

Negligence per se: a statute violation establishes breach if the plaintiff is in the class the statute protects and the harm is the type the statute aims to prevent.

Comparative negligence: pure comparative reduces recovery by the plaintiff's percentage; modified comparative bars recovery at 50% or 51%; contributory negligence is a complete bar in a minority of states.

Damages: compensatory (special and general), punitive for gross negligence or intentional torts, and the collateral source rule prevents reduction for third-party payments.

The MPT is a 90-minute skills test with two tasks per session; each task includes a file (facts) and a library (authorities); the answer must apply the law from the library to the facts in the file.

Read the task memo first to identify the required deliverable (memorandum, brief, letter, contract provision, or client advice) and the specific questions the supervising attorney asks.

Use the library to extract the controlling rule; do not rely on outside law; distinguish cases by material facts and explain why a rule does or does not apply.

Organize the answer with headings matching the task's questions; use IRAC or CRAC structure; state the rule, apply it to the facts, and conclude.

Manage time: approximately 45 minutes per task, with 10-15 minutes for reading and outlining and 30-35 minutes for drafting; leave time to proofread.

Cite authorities from the library by name or page; do not invent citations; quote only when the exact language matters.

Address counterarguments and unfavorable facts; a strong answer acknowledges weaknesses and explains why the client's position prevails or how to mitigate risk.

Format matters: follow the requested document type and tone; a client letter should be clear and nontechnical, while an internal memo may use legal shorthand.

Check for completeness: answer every sub-question, include all necessary factual details, and avoid conclusory statements without factual support.

Mississippi civil practice: the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure govern; venue is proper in the county where the defendant resides or where the cause of action accrued; the statute of limitations for personal injury is three years under Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49.

Mississippi Constitution: Article 3 contains a bill of rights; the Mississippi Supreme Court may interpret state constitutional provisions more protectively than the federal Constitution; sovereign immunity is governed by the Mississippi Tort Claims Act.

Mississippi Tort Claims Act: governmental entities are immune from suit except as waived; notice of claim must be filed with the entity within 90 days; damages caps apply.

Family law: Mississippi is a fault-based divorce state with irreconcilable differences as an additional ground; equitable distribution follows the Ferguson factors; child custody uses the Albright factors.

Wills and estates: Mississippi requires a written will signed by the testator and two witnesses; holographic wills are not recognized; intestate succession passes to spouse and children under Miss. Code Ann. § 91-1-3.

Mississippi real property: deeds must be acknowledged and recorded; the race-notice recording statute protects subsequent purchasers without notice; adverse possession requires 10 years under color of title or 10 years without.

Mississippi criminal procedure: preliminary hearings, grand jury indictments, and arraignments follow state rules; the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure govern.

Mississippi evidence: the Mississippi Rules of Evidence largely track the Federal Rules; state-specific privileges and hearsay exceptions may differ.

Mississippi professional responsibility: the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct govern attorney conduct, including conflicts, confidentiality, and fee arrangements.