Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)
Domain 1 - Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)
The MBE is a six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice test (175 scored, 25 pretest) in two three-hour sessions. It covers Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts/Sales, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts. Each item supplies facts, a call, and four choices; the exam rewards rule precision and disciplined application over policy talk.
Rules that recur
- Civil Procedure: personal jurisdiction (minimum contacts plus fair play), complete diversity and $75,000 amount in controversy, Erie, venue, plausibility pleading, discovery scope, summary judgment, claim and issue preclusion.
- Constitutional Law: state action, due process, equal protection tiers, First Amendment, Dormant Commerce Clause, standing, ripeness, mootness.
- Contracts: UCC 2-207, Statute of Frauds, anticipatory repudiation, material breach, Hadley consequential damages, impracticability, third-party beneficiaries, parol evidence.
- Criminal Law and Procedure: mens rea, felony murder, accomplice liability, attempt, conspiracy, Fourth Amendment, Miranda, Sixth Amendment counsel.
- Evidence: relevance and Rule 403, character evidence, hearsay and exceptions, confrontation, impeachment, privilege, expert testimony, authentication.
- Real Property: estates, concurrent ownership, landlord-tenant, easements, covenants, adverse possession, recording acts, mortgages.
- Torts: duty, breach, causation, damages, res ipsa loquitur, comparative negligence, intentional torts, strict liability, products liability, defamation.
Worked example
A bakery's delivery driver, on an assigned route, runs a red light and injures a cyclist. Is the bakery liable? Respondeat superior applies because the driver was an employee acting within the scope of employment; the bakery is vicariously liable even if it hired and trained the driver carefully. If the driver had detoured five miles to visit a friend when the collision occurred, the detour would likely fall outside the scope, and the bakery would not be vicariously liable, though direct negligence in hiring or entrustment could remain.
Traps
Two choices often state true law; the call decides which one fits. Watch for "if the evidence is admitted" versus "if objected to," and for questions asking for the majority rule. Do not assume missing facts; the answer usually turns on who bears the burden. Distinguish the burden of production from the burden of persuasion.