WASHINGTON BAR EXAM (NEXTGEN UBE)
PRACTICE EXAM | 100 ORIGINAL MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED ANSWER
EXPLANATIONS FOR EXCELLENT CREATININE
EDITION
1. A homeowner hired a contractor to build a detached garage for $90,000. The
written contract required completion by June 1. On May 15, a fire destroyed the
contractor's warehouse and all of the contractor's construction equipment. The
equipment was uninsured but readily available for purchase on the open market.
The contractor informed the homeowner that performance was impossible and
refused to complete the project.
What is the homeowner's strongest legal argument?
A. The contract was discharged because the fire made performance impossible.
B. The contractor remains liable because the fire merely increased the cost of
performance rather than making it objectively impossible.
C. The homeowner must share the contractor's financial loss because both parties
assumed the risk.
D. The contractor is excused under the doctrine of commercial impracticability
whenever property is destroyed.
Rationale: Destruction of a contractor's own equipment generally does not
discharge contractual duties because replacement equipment is ordinarily
available. Increased expense alone does not constitute impossibility or
impracticability.
,2. During a robbery trial, the prosecutor offers testimony from a witness who
states, "The victim told me immediately after the robbery, 'The man in the blue
jacket stole my wallet!'"
The testimony is most likely:
A. Inadmissible because it is hearsay without exception.
B. Inadmissible because the victim is available to testify.
C. Admissible as an excited utterance if the statement was made while the
victim remained under the stress of the event.
D. Admissible only if the defendant first testifies.
Rationale: A statement relating to a startling event made while the declarant
remains under the stress of excitement qualifies as the excited utterance exception
to the hearsay rule.
3. Police officers stopped a vehicle for speeding. While writing the citation, one
officer opened the vehicle's trunk without consent or probable cause and
discovered illegal narcotics.
The narcotics are most likely:
A. Admissible because a traffic stop permits a search of the entire vehicle.
B. Admissible under the automobile exception.
C. Admissible because speeding creates probable cause to search.
D. Subject to suppression because the warrantless trunk search exceeded the
permissible scope of the traffic stop.
Rationale: A routine traffic stop alone does not authorize a warrantless search of a
vehicle's trunk absent probable cause, consent, or another recognized exception.
, 4. A plaintiff filed a negligence action in federal court based solely on diversity
jurisdiction. After discovery, the defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing
that the plaintiff had produced no evidence of causation.
How should the court rule?
A. Deny the motion because causation is always a jury question.
B. Deny the motion unless the defendant disproves causation.
C. Grant the motion if no genuine dispute of material fact exists regarding
causation.
D. Automatically schedule the matter for trial.
Rationale: Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party
demonstrates there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
5. A property owner conveyed land "to Anna for life, then to Brian and his heirs."
Anna dies five years later.
Who owns the property?
A. Anna's estate.
B. Brian in fee simple absolute.
C. The original grantor.
D. Brian for life.
Rationale: Anna held a life estate. Brian held a vested remainder in fee simple
absolute, which becomes possessory upon Anna's death.
6. A restaurant failed to clean a spill on its floor for three hours despite several
employees observing it. A customer slipped and suffered injuries.
PRACTICE EXAM | 100 ORIGINAL MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED ANSWER
EXPLANATIONS FOR EXCELLENT CREATININE
EDITION
1. A homeowner hired a contractor to build a detached garage for $90,000. The
written contract required completion by June 1. On May 15, a fire destroyed the
contractor's warehouse and all of the contractor's construction equipment. The
equipment was uninsured but readily available for purchase on the open market.
The contractor informed the homeowner that performance was impossible and
refused to complete the project.
What is the homeowner's strongest legal argument?
A. The contract was discharged because the fire made performance impossible.
B. The contractor remains liable because the fire merely increased the cost of
performance rather than making it objectively impossible.
C. The homeowner must share the contractor's financial loss because both parties
assumed the risk.
D. The contractor is excused under the doctrine of commercial impracticability
whenever property is destroyed.
Rationale: Destruction of a contractor's own equipment generally does not
discharge contractual duties because replacement equipment is ordinarily
available. Increased expense alone does not constitute impossibility or
impracticability.
,2. During a robbery trial, the prosecutor offers testimony from a witness who
states, "The victim told me immediately after the robbery, 'The man in the blue
jacket stole my wallet!'"
The testimony is most likely:
A. Inadmissible because it is hearsay without exception.
B. Inadmissible because the victim is available to testify.
C. Admissible as an excited utterance if the statement was made while the
victim remained under the stress of the event.
D. Admissible only if the defendant first testifies.
Rationale: A statement relating to a startling event made while the declarant
remains under the stress of excitement qualifies as the excited utterance exception
to the hearsay rule.
3. Police officers stopped a vehicle for speeding. While writing the citation, one
officer opened the vehicle's trunk without consent or probable cause and
discovered illegal narcotics.
The narcotics are most likely:
A. Admissible because a traffic stop permits a search of the entire vehicle.
B. Admissible under the automobile exception.
C. Admissible because speeding creates probable cause to search.
D. Subject to suppression because the warrantless trunk search exceeded the
permissible scope of the traffic stop.
Rationale: A routine traffic stop alone does not authorize a warrantless search of a
vehicle's trunk absent probable cause, consent, or another recognized exception.
, 4. A plaintiff filed a negligence action in federal court based solely on diversity
jurisdiction. After discovery, the defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing
that the plaintiff had produced no evidence of causation.
How should the court rule?
A. Deny the motion because causation is always a jury question.
B. Deny the motion unless the defendant disproves causation.
C. Grant the motion if no genuine dispute of material fact exists regarding
causation.
D. Automatically schedule the matter for trial.
Rationale: Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party
demonstrates there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
5. A property owner conveyed land "to Anna for life, then to Brian and his heirs."
Anna dies five years later.
Who owns the property?
A. Anna's estate.
B. Brian in fee simple absolute.
C. The original grantor.
D. Brian for life.
Rationale: Anna held a life estate. Brian held a vested remainder in fee simple
absolute, which becomes possessory upon Anna's death.
6. A restaurant failed to clean a spill on its floor for three hours despite several
employees observing it. A customer slipped and suffered injuries.
