Indiana Bar Examination (Uniform Bar Examination) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: In Indiana, which of the following is true about the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit?

The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the injury. (Correct answer)
The statute of limitations is 3 years from the date of the injury.
The statute of limitations is 1 year from the date of the injury.
The statute of limitations is 4 years from the date of the injury.

Correct answer: The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the injury.

In Indiana, the statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits is two (2) years. This means a plaintiff must file their lawsuit within two years from the date the injury occurred, or they will generally be barred from bringing the claim. This rule ensures timely resolution of disputes and prevents stale claims.

Question 2: Indiana child support obligations presumptively terminate when the child reaches what age?

16, if the child is employed full time
18, upon high school graduation
19, when the child is emancipated by operation of law (Correct answer)
21, unless the child is disabled

Correct answer: 19, when the child is emancipated by operation of law

Since 2012, IC 31-16-6-6 emancipates children for support purposes at age 19, though educational support orders may extend beyond that.

Question 3: What standard of review applies to agency legal interpretations?

Courts may defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes they administer (Correct answer)
Only the Supreme Court can review agency legal interpretations
Agencies have absolute final say on all legal interpretations
Courts always conduct de novo review of legal questions

Correct answer: Courts may defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes they administer

Courts may give deference to an agency's interpretation of an ambiguous statute it administers, though the level of deference depends on factors like the formality of the interpretation.

Question 4: A party seeks to impeach a witness with a 15-year-old felony conviction for which the witness finished serving her sentence 12 years ago. The conviction is admissible only if:

The witness is the criminal defendant
It involved dishonesty of any kind
Its probative value substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect and reasonable notice is given (Correct answer)
The conviction was for a violent crime

Correct answer: Its probative value substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect and reasonable notice is given

Under FRE 609(b), convictions over ten years old require probative value substantially outweighing prejudice plus written notice.

Question 5: To have standing for judicial review of an Indiana agency order, a petitioner generally must show they are:

A registered lobbyist
A taxpayer of the state
An Indiana resident for at least one year
Aggrieved or adversely affected by the agency action (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Aggrieved or adversely affected by the agency action

AOPA grants judicial review standing to persons aggrieved or adversely affected by the agency action.

Question 6: What privilege protects spousal communications?

Spousal privilege only applies in divorce proceedings
Confidential communications between spouses during marriage are privileged and cannot be compelled (Correct answer)
Only written communications between spouses are protected
All conversations between married people are privileged forever

Correct answer: Confidential communications between spouses during marriage are privileged and cannot be compelled

The marital communications privilege protects confidential communications made between spouses during the marriage. The privilege generally survives divorce for communications made during the marriage.

Question 7: When are Miranda warnings required?

During custodial interrogation by law enforcement (Correct answer)
Only after formal arrest
Only for felony suspects
Upon any contact with police

Correct answer: During custodial interrogation by law enforcement

Miranda warnings are required when a person is in custody and subject to interrogation. Both elements must be present to trigger the requirement.

Question 8: A landlord leased premises to a tenant, who assigned the lease to an assignee with the landlord's consent. The assignee stops paying rent. The landlord may recover unpaid rent from:

Both the tenant (privity of contract) and the assignee (privity of estate) (Correct answer)
Only the assignee
Neither, because the assignment terminated all obligations
Only the original tenant

Correct answer: Both the tenant (privity of contract) and the assignee (privity of estate)

After assignment, the assignee is liable through privity of estate and the original tenant remains liable through privity of contract absent a release.

Question 9: Two siblings hold Blackacre as joint tenants. One sibling secretly conveys her interest to a friend. What is the resulting state of title?

The friend and the remaining sibling hold as joint tenants
The remaining sibling automatically owns the entire property
The friend and the remaining sibling hold as tenants in common (Correct answer)
The conveyance is void without the other sibling's consent

Correct answer: The friend and the remaining sibling hold as tenants in common

A joint tenant's inter vivos conveyance severs the joint tenancy as to that share, creating a tenancy in common with the transferee.

Question 10: Which constitutional provision limits Congress's ability to compel state legislatures to enact or enforce federal regulatory programs?

The Necessary and Proper Clause
The Tenth Amendment anti-commandeering principle (Correct answer)
The Supremacy Clause
The Equal Protection Clause

Correct answer: The Tenth Amendment anti-commandeering principle

The anti-commandeering principle, derived from the Tenth Amendment and articulated in New York v. United States and Printz v. United States, prohibits Congress from directly compelling state legislatures or executive officers to implement federal programs.

Question 11: While analyzing a case file, you find conflicting evidence from different witnesses. What is the most appropriate approach to address this issue in your analysis?

Ignore the conflicting evidence as it complicates the case.
Focus only on the evidence that supports your client's position.
Evaluate the credibility and relevance of each piece of conflicting evidence. (Correct answer)
Conclude that the case is unwinnable due to the conflicting evidence.

Correct answer: Evaluate the credibility and relevance of each piece of conflicting evidence.

When faced with conflicting evidence, a thorough legal analysis requires evaluating the credibility of each witness and the relevance of their testimony. This involves considering factors like witness bias, consistency, corroboration, and how each piece of evidence fits into the overall factual narrative. Ignoring or selectively focusing on evidence would lead to an incomplete and potentially flawed analysis.

Question 12: An officer arrests a suspect based on a warrant that, unknown to the officer, had been quashed months earlier due to a court clerk's bookkeeping error. Drugs found in the search incident to arrest are:

Admissible, because the exclusionary rule does not apply to isolated negligence by court employees (Correct answer)
Admissible only if the drugs would inevitably have been discovered
Inadmissible, because the arrest was without a valid warrant
Inadmissible, because good faith cannot cure clerical errors

Correct answer: Admissible, because the exclusionary rule does not apply to isolated negligence by court employees

Under Arizona v. Evans and Herring, evidence is not suppressed when the error stems from isolated negligence by court personnel rather than police misconduct.

Question 13: What is the best evidence rule?

Only the strongest evidence in a case is admissible
Original documents must be produced to prove their contents unless an exception applies (Correct answer)
The party with the best evidence wins automatically
Physical evidence always takes priority over testimony

Correct answer: Original documents must be produced to prove their contents unless an exception applies

The best evidence rule requires the original writing, recording, or photograph when a party seeks to prove its contents, though copies may be admitted under certain exceptions.

Question 14: A dying declaration is admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence in:

Homicide prosecutions and civil cases only (Correct answer)
All cases without limitation
Civil cases only
Any criminal case

Correct answer: Homicide prosecutions and civil cases only

Under FRE 804(b)(2), dying declarations apply only in homicide prosecutions and civil actions.

Question 15: A charitable trust in Indiana to fund a specific hospital fails because the hospital closes. A court may apply cy pres to:

Terminate the trust and distribute the assets to the trustee
Convert the trust into a private trust for the settlor's heirs automatically
Escheat the property to the state immediately
Redirect the trust to a similar charitable purpose consistent with the settlor's general charitable intent (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Redirect the trust to a similar charitable purpose consistent with the settlor's general charitable intent

Cy pres lets a court reform a failed charitable purpose to a near-equivalent one when the settlor had general charitable intent.

Question 16: Under the Commerce Clause, Congress may regulate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. Which Supreme Court case established the 'substantial effects' test?

Gibbons v. Ogden
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States
Wickard v. Filburn (Correct answer)
United States v. Lopez

Correct answer: Wickard v. Filburn

Wickard v. Filburn (1942) established that even purely local activities can be regulated by Congress under the Commerce Clause if they have a substantial effect on interstate commerce in the aggregate.

Question 17: If an Indiana court finds an agency's factfinding unsupported, its proper remedy on judicial review is usually to:

Impose sanctions on agency staff
Certify the question to the legislature
Make its own findings and enter judgment on the merits
Remand the matter to the agency or set aside the action (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Remand the matter to the agency or set aside the action

The reviewing court may set aside agency action and remand, but it may not substitute its own judgment on the facts for the agency's.

Question 18: Under AOPA, when an administrative law judge is not the agency's ultimate authority, the ALJ's order is:

Automatically stayed for 90 days
Immediately final and enforceable
Void unless ratified by the governor
A nonfinal order subject to review by the ultimate authority (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A nonfinal order subject to review by the ultimate authority

The ALJ's order is nonfinal and becomes final only through the agency's ultimate authority absent timely objection and review.

Question 19: A party seeking to rescind a contract for mutual mistake must show the mistake concerned:

A basic assumption with a material effect, where that party did not bear the risk (Correct answer)
Any fact either party misunderstood
The other party's subjective motives
Only the value of the consideration

Correct answer: A basic assumption with a material effect, where that party did not bear the risk

Mutual mistake requires a basic assumption of the contract, material effect on the exchange, and that the adversely affected party did not assume the risk.

Question 20: An examinee finishes an MPT outline with 20 minutes left and has covered only half the analysis in writing. What is the best triage approach?

Copy Library case text verbatim to fill space
Stop and review the File again
Rewrite the introduction to polish it
Write condensed but complete analysis of the remaining issues, even in shorter form (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Write condensed but complete analysis of the remaining issues, even in shorter form

Covering all assigned issues even briefly earns more points than perfecting only part of the task.

Question 21: Which constitutional doctrine holds that courts will not decide political questions that have been committed by the Constitution to another branch of government?

Ripeness doctrine
Political question doctrine (Correct answer)
Abstention doctrine
Non-justiciability doctrine

Correct answer: Political question doctrine

The political question doctrine bars federal courts from hearing cases involving questions committed to the political branches by the Constitution, such as the conduct of foreign affairs or the process for impeachment.

Question 22: An agency reverses its longstanding position with no explanation and ignores an important aspect of the problem. A court would most likely find the action:

Arbitrary and capricious (Correct answer)
Ultra vires per se
Harmless error
Moot

Correct answer: Arbitrary and capricious

Unexplained departures from prior policy and failure to consider important aspects of a problem are hallmarks of arbitrary and capricious action.

Question 23: Which strategy best handles a Library case whose facts are unfavorable to your client in a persuasive MPT brief?

Argue that the court should ignore its own precedent without reason
Omit the case and hope the grader misses it
Concede the entire issue
Distinguish the case on its facts or limit its holding (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Distinguish the case on its facts or limit its holding

Persuasive writing requires confronting adverse authority by distinguishing it or narrowing its reach.

Question 24: The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from doing which of the following?

Establishing an official state religion (Correct answer)
Displaying religious symbols on private property
Funding private religious schools for secular subjects
Opening legislative sessions with a nondenominational prayer

Correct answer: Establishing an official state religion

The Establishment Clause's core prohibition is against government establishing an official state religion or giving preference to one religion over others.

Question 25: Which of the following is NOT a statutory ground for relief on judicial review under IC 4-21.5-5-14?

The action is unsupported by substantial evidence
The action is unwise as a matter of policy though lawful and supported by the record (Correct answer)
The action is arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion
The action exceeds the agency's statutory authority

Correct answer: The action is unwise as a matter of policy though lawful and supported by the record

Courts may not set aside agency action merely because they disagree with its policy wisdom; review is limited to the statutory grounds.

Question 26: Under Indiana's product liability statute of repose, a product liability action generally must be brought within how many years after delivery of the product to the initial user?

Five years
Ten years (Correct answer)
Fifteen years
Twenty years

Correct answer: Ten years

Indiana's Product Liability Act bars actions brought more than ten years after delivery to the initial user, with a narrow extension for injuries in years eight to ten.

Question 27: A plaintiff sues a defendant in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. The defendant moves to dismiss for improper venue. Venue is proper in a federal district where:

The contract was negotiated by phone
The defendant owns any property
Any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same state (Correct answer)
The plaintiff resides

Correct answer: Any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same state

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1391, venue is proper where any defendant resides if all defendants reside in the same state, or where a substantial part of the events occurred.

Question 28: A buyer and seller sign a written contract for the sale of land. Before closing, the seller dies. Under the doctrine of equitable conversion, who bears the risk of loss if the property is destroyed by fire before closing in a majority jurisdiction?

The seller
The seller's estate
Neither party; the contract is void
The buyer (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The buyer

Under equitable conversion, the buyer holds equitable title once the contract is signed and thus bears the risk of loss in majority jurisdictions.

Question 29: In an MPT case in the Library, a decision from the Franklin Supreme Court conflicts with a Franklin Court of Appeal decision. Which controls in a Franklin trial court?

The Court of Appeal decision because it is more recent
The trial court may choose either freely
Neither, because both are only persuasive
The Franklin Supreme Court decision because it is the highest state court (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The Franklin Supreme Court decision because it is the highest state court

Decisions of the jurisdiction's highest court bind all lower courts regardless of recency of intermediate decisions.

Question 30: What is joint and several liability?

Liability is split equally among all parties
Each defendant pays only their proportional share
Each defendant can be held liable for the entire amount of damages regardless of their individual fault percentage (Correct answer)
Only the primary defendant is liable

Correct answer: Each defendant can be held liable for the entire amount of damages regardless of their individual fault percentage

Under joint and several liability, each defendant is independently responsible for the full amount of damages, allowing the plaintiff to collect the entire judgment from any one defendant.

Question 31: An agency acting in a judicial capacity resolves a disputed factual issue after a full and fair hearing. In later court litigation, that determination:

Binds the agency but never the parties
Must be relitigated de novo
Is always ignored because agencies are not courts
May be given preclusive effect under res judicata principles (Correct answer)

Correct answer: May be given preclusive effect under res judicata principles

Administrative adjudications made in a judicial capacity with a full and fair opportunity to litigate can receive preclusive effect.

Question 32: A developer records a declaration imposing residential-only restrictions on all lots in a subdivision, and every deed references the plat. A later lot owner opens a hair salon. What theory best allows neighboring owners to enforce the restriction?

A common scheme giving rise to reciprocal covenants enforceable as equitable servitudes (Correct answer)
An implied easement by necessity
The rule in Shelley's Case
Adverse possession

Correct answer: A common scheme giving rise to reciprocal covenants enforceable as equitable servitudes

A recorded common plan creates equitable servitudes enforceable by and against all lot owners with notice.

Question 33: What is the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur?

A rule that eliminates the need for expert testimony
A requirement that the plaintiff must prove every element independently
A defense available only to medical professionals
An inference of negligence when the accident would not normally occur without it and the defendant had control (Correct answer)

Correct answer: An inference of negligence when the accident would not normally occur without it and the defendant had control

Res ipsa loquitur allows an inference of negligence when the accident type normally requires negligence and the instrumentality was under the defendant's exclusive control.

Question 34: A grand jury indicts a defendant based partly on hearsay and illegally seized evidence. His motion to dismiss the indictment on these grounds will:

Succeed, because hearsay cannot support probable cause
Succeed, because the exclusionary rule applies to grand jury proceedings
Fail only if the prosecutor acted in good faith
Fail, because grand juries may consider hearsay and evidence that would be inadmissible at trial (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Fail, because grand juries may consider hearsay and evidence that would be inadmissible at trial

Under Costello and Calandra, grand jury indictments may rest on hearsay and illegally obtained evidence.

Question 35: An uncle promises his nephew $20,000 if the nephew refrains from drinking alcohol until age 25. The nephew complies. The uncle's promise is:

Unenforceable, because family promises are presumed gratuitous in all cases
Enforceable, because forbearance of a legal right is valid consideration (Correct answer)
Enforceable only under promissory estoppel
Unenforceable, because the nephew benefited from sobriety

Correct answer: Enforceable, because forbearance of a legal right is valid consideration

Giving up a legal right, such as drinking alcohol at a lawful age, constitutes valid consideration even if the forbearance also benefits the promisee.

Question 36: What is the best interest of the child standard?

A legal standard that prioritizes the child's welfare in custody, visitation, and support decisions (Correct answer)
A standard that always favors the mother's custody
A standard that requires equal custody time
A standard based primarily on the parents' financial resources

Correct answer: A legal standard that prioritizes the child's welfare in custody, visitation, and support decisions

The best interest standard requires courts to consider multiple factors focused on the child's physical, emotional, and developmental needs, rather than the parents' preferences or convenience.

Question 37: A criminal defendant offers evidence that he offered to pay the victim's medical bills after a bar fight. Offered to prove he was not the aggressor, this evidence of paying medical expenses is:

Admissible as evidence of the defendant's good character
Inadmissible to prove liability for the injury under Rule 409 (Correct answer)
Admissible only in civil cases
Automatically admissible as an admission of fault

Correct answer: Inadmissible to prove liability for the injury under Rule 409

Rule 409 excludes offers to pay medical expenses when offered to prove liability for the injury.

Question 38: During plea negotiations, defense counsel fails to convey the State's favorable plea offer to the defendant, who is later convicted at trial and receives a harsher sentence. Under Missouri v. Frye, the defendant:

May establish ineffective assistance if he shows a reasonable probability he would have accepted the offer and it would have been entered without withdrawal (Correct answer)
Has no remedy, because there is no right to a plea bargain
Must show actual innocence to obtain relief
Is automatically entitled to specific performance of the offer

Correct answer: May establish ineffective assistance if he shows a reasonable probability he would have accepted the offer and it would have been entered without withdrawal

Frye holds that counsel's failure to communicate a formal plea offer can be deficient performance, with prejudice shown by a reasonable probability the deal would have been accepted and finalized.

Question 39: What is arbitrary and capricious review?

A review available only for criminal administrative proceedings
A type of review that gives complete deference to agencies
A standard that applies only to agency budget decisions
A standard where courts overturn agency actions taken without rational basis or adequate consideration of relevant factors (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A standard where courts overturn agency actions taken without rational basis or adequate consideration of relevant factors

Under arbitrary and capricious review, courts assess whether the agency considered relevant factors, made a clear error of judgment, or acted in a manner not based on rational analysis of the evidence.

Question 40: A judge in a bench trial takes judicial notice that Indianapolis is in Marion County, Indiana. This fact is:

Improper without expert testimony
Proper only if a party requests it
Proper because it is generally known within the jurisdiction and not subject to reasonable dispute (Correct answer)
Improper because judges cannot notice geography

Correct answer: Proper because it is generally known within the jurisdiction and not subject to reasonable dispute

Rule 201 permits judicial notice of facts generally known in the jurisdiction or accurately verifiable from unquestionable sources.

Question 41: Under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, a law that classifies on the basis of gender is subject to which standard of review?

Heightened rational basis
Rational basis review
Strict scrutiny
Intermediate scrutiny (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Intermediate scrutiny

Gender-based classifications are subject to intermediate scrutiny, requiring the government to show the law is substantially related to an important governmental interest.

Question 42: A 911 call made during a home invasion describing the intruder is offered at trial. The strongest hearsay exception is:

Excited utterance (Correct answer)
Statement against interest
Business record
Ancient document

Correct answer: Excited utterance

A statement made under the stress of a startling event qualifies as an excited utterance under FRE 803(2).

Question 43: An examinee finds that a fact needed for the analysis is missing from the MPT File. What is the best course?

Skip the issue entirely
Assume the fact favors the client without comment
Note the missing fact and explain how its resolution would affect the conclusion (Correct answer)
Fabricate a plausible fact to complete the analysis

Correct answer: Note the missing fact and explain how its resolution would affect the conclusion

Identifying factual gaps and explaining their significance demonstrates the fact-analysis skill the MPT rewards.

Question 44: Which of the following is a commonly recommended time split for a 90-minute MPT?

About 80 minutes reading, 10 minutes writing
About 45 minutes reading and organizing, 45 minutes writing (Correct answer)
About 10 minutes reading, 80 minutes writing
About 30 minutes reading, 60 minutes on citations

Correct answer: About 45 minutes reading and organizing, 45 minutes writing

NCBE guidance suggests roughly half the time on reading and outlining and half on drafting.

Question 45: Under the Appointments Clause of Article II, 'inferior officers' may be appointed by Congress to which of the following?

The courts of law or department heads
Both A and B (Correct answer)
The President alone
The full Senate by majority vote

Correct answer: Both A and B

The Appointments Clause allows Congress to vest appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, the courts of law, or the heads of departments — any of these three options.

Question 46: A suspect in custody says, 'Maybe I should talk to a lawyer.' Police continue questioning and obtain a confession. Under Davis v. United States, the confession is:

Admissible only if police clarified the suspect's intent first
Inadmissible, because ambiguity is construed against the government
Admissible, because the suspect's statement was ambiguous and did not unequivocally invoke the right to counsel (Correct answer)
Inadmissible, because any mention of a lawyer requires questioning to stop

Correct answer: Admissible, because the suspect's statement was ambiguous and did not unequivocally invoke the right to counsel

Davis requires an unambiguous request for counsel before police must cease interrogation.

Question 47: A landowner has used a path across a neighbor's land openly, continuously, and without permission for the full prescriptive period. What interest has the landowner acquired?

An easement by necessity
A prescriptive easement (Correct answer)
An irrevocable license
Fee simple title by adverse possession

Correct answer: A prescriptive easement

Adverse use, as opposed to adverse possession, ripens into a prescriptive easement rather than title.

Question 48: At a lineup conducted after indictment, the defendant has no lawyer present and a witness identifies him. At trial, the witness identifies him again in court. The in-court identification is:

Admissible only if the State shows by clear and convincing evidence an independent source untainted by the lineup (Correct answer)
Automatically admissible because it occurs in court
Automatically inadmissible under the exclusionary rule
Admissible if the lineup was not unduly suggestive

Correct answer: Admissible only if the State shows by clear and convincing evidence an independent source untainted by the lineup

Post-indictment lineups without counsel violate Wade-Gilbert, but an in-court identification survives if it has an independent origin shown by clear and convincing evidence.

Question 49: An MPT File includes a document marked as a draft contract with blanks. The task memo asks you to redraft a clause. What skill is primarily being tested?

Legal research using outside databases
Trial advocacy
Transactional drafting that implements the client's objectives within the Library's legal constraints (Correct answer)
Memorized contract law from the MBE

Correct answer: Transactional drafting that implements the client's objectives within the Library's legal constraints

Drafting tasks test the ability to translate client goals into precise language consistent with the supplied law.

Question 50: In Indiana, how is marital property typically divided in a divorce?

Based on the length of the marriage
Equally divided if there is an agreement; otherwise, divided equitably (Correct answer)
Based on the earning capacity of each spouse
Equally between both spouses

Correct answer: Equally divided if there is an agreement; otherwise, divided equitably

Indiana is an 'equitable distribution' state, meaning marital property is divided fairly, but not necessarily equally. However, Indiana law presumes an equal division is just and reasonable. If the parties agree to an equal division, the court will typically honor that; otherwise, the court will divide the property equitably based on various factors, which may or may not result in an equal split.

Question 51: Under Indiana's Administrative Orders and Procedures Act (AOPA), a petition for judicial review of a final agency action must generally be filed within how many days after notice of the action?

60 days
15 days
90 days
30 days (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 30 days

IC 4-21.5-5-5 requires the petition for judicial review to be filed within 30 days after notice of the agency action.

Question 52: A conflict-of-laws essay involves a car accident in State A between two domiciliaries of State B; suit is filed in State B, which uses governmental interest analysis. Whose loss-allocation law likely applies?

Federal common law of torts
State B's law, because it is the shared domicile with the dominant interest in loss allocation (Correct answer)
State A's law, because the place of injury always controls
The law of the state where the car was registered

Correct answer: State B's law, because it is the shared domicile with the dominant interest in loss allocation

Under interest analysis, when both parties share a domicile, that state's interest in loss-allocation rules typically outweighs the situs state's interest.

Question 53: Under Indiana law, an employer's ability to fire an at-will employee is limited by which recognized exception?

Any termination without written warning
Discharge without severance pay
Termination during the first 90 days
Retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim

Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Co. created a public policy exception barring discharge in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim.

Question 54: What is eminent domain?

A property owner's right to expand their land
A landlord's right to evict tenants
The government's power to take private property for public use with just compensation (Correct answer)
The power to zone property for commercial use

Correct answer: The government's power to take private property for public use with just compensation

Eminent domain allows the government to acquire private property for public purposes, but the Fifth Amendment requires payment of just compensation to the owner.

Question 55: A treating physician's testimony about a patient's statement that 'the pain started when the forklift hit me' is admissible because:

All statements to doctors are admissible
It is a present sense impression
It qualifies as a business record
It is a statement for medical diagnosis or treatment (Correct answer)

Correct answer: It is a statement for medical diagnosis or treatment

FRE 803(4) admits statements about the cause of a condition when reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.

Question 56: In a civil procedure essay, a defendant fails to raise lack of personal jurisdiction in its pre-answer Rule 12 motion asserting improper venue. The personal jurisdiction defense is:

Preserved if raised within 21 days of the answer
Preserved because jurisdiction can never be waived
Preserved until trial begins
Waived, because it was omitted from the initial Rule 12 motion (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Waived, because it was omitted from the initial Rule 12 motion

Under Rule 12(g) and 12(h), personal jurisdiction is waived if omitted from a pre-answer motion raising other Rule 12(b) defenses.

Question 57: A plaintiff in a slip-and-fall case offers evidence that the store installed warning signs after her accident. This evidence is generally:

Admissible only in criminal cases
Inadmissible to prove negligence as a subsequent remedial measure (Correct answer)
Admissible to prove negligence
Admissible to prove the store's culpable state of mind

Correct answer: Inadmissible to prove negligence as a subsequent remedial measure

Rule 407 excludes subsequent remedial measures when offered to prove negligence or culpable conduct.

Question 58: An Indiana will devises '100 shares of Acme stock' that the testator sold before death. Under the doctrine of ademption by extinction, the beneficiary receives:

Replacement shares purchased by the executor
A general legacy equal to the original purchase price
Nothing, because the specific gift adeems when the property is not in the estate (Correct answer)
The cash value of the shares at the date of death

Correct answer: Nothing, because the specific gift adeems when the property is not in the estate

A specific devise fails (adeems) if the specifically identified property is not part of the estate at death.

Question 59: The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, incorporated against the states, requires just compensation when the government takes private property. A regulation that denies an owner all economically beneficial use of land is called a:

Physical invasion
Per se taking (Correct answer)
Partial taking
Regulatory taking

Correct answer: Per se taking

Under Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, when a regulation deprives an owner of all economically beneficial use of land, it constitutes a per se taking requiring just compensation.

Question 60: A driver negligently strikes a pedestrian, who suffers a broken leg. Because the pedestrian has brittle bone disease, the fracture is far worse than normal. The driver is liable for:

The full extent of the pedestrian's injuries, even if unforeseeable in severity (Correct answer)
Only the injuries a healthy person would have suffered
Nothing, because the condition was a superseding cause
Only the medical bills, not pain and suffering

Correct answer: The full extent of the pedestrian's injuries, even if unforeseeable in severity

Under the eggshell plaintiff rule, a tortfeasor takes the victim as found and is liable for the full extent of the harm.

Question 61: Under Indiana's Guest Statute, a driver is liable to which passengers only for wanton or willful misconduct?

All passengers in the vehicle
Only passengers under age 18
Only paying passengers
Parents, children, spouses, siblings, and hitchhikers (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Parents, children, spouses, siblings, and hitchhikers

Indiana's Guest Statute limits liability to wanton or willful misconduct for close family members and hitchhikers riding gratuitously.

Question 62: Under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, before filing most malpractice suits in court, a plaintiff generally must first:

Arbitrate the claim before the state medical board
Present the proposed complaint to a medical review panel (Correct answer)
Obtain a certificate of merit from the attorney general
Post a bond covering the defendant's costs

Correct answer: Present the proposed complaint to a medical review panel

The Act requires most claims to be submitted to a medical review panel, which issues an opinion before the case proceeds in court.

Question 63: A lay witness offers an opinion that the driver 'was drunk' based on observing slurred speech and stumbling. This opinion is:

Admissible as a lay opinion rationally based on the witness's perception (Correct answer)
Inadmissible because it embraces an ultimate issue
Inadmissible because intoxication requires expert testimony
Admissible only if the witness is a bartender

Correct answer: Admissible as a lay opinion rationally based on the witness's perception

Under FRE 701, lay opinions on intoxication are admissible when rationally based on first-hand observation and helpful to the jury.

Question 64: Under Indiana law, the Comparative Fault Act does NOT apply to negligence claims against which defendant?

Governmental entities (Correct answer)
Private hospitals
Retail corporations
Individual landlords

Correct answer: Governmental entities

Claims against governmental entities under the Indiana Tort Claims Act remain governed by common-law contributory negligence.

Question 65: During a lawful Terry stop, an officer pats down a suspect and feels a soft bag that, only after squeezing and manipulating it, he believes contains drugs. Under Minnesota v. Dickerson, the drugs are:

Admissible because the frisk itself was lawful
Admissible under the plain feel doctrine
Inadmissible because frisks may never yield admissible contraband
Inadmissible, because the incriminating nature was not immediately apparent without further manipulation (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Inadmissible, because the incriminating nature was not immediately apparent without further manipulation

Plain feel applies only if the contraband's identity is immediately apparent during a lawful frisk, without additional manipulation.

Question 66: Which doctrine allows federal courts to decline to exercise jurisdiction over a case involving an unsettled question of state constitutional law?

Political question doctrine
Standing doctrine
Abstention doctrine (Correct answer)
Mootness doctrine

Correct answer: Abstention doctrine

The abstention doctrine (particularly Pullman abstention) allows federal courts to defer to state courts on unresolved questions of state law that might make a federal constitutional ruling unnecessary.

Question 67: The constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy attaches in a jury trial at what point?

When the jury is sworn in (Correct answer)
When the indictment is returned
When charges are formally filed
When the defendant enters a plea

Correct answer: When the jury is sworn in

In a jury trial, double jeopardy attaches when the jury is sworn in, protecting a defendant from being tried again for the same offense after that point.

Question 68: On the MPT, what is the primary purpose of the "File" provided to examinees?

It contains model answers from prior administrations
It contains the legal authorities the examinee must apply
It contains the factual materials for the client's case, such as memos, transcripts, and correspondence (Correct answer)
It contains the grading rubric used by examiners

Correct answer: It contains the factual materials for the client's case, such as memos, transcripts, and correspondence

The File holds all case-specific factual documents, while the Library holds the legal authorities.

Question 69: What is the exclusionary rule?

All evidence that excludes the defendant is inadmissible
Evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights is inadmissible at trial (Correct answer)
Evidence rules that apply only in federal courts
Only confessions can be excluded from evidence

Correct answer: Evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights is inadmissible at trial

The exclusionary rule prevents the prosecution from using evidence obtained through unconstitutional means, deterring law enforcement from violating constitutional rights.

Question 70: The MPT may test tasks other than memos and briefs. Which of the following is a plausible MPT assignment?

Negotiating in real time with opposing counsel
Arguing orally before graders
Taking a live deposition
Drafting a client opinion letter (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Drafting a client opinion letter

The MPT can require written work products like opinion letters, contract provisions, or discovery plans, but never live performance.

Question 71: During a robbery trial, the prosecution seeks to introduce evidence that the defendant committed a similar robbery two years earlier to prove he acted in accordance with his character. This evidence is:

Admissible as habit evidence
Inadmissible character propensity evidence under Rule 404(b) (Correct answer)
Admissible if the defendant testifies
Admissible because prior crimes are always relevant

Correct answer: Inadmissible character propensity evidence under Rule 404(b)

Rule 404(b) bars evidence of other crimes offered solely to prove character and action in conformity therewith.

Question 72: On judicial review of an Indiana agency action, who bears the burden of demonstrating the action's invalidity?

The party asserting the action is invalid (Correct answer)
The agency defending the action
The attorney general
Neither party; review is de novo on all facts

Correct answer: The party asserting the action is invalid

Under IC 4-21.5-5-14, the burden of demonstrating invalidity rests on the party asserting that the agency action is invalid.

Question 73: An MPT Library contains a case from the neighboring fictional state of Columbia. How should a Franklin trial court treat it?

As persuasive authority only (Correct answer)
As void because it is out of state
As binding precedent
As controlling only if it is more recent than Franklin cases

Correct answer: As persuasive authority only

Out-of-state decisions are persuasive, not binding, on Franklin courts.

Question 74: A grandmother in Indiana petitions for visitation with her grandchild over the objection of the child's fit married parents whose marriage is intact. What is the likely result?

Denial only if the grandmother previously abused the child
Denial, because Indiana's Grandparent Visitation Act does not authorize petitions when the child's parents are married and the family is intact (Correct answer)
Granted automatically because grandparents have constitutional visitation rights
Granted, if visitation is in the child's best interests

Correct answer: Denial, because Indiana's Grandparent Visitation Act does not authorize petitions when the child's parents are married and the family is intact

Indiana's Grandparent Visitation Act permits petitions only when a parent is deceased, the parents' marriage was dissolved in Indiana, or the child was born out of wedlock, and fit parents' decisions receive special deference under Troxel.

Question 75: In Indiana, an unsupervised administration of a decedent's estate is available when:

The will authorizes it or all interested persons consent and the estate is solvent (Correct answer)
The decedent died intestate only
The personal representative posts double bond
The estate is worth less than $10,000 only

Correct answer: The will authorizes it or all interested persons consent and the estate is solvent

Indiana permits unsupervised administration when authorized by the will or consented to by the distributees and the estate appears solvent.

Question 76: In a secured transactions essay, a bank perfects a security interest in a debtor's equipment by filing. The debtor then sells the equipment to a buyer who knows nothing of the lien. Who prevails?

The buyer, because filing gives no notice to individuals
The bank, because a perfected security interest generally continues in collateral after sale (Correct answer)
The buyer, because good-faith purchasers always take free of security interests
The bank, but only if it repossesses within 10 days of the sale

Correct answer: The bank, because a perfected security interest generally continues in collateral after sale

Under UCC Article 9, a security interest continues in collateral notwithstanding sale unless the secured party authorized the disposition free of the interest, and the buyer-in-ordinary-course exception does not apply to equipment sold outside inventory sales.

Question 77: Under Indiana law, punitive damages must be proven by what standard of proof?

Clear and convincing evidence (Correct answer)
Preponderance of the evidence
Probable cause
Beyond a reasonable doubt

Correct answer: Clear and convincing evidence

Indiana requires clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with malice, fraud, gross negligence, or oppressiveness to support punitive damages.

Question 78: A buyer under a requirements contract suddenly demands quantities far exceeding any prior demand to resell at a profit. Under UCC 2-306, the seller must supply:

Only quantities not unreasonably disproportionate to stated estimates or normal prior requirements (Correct answer)
The exact quantity of the previous order only
Whatever the buyer demands in good faith or bad faith
Nothing, because requirements contracts are illusory

Correct answer: Only quantities not unreasonably disproportionate to stated estimates or normal prior requirements

Requirements are measured by good faith, and no quantity unreasonably disproportionate to estimates or normal prior requirements may be demanded.

Question 79: Under Indiana law, an interested witness (a beneficiary who also attests the will) causes what result?

The witness's gift is unaffected because Indiana abolished the interested witness rule
The witness must forfeit any fees but keeps the bequest
The will remains valid, but the witness-beneficiary's gift is void unless two other disinterested witnesses attested or the witness would take by intestacy (limited to that share) (Correct answer)
The entire will is invalid

Correct answer: The will remains valid, but the witness-beneficiary's gift is void unless two other disinterested witnesses attested or the witness would take by intestacy (limited to that share)

Indiana purges the gift to an attesting beneficiary unless the will is otherwise properly witnessed by disinterested witnesses, though the witness may keep up to an intestate share.

Question 80: A skydiving customer signs a clear, conspicuous waiver releasing the company from liability for its own negligence. In Indiana, such an exculpatory clause is generally:

Enforceable even against claims of intentional wrongdoing
Valid only if approved by a court in advance
Enforceable if knowingly and willingly signed, unless it violates public policy or covers reckless conduct (Correct answer)
Void in all circumstances

Correct answer: Enforceable if knowingly and willingly signed, unless it violates public policy or covers reckless conduct

Indiana enforces clear exculpatory agreements for negligence absent a public policy violation, but not for willful or wanton misconduct.

Question 81: A statute requires drivers to stop for school buses loading children. A driver violates the statute and injures a child exiting the bus. In a negligence per se analysis, the violation matters because the child is:

Entitled to strict liability
A third-party beneficiary of the statute
A foreseeable plaintiff under any statute
Within the class the statute protects and suffered the type of harm it was designed to prevent (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Within the class the statute protects and suffered the type of harm it was designed to prevent

Negligence per se applies when the plaintiff is in the protected class and the harm is the type the statute aims to prevent.

Question 82: A commercial tenant installs bolted-down display counters for its store. Absent contrary agreement, may the tenant remove them at the end of the lease?

Yes, trade fixtures may be removed before the lease ends if removal causes no substantial damage (Correct answer)
No, all attached items become the landlord's property
Only with the landlord's written consent
Only if the lease is longer than five years

Correct answer: Yes, trade fixtures may be removed before the lease ends if removal causes no substantial damage

Under the trade fixtures doctrine, a commercial tenant may remove business-related fixtures before the tenancy ends if the premises can be restored.

Question 83: An MPT Library case includes a footnote stating a rule was superseded by a later Franklin statute also in the Library. Which authority should the examinee apply?

The case rule, because cases outrank statutes
Both equally, letting the grader choose
The statute, because it supersedes the earlier case rule (Correct answer)
Neither, because superseded law cannot be discussed

Correct answer: The statute, because it supersedes the earlier case rule

A statute that supersedes earlier case law controls, and the Library signals such relationships deliberately.

Question 84: A rescuer is injured while pulling a driver from a burning car caused by the driver's own negligence. The rescuer's negligence claim against the driver is supported by:

Assumption of risk as a complete bar
The rescue doctrine, because danger invites rescue and rescuers are foreseeable plaintiffs (Correct answer)
The firefighter's rule barring all rescuer claims
Strict liability for vehicle fires

Correct answer: The rescue doctrine, because danger invites rescue and rescuers are foreseeable plaintiffs

Under the rescue doctrine, one who negligently imperils himself or others owes a duty to foreseeable rescuers injured in the attempt.

Question 85: A task memo asks you to draft only the argument section of a brief and notes that another associate will write the statement of facts. What should you do?

Write the full brief including facts to be thorough
Follow the instructions and draft only the argument section (Correct answer)
Draft the facts first and skip the argument if time runs out
Write a memo instead because it is faster

Correct answer: Follow the instructions and draft only the argument section

Following the task memo's specific instructions is essential because points are awarded for the assigned task only.

Question 86: The Dormant Commerce Clause restricts state laws that discriminate against interstate commerce. When a state law facially discriminates against out-of-state commerce, it is:

Subject to rational basis review
Reviewed under intermediate scrutiny
Per se invalid unless the state can show it is the least discriminatory means to achieve a legitimate local purpose (Correct answer)
Presumptively constitutional

Correct answer: Per se invalid unless the state can show it is the least discriminatory means to achieve a legitimate local purpose

Facially discriminatory state laws are virtually per se invalid and can survive only if the state demonstrates a legitimate local purpose that cannot be achieved through less discriminatory means.

Question 87: A petitioner seeking judicial review under AOPA fails to file the agency record within the statutory period and obtains no extension. What is the consequence?

The court may proceed using the parties' briefs alone
The deadline is treated as advisory only
The agency must reconstruct the record at its expense
The petition is subject to dismissal (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The petition is subject to dismissal

Indiana courts have held that failure to timely file the agency record deprives the petitioner of judicial review and warrants dismissal.

Question 88: An Indiana estate's assets are insufficient to satisfy all devises. Absent contrary intent in the will, which gifts abate first?

Property passing by intestacy, then residuary devises, then general devises, then specific devises (Correct answer)
Specific devises first in all cases
All devises abate pro rata equally
Devises to family members abate before devises to charities

Correct answer: Property passing by intestacy, then residuary devises, then general devises, then specific devises

The default abatement order sacrifices intestate and residuary property first, protecting specific devises to the greatest extent.

Question 89: The instruction memo says your supervising partner "does not want a separate statement of facts." You have extra time. What should you do?

Summarize the Library instead
Add a statement of facts anyway to show thoroughness
Weave necessary facts into the analysis and omit a separate facts section (Correct answer)
Attach the File documents as exhibits

Correct answer: Weave necessary facts into the analysis and omit a separate facts section

Facts should be integrated into the analysis when the memo expressly forbids a separate facts section.

Question 90: In Indiana, punitive damages are capped at the greater of three times compensatory damages or what amount?

$25,000
$250,000
$50,000 (Correct answer)
$100,000

Correct answer: $50,000

Indiana Code 34-51-3-4 caps punitive damages at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $50,000.

Question 91: A blasting company uses dynamite near a residential area, and vibrations crack a neighbor's foundation despite all possible precautions. The neighbor's strongest claim is:

Negligence per se
Strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity (Correct answer)
Battery
Breach of implied warranty

Correct answer: Strict liability for an abnormally dangerous activity

Blasting is a classic abnormally dangerous activity, imposing strict liability regardless of the care exercised.

Question 92: What are the grounds for contesting a will?

Disagreement with the distribution amounts
Filing after the probate deadline has passed
The beneficiary's belief they deserve more
Lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution

Wills can be contested on grounds including the testator's mental incapacity, undue influence by a beneficiary, fraud or forgery, or failure to meet formal execution requirements.

Question 93: A party learns mid-hearing that the ALJ has a financial stake in the outcome. What should the party do to preserve the issue?

Wait and raise bias for the first time on judicial review
File a police report
Promptly move to disqualify the ALJ (Correct answer)
Demand a jury instead

Correct answer: Promptly move to disqualify the ALJ

Claims of ALJ bias or disqualification must be raised promptly before the agency or they are generally waived.

Question 94: In Indiana, a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress by a bystander requires the plaintiff to satisfy which rule?

Proof of intent to cause distress
The pure foreseeability test alone
Physical impact in every case without exception
The bystander rule requiring witnessing death or severe injury of a close relative (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The bystander rule requiring witnessing death or severe injury of a close relative

Under Groves v. Taylor, a bystander may recover after witnessing or coming upon the scene of death or severe injury to a loved one with a close relationship.

Question 95: What is notice-and-comment rulemaking?

A legislative process for passing new laws
A process where agencies publish proposed rules, accept public comments, and issue final rules with responses to comments (Correct answer)
A procedure where only affected businesses are notified
A rule that takes effect immediately without public input

Correct answer: A process where agencies publish proposed rules, accept public comments, and issue final rules with responses to comments

Notice-and-comment (informal) rulemaking requires agencies to publish proposed rules in the Federal Register, allow public comment, and consider those comments before issuing a final rule.

Question 96: Indiana's implied consent law provides that a driver who refuses a certified chemical test after a lawful request will:

Have the refusal suppressed as compelled self-incrimination
Face license suspension, and the refusal is admissible at trial (Correct answer)
Be immune from prosecution if no test result exists
Face no consequence unless later convicted

Correct answer: Face license suspension, and the refusal is admissible at trial

Under Indiana's implied consent statute, refusal triggers license suspension and may be admitted as evidence at trial.

Question 97: What is a fiduciary duty in estate administration?

An obligation to distribute assets as quickly as possible
A requirement to hire a professional financial advisor
A duty to maximize estate taxes
The legal obligation to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries with loyalty and care (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The legal obligation to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries with loyalty and care

Fiduciary duty requires trustees and executors to act with loyalty, prudence, and care in managing estate assets solely for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Question 98: A licensee wants to sue in court immediately after an adverse initial agency decision, skipping the agency's internal appeal. What doctrine bars this?

Sovereign immunity
Ripeness
Primary jurisdiction
Exhaustion of administrative remedies (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Exhaustion of administrative remedies

Exhaustion requires a party to complete all available administrative remedies before seeking judicial review under AOPA.

Question 99: After reviewing a client’s case, you need to draft a letter informing the client about the strengths and weaknesses of their case. What should you ensure is included in the letter?

Information unrelated to the client's case
A detailed explanation of the legal process and potential outcomes (Correct answer)
A guarantee of winning the case
Personal opinions about the opposing party

Correct answer: A detailed explanation of the legal process and potential outcomes

When informing a client about the strengths and weaknesses of their case, it is crucial to provide a clear and comprehensive explanation of the legal process involved and the range of potential outcomes. This empowers the client to make informed decisions about their case, understand the risks, and manage their expectations. Avoiding guarantees and personal opinions ensures professional and ethical communication.

Question 100: Under the Indiana Child Support Guidelines, child support is calculated primarily using which model?

The income shares model based on both parents' weekly gross income (Correct answer)
A flat percentage of the obligor's net income
The Melson formula
Judicial discretion without a formula

Correct answer: The income shares model based on both parents' weekly gross income

Indiana uses the income shares model, apportioning between the parents the amount they would have spent on the child in an intact household.

Question 101: In a partnership essay, a partner dissociates from an at-will partnership by express notice. Under RUPA, what is the effect on the partnership?

The partnership automatically continues with a mandatory buyout only
The partnership converts into a limited partnership
The dissociating partner keeps sharing profits for five years
The partnership dissolves and its business must be wound up (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The partnership dissolves and its business must be wound up

Under RUPA, a partner's express-will dissociation from an at-will partnership triggers dissolution and winding up unless remaining partners waive it.

Question 102: A woman petitions for an Indiana protective order against her ex-boyfriend, alleging domestic violence. Which statement about the ex parte order is correct?

It automatically expires after 72 hours
It cannot issue without the respondent first receiving notice and a hearing
It requires a pending criminal charge against the respondent
The court may issue it without notice upon a showing of domestic or family violence, and the respondent may later request a hearing (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The court may issue it without notice upon a showing of domestic or family violence, and the respondent may later request a hearing

Under the Indiana Civil Protection Order Act, courts may grant ex parte relief on a sufficient showing, and the respondent is entitled to request a hearing afterward.

Question 103: Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which of the following is NOT considered a fundamental right requiring strict scrutiny?

Right to privacy in reproductive decisions
Right to education (Correct answer)
Right to marry
Right to interstate travel

Correct answer: Right to education

The Supreme Court has not recognized education as a fundamental right under the Constitution, so laws affecting access to education are generally reviewed under rational basis.

Question 104: The Free Exercise Clause protects individuals from government interference with religious practices. Under Employment Division v. Smith, a neutral law of general applicability that burdens religion requires:

Intermediate scrutiny
Compelling interest balancing
Strict scrutiny
Rational basis review (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Rational basis review

In Employment Division v. Smith, the Supreme Court held that neutral, generally applicable laws that incidentally burden religious practices need only satisfy rational basis review.

Question 105: An MPT File contains a client interview transcript where the client's statements conflict with a police report. How should the examinee treat this conflict?

Acknowledge the factual conflict and address how it affects the analysis (Correct answer)
Assume the client is lying and drop the case theory
Ignore the police report as inadmissible
Invent additional facts to resolve the conflict

Correct answer: Acknowledge the factual conflict and address how it affects the analysis

Strong MPT answers identify factual conflicts and explain their impact rather than ignoring or inventing facts.

Question 106: How is the MPT scored in UBE jurisdictions like Indiana?

Scored by NCBE staff in a national center
Graded by the jurisdiction's graders using NCBE point sheets, then scaled to the MBE (Correct answer)
Graded pass/fail only
Machine-scored against a fixed answer key

Correct answer: Graded by the jurisdiction's graders using NCBE point sheets, then scaled to the MBE

Jurisdiction graders apply NCBE grading materials and raw scores are scaled to the MBE distribution.

Question 107: Under the Indiana Trust Code, a trust of real property is enforceable only if:

It is notarized and witnessed by two people
The trustee posts a fiduciary bond
It is recorded in the county recorder's office
Its terms are evidenced by a writing signed by the settlor or the settlor's authorized agent (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Its terms are evidenced by a writing signed by the settlor or the settlor's authorized agent

Indiana requires trusts of real property to be evidenced by a signed writing, satisfying the Statute of Frauds.

Question 108: Police attach a GPS tracker to a suspect's car without a warrant and monitor it for 28 days. Under United States v. Jones, this conduct:

Is not a search because movements on public roads are exposed to the public
Is a search only if the monitoring exceeds 30 days
Is a Fourth Amendment search because the physical trespass to the vehicle was for the purpose of obtaining information (Correct answer)
Is lawful under the automobile exception

Correct answer: Is a Fourth Amendment search because the physical trespass to the vehicle was for the purpose of obtaining information

Jones held that physically installing a GPS device on a vehicle to gather information is a search under the trespass theory.

Question 109: In Indiana, what is the general statute of limitations for personal injury claims?

Three years
Six years
Two years (Correct answer)
One year

Correct answer: Two years

Indiana Code 34-11-2-4 sets a two-year limitations period for injury to person or character.

Question 110: A federal diversity case is filed in Indiana. Which law governs the substantive issues and which governs procedure?

Federal substantive law and Indiana procedural law
Indiana law for both
Federal law for both
Indiana substantive law and federal procedural law (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Indiana substantive law and federal procedural law

Under Erie, a federal court sitting in diversity applies state substantive law and federal procedural law.

Question 111: The MPT Library includes a statute and two cases from the fictional state of Franklin. What should an examinee assume about outside law?

Restatement provisions may be freely substituted
Federal law always supplements the Library
Real Indiana law controls over the Library materials
Only the law provided in the Library should be used to analyze the problem (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Only the law provided in the Library should be used to analyze the problem

The MPT is a closed universe, so only the legal authorities supplied in the Library may be relied upon.

Question 112: The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause requires strict scrutiny when a law discriminates on the basis of which classification?

Sexual orientation
Race (Correct answer)
Wealth
Age

Correct answer: Race

Race is a suspect classification that triggers strict scrutiny, requiring the government to show the law is necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest and is narrowly tailored.

Question 113: What is exhaustion of administrative remedies?

A requirement that parties must pursue all available agency processes before seeking court review (Correct answer)
A principle that courts must hear every case before it
A rule that agency resources must be fully used before new funding
A doctrine preventing agencies from reopening closed cases

Correct answer: A requirement that parties must pursue all available agency processes before seeking court review

Exhaustion requires parties to complete available administrative proceedings before filing suit in court, allowing agencies to apply their expertise and potentially resolve disputes without litigation.

Question 114: O conveys "to A for life, then to A's children who reach 21." A has one child, X, age 5, at the conveyance. What interest do A's children hold?

A contingent remainder (Correct answer)
A springing use
A vested remainder subject to open
An executory interest

Correct answer: A contingent remainder

Because no child has yet satisfied the condition precedent of reaching 21, the remainder is contingent.

Question 115: Under the Presentment Clause, after Congress passes legislation, the President has how many days to sign or veto a bill (excluding Sundays)?

14 days
30 days
10 days (Correct answer)
7 days

Correct answer: 10 days

Article I, Section 7 gives the President 10 days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto legislation; if the President does neither, the bill becomes law unless Congress has adjourned.

Question 116: A landlord and residential tenant's lease says the tenant accepts the unit "as is" and waives all repair claims. The furnace fails and the landlord refuses to fix it. In jurisdictions recognizing the implied warranty of habitability, what result?

The warranty applies because it generally cannot be waived in residential leases (Correct answer)
The warranty applies only to commercial leases
The waiver is enforceable as a bargained-for term
The tenant's only remedy is to terminate the lease

Correct answer: The warranty applies because it generally cannot be waived in residential leases

The implied warranty of habitability protects residential tenants and in most jurisdictions cannot be waived by lease provisions.

Question 117: A task memo asks for a "bench memo" to a judge. What is the defining feature of this work product?

It contains only a recitation of facts
It persuades the judge to rule for one party
It objectively analyzes the parties' arguments to assist the judge in deciding (Correct answer)
It is addressed to the client

Correct answer: It objectively analyzes the parties' arguments to assist the judge in deciding

A bench memo is an objective document that helps the judge evaluate both parties' positions.

Question 118: Under the First Amendment, which standard of review applies to a content-neutral government regulation of speech?

Strict scrutiny
Compelling interest test
Intermediate scrutiny (Correct answer)
Rational basis review

Correct answer: Intermediate scrutiny

Content-neutral regulations are subject to intermediate scrutiny, requiring the regulation to be narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest and leave open alternative channels of communication.

Question 119: A seller ships nonconforming goods and the buyer rejects them within a reasonable time. Under UCC 2-508, the seller may cure if:

The contract price exceeds $5,000
The time for performance has not yet expired, or the seller reasonably believed the goods would be acceptable (Correct answer)
The goods were sold as-is
The buyer is not a merchant

Correct answer: The time for performance has not yet expired, or the seller reasonably believed the goods would be acceptable

A seller has a right to cure before the performance deadline, and beyond it when the seller had reasonable grounds to believe the tender would be accepted.

Question 120: In Indiana, a conveyance of real estate to a husband and wife is presumed to create which form of ownership?

Community property
Tenancy in common
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
Tenancy by the entirety (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Tenancy by the entirety

Indiana presumes that a conveyance to spouses creates a tenancy by the entirety unless the instrument expresses a contrary intent.

Question 121: A wife is called to testify against her husband in a federal criminal trial about events during the marriage. Regarding spousal testimonial privilege:

The privilege belongs to the court
The privilege applies only in civil cases
The wife alone holds the privilege and may choose to testify (Correct answer)
The husband may prevent her from testifying

Correct answer: The wife alone holds the privilege and may choose to testify

Under Trammel v. United States, the witness-spouse alone holds the testimonial privilege and may waive it.

Question 122: In Indiana, a second childless spouse of a decedent with surviving children from a prior relationship receives what interest in the decedent's real property at intestacy?

No interest in real property at all
Full fee simple in all real property
A mandatory life estate in the marital home
A life estate is not given; the spouse takes 25% of the fair market value of the real property (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A life estate is not given; the spouse takes 25% of the fair market value of the real property

A childless second spouse takes only 25% of the fair market value of the decedent's real property, with the remainder to the decedent's children.

Question 123: An Indiana court issued the original custody decree, but the child and both parents now live in Illinois. Which court may modify the decree?

Indiana, because the issuing court retains jurisdiction forever
Either state, at the petitioner's choice
Illinois, because Indiana lost exclusive continuing jurisdiction once the child and both parents left (Correct answer)
Federal court, under the PKPA

Correct answer: Illinois, because Indiana lost exclusive continuing jurisdiction once the child and both parents left

Exclusive continuing jurisdiction ends when the child and both parents no longer reside in the issuing state, allowing the new home state to modify.

Question 124: What is negligence per se?

Negligence established by the violation of a statute designed to protect the class of persons including the plaintiff (Correct answer)
A higher standard applied only to professionals
Negligence that cannot be defended against
Negligence that is automatically proven in every case

Correct answer: Negligence established by the violation of a statute designed to protect the class of persons including the plaintiff

Negligence per se occurs when a defendant violates a safety statute and the plaintiff is within the class of persons the statute was meant to protect from the type of harm suffered.

Question 125: A witness is impeached with a prior inconsistent statement made in a deposition. That prior statement may be used substantively because:

Depositions are business records
All prior inconsistent statements are substantive evidence
Impeachment evidence is always substantive
It was given under penalty of perjury at a proceeding, making it non-hearsay under Rule 801(d)(1)(A) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: It was given under penalty of perjury at a proceeding, making it non-hearsay under Rule 801(d)(1)(A)

A prior inconsistent statement given under oath at a trial, hearing, or deposition is defined as non-hearsay and admissible substantively.

Question 126: A newspaper publishes a false statement about a private individual on a matter of public concern. Under constitutional defamation principles, the plaintiff must prove at least:

Actual malice by clear and convincing evidence
Nothing beyond publication of the statement
Intent to destroy the plaintiff's business
Negligence as to the falsity of the statement (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Negligence as to the falsity of the statement

Under Gertz, private-figure plaintiffs suing on matters of public concern must prove at least negligence regarding falsity.

Question 127: Under Indiana's Dead Man's Statute, a surviving party is generally incompetent to testify about what?

Matters against an estate concerning transactions with the decedent (Correct answer)
Expert opinions on damages
Hearsay statements by third parties
Any conversation with a living adverse party

Correct answer: Matters against an estate concerning transactions with the decedent

Indiana's Dead Man's Statute bars an interested survivor from testifying about transactions with a decedent in claims against the estate.

Question 128: A grantor delivered a deed to a grantee, who never recorded it. The grantor then sold the same land to a bona fide purchaser who recorded first. In a notice jurisdiction, who owns the land?

The grantor, because the first deed was never recorded
The first grantee, because delivery completed the conveyance
The first grantee, because recording is optional
The bona fide purchaser, because she took without notice of the prior conveyance (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The bona fide purchaser, because she took without notice of the prior conveyance

In a notice jurisdiction, a subsequent bona fide purchaser without notice of a prior unrecorded conveyance prevails.

Question 129: When citing authority in an MPT answer, what level of citation formality is expected?

Citations only to real Indiana cases
Full Bluebook citations with pincites and parallel cites
No citations at all are permitted
Informal but clear references identifying the authority, such as the case name (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Informal but clear references identifying the authority, such as the case name

Graders expect identification of the authority relied on, but perfect Bluebook format is not required.

Question 130: A government employee is fired after speaking on a matter of public concern. Under Garcetti v. Ceballos, the employee's First Amendment claim is barred if the speech was made:

Outside of working hours
On social media
Anonymously
Pursuant to official duties (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Pursuant to official duties

Garcetti held that when public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, they are not speaking as citizens on matters of public concern, so the First Amendment does not protect them from employer discipline.

Question 131: In a conveyance of real property, which of the following is NOT required to create a valid deed?

Delivery of the deed
The grantor's signature
A written document
The grantee's signature (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The grantee's signature

A valid deed requires a written document, identification of the grantor and grantee, a description of the property, words of conveyance, the grantor's signature, and delivery to the grantee. The grantee's signature is not required because the deed conveys an interest *to* the grantee, and their acceptance is typically implied by taking possession or recording the deed.

Question 132: A merchant sends a signed written offer to sell 500 widgets, stating the offer will remain open for 60 days. Under UCC 2-205, when does the firm offer become revocable?

After 60 days as stated (Correct answer)
Never, because it is signed and in writing
After 90 days regardless of the stated term
Immediately, because no consideration was given

Correct answer: After 60 days as stated

A merchant's signed firm offer is irrevocable for the stated period up to a maximum of three months, so the 60-day term controls.

Question 133: During settlement negotiations, a defendant says, 'I know my brakes were bad, but I'll only pay half.' At trial, the plaintiff offers this statement. It is:

Admissible only to prove bias
Admissible because factual statements are severable from offers
Admissible as a party admission
Inadmissible under Rule 408 as a statement made during compromise negotiations (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Inadmissible under Rule 408 as a statement made during compromise negotiations

Rule 408 excludes both offers to compromise and statements made during compromise negotiations when offered to prove liability.

Question 134: An expert witness bases her opinion on inadmissible hearsay reports. Her opinion is:

Inadmissible because it rests on hearsay
Inadmissible unless the reports are authenticated
Admissible only if the reports are separately admitted
Admissible if experts in the field reasonably rely on such data (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Admissible if experts in the field reasonably rely on such data

Under FRE 703, an expert may rely on inadmissible facts or data if experts in the field would reasonably rely on them.

Question 135: What is the residency requirement for filing a divorce in Indiana?

Only federal citizenship is required
The petitioner must meet state-specific residency requirements before filing (Correct answer)
Both spouses must live in the state
No residency requirement exists

Correct answer: The petitioner must meet state-specific residency requirements before filing

Indiana requires the filing spouse to meet specific residency requirements, which typically include living in the state and county for a minimum period before filing the divorce petition.

Question 136: In an Indiana wrongful death action brought for the death of an adult with no dependents, damages are notably limited because:

The Adult Wrongful Death Statute caps damages for loss of love and companionship (Correct answer)
No action may be brought at all
Recovery is limited to funeral expenses of $1,000
Only punitive damages are recoverable

Correct answer: The Adult Wrongful Death Statute caps damages for loss of love and companionship

Indiana's Adult Wrongful Death Statute permits recovery for loss of love and companionship but caps that component of damages.

Question 137: A pedestrian was injured when a store's sign fell on him during normal weather. He cannot identify what caused the sign to fall. His best theory of negligence liability against the store is:

Res ipsa loquitur (Correct answer)
Vicarious liability
Strict liability
Negligence per se

Correct answer: Res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur allows an inference of negligence where the accident would not ordinarily occur without negligence and the instrumentality was in the defendant's control.

Question 138: The Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV prevents states from discriminating against citizens of other states with respect to:

Corporations doing business in the state
Fundamental rights related to national unity such as the right to practice a profession (Correct answer)
All civil rights including voting
Property owned by nonresidents

Correct answer: Fundamental rights related to national unity such as the right to practice a profession

The Article IV Privileges and Immunities Clause prohibits states from discriminating against out-of-state citizens with respect to fundamental rights related to national unity, such as the right to pursue a livelihood or practice a profession.

Question 139: Under the Confrontation Clause as interpreted in Crawford v. Washington, testimonial hearsay is inadmissible against a criminal defendant unless:

The statement was made under oath
The judge finds the statement reliable
The declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination (Correct answer)
The statement falls within any hearsay exception

Correct answer: The declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination

Crawford requires unavailability plus a prior opportunity to cross-examine for testimonial statements.

Question 140: A defendant properly served with a federal complaint fails to answer within 21 days and default is entered. Before default judgment, the defendant moves to set aside the default. The court will grant the motion upon a showing of:

Clear and convincing evidence of fraud
Good cause (Correct answer)
Excusable neglect and a meritorious defense beyond a reasonable doubt
Any reason, as of right

Correct answer: Good cause

Under Rule 55(c), an entry of default may be set aside for good cause, a more lenient standard than that for vacating a default judgment.

Question 141: In drafting an MPT persuasive brief, point headings should generally be written as what?

Neutral topic labels such as "Negligence"
Questions posed to the court
Complete argumentative sentences combining law and favorable facts (Correct answer)
Single-word issue tags

Correct answer: Complete argumentative sentences combining law and favorable facts

Effective persuasive point headings are full sentences that assert the conclusion using law applied to the client's facts.

Question 142: On which day of the Indiana Bar Exam are the two MPT items administered?

The first day, in the morning session alongside the MEE day (Correct answer)
A separate third day
Either day at the examinee's option
The second day with the MBE

Correct answer: The first day, in the morning session alongside the MEE day

The UBE written day pairs the two 90-minute MPTs with the six MEE essays, while the MBE fills the second day.

Question 143: Under Indiana's dissolution statute, which of the following is a statutory ground for dissolution of marriage?

Conviction of a felony after the marriage (Correct answer)
Willful desertion for one year
Habitual intemperance
Cruel and inhuman treatment

Correct answer: Conviction of a felony after the marriage

Indiana's grounds are irretrievable breakdown, felony conviction after marriage, impotence existing at the time of marriage, and incurable insanity of two years.

Question 144: The Supremacy Clause provides that federal law preempts state law. Express preemption occurs when:

Federal and state law conflict directly making compliance with both impossible
A state law stands as an obstacle to federal objectives
Congress explicitly states its intent to preempt state law in the statute (Correct answer)
Federal law so thoroughly occupies a field that no room remains for state regulation

Correct answer: Congress explicitly states its intent to preempt state law in the statute

Express preemption occurs when Congress explicitly states in the statute its intent to preempt state law in a particular area, as opposed to implied preemption which courts infer from the statute's structure and purpose.

Question 145: In a secured transactions essay, a creditor takes a purchase-money security interest in a consumer's new refrigerator. How is the PMSI perfected?

Automatically upon attachment, because it is a PMSI in consumer goods (Correct answer)
Only by filing a financing statement within 20 days
Only by taking possession of the refrigerator
Only by noting the lien on a certificate of title

Correct answer: Automatically upon attachment, because it is a PMSI in consumer goods

A purchase-money security interest in consumer goods perfects automatically at attachment without filing or possession.

Question 146: What is intestate succession?

A type of trust arrangement
A method of inheriting property from international relatives
Distribution based on the deceased's verbal wishes
The distribution of a deceased person's property according to state law when there is no valid will (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The distribution of a deceased person's property according to state law when there is no valid will

When someone dies without a valid will (intestate), state intestacy statutes determine how their property is distributed, typically prioritizing surviving spouses and descendants.

Question 147: You need to prepare an opening statement for a trial. Which of the following is a key element to include in your statement?

A lengthy history of the legal issues unrelated to the current case
A detailed examination of the opposing party’s weaknesses
A promise to the jury that you will present all evidence without omissions
A clear summary of the evidence you will present and how it supports your case (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A clear summary of the evidence you will present and how it supports your case

An effective opening statement provides the jury with a roadmap of the case, outlining the evidence that will be presented and explaining how that evidence will prove the party's claims or defenses. It sets the stage for the trial, introduces the key players, and helps the jury understand the narrative from the attorney's perspective.

Question 148: An Indiana agency issues an emergency order under IC 4-21.5-4 suspending a license to protect public health. What must the agency then provide?

A prompt opportunity for an administrative hearing (Correct answer)
A full trial in circuit court within 10 days
Nothing; emergency orders are unreviewable
Compensation for lost income

Correct answer: A prompt opportunity for an administrative hearing

Emergency orders take effect immediately, but the agency must promptly afford the affected party an opportunity for review through an administrative proceeding.

Question 149: A testator devises Blackacre to a friend, but before death the testator sells Blackacre and never amends the will. At the testator's death, what does the friend take under the traditional doctrine of ademption?

A general pecuniary legacy equal to the land's value
The sale proceeds held by the estate
Replacement property of equivalent value
Nothing, because the specific devise adeems by extinction (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Nothing, because the specific devise adeems by extinction

Under ademption by extinction, a specific devise fails when the property is not in the estate at death.

Question 150: In Indiana, when a jury allocates fault among the plaintiff, defendant, and a nonparty, the defendant may name a nonparty in its defense primarily to:

Reduce its own percentage of fault by attributing fault to the absent actor (Correct answer)
Force the nonparty to pay damages directly
Obtain contribution from the nonparty after judgment
Convert the case to joint and several liability

Correct answer: Reduce its own percentage of fault by attributing fault to the absent actor

Indiana's Comparative Fault Act allows a nonparty defense so fault can be allocated to an absent actor, lowering the named defendant's several share.

Question 151: You are given a file with documents about a client's potential negligence claim. Your task is to draft a memorandum analyzing the potential claims based on the facts provided. What is the primary purpose of this memorandum?

To provide a detailed summary of the client's case history
To argue for a specific legal outcome in court
To prepare a brief for a judge to use in a pretrial hearing
To offer an objective analysis of the client's potential legal claims and defenses (Correct answer)

Correct answer: To offer an objective analysis of the client's potential legal claims and defenses

A legal memorandum, especially an objective one, serves to analyze the relevant facts and law to predict the likely outcome of a legal issue. Its primary purpose is to provide an unbiased assessment of the client's position, outlining potential claims, defenses, and legal arguments without advocating for a specific outcome. This helps the attorney advise the client effectively.

Question 152: An MPT task memo asks you to draft a closing argument for a bench trial. What adjustment should the examinee make compared to a jury argument?

Focus on the legal standards and how the evidence satisfies them, since the audience is a judge (Correct answer)
Use more emotional appeals since judges expect drama
Address the argument to opposing counsel
Avoid discussing evidence altogether

Correct answer: Focus on the legal standards and how the evidence satisfies them, since the audience is a judge

Arguments to a judge should emphasize legal standards and record evidence rather than emotional jury-style appeals.

Question 153: A witness cannot remember details of an accident report she wrote. Counsel shows her the report, and she still cannot recall the events. The report may be:

Excluded entirely because memory failed
Admitted as an exhibit by the proponent
Admitted only as impeachment
Read into evidence as a recorded recollection (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Read into evidence as a recorded recollection

Under FRE 803(5), a recorded recollection may be read into evidence but received as an exhibit only if offered by the adverse party.

Question 154: In a family law essay, a state court entered a child custody order, and the child and one parent later moved to another state. Under the UCCJEA, which court may modify the order?

The new state immediately upon the child's arrival
The original state, as long as it retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction (Correct answer)
Any state where the child is physically present
Federal district court in either state

Correct answer: The original state, as long as it retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction

The UCCJEA gives the decree-issuing state exclusive continuing jurisdiction to modify custody until that state determines significant connections have ended or everyone has left the state.

Question 155: A statement offered against a party is made by the party's employee concerning a matter within the scope of employment while employed. Under the Federal Rules, the statement is:

Not hearsay as an opposing party's statement (Correct answer)
Inadmissible hearsay
Hearsay admissible under the business records exception
Hearsay admissible as a statement against interest

Correct answer: Not hearsay as an opposing party's statement

Under FRE 801(d)(2)(D), an employee's statement on a matter within the scope of employment made during employment is a non-hearsay opposing party statement.

Question 156: A leading question is generally permitted during:

Direct examination of any witness
No stage of trial testimony
Only redirect examination
Cross-examination of a witness (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Cross-examination of a witness

Rule 611(c) permits leading questions on cross-examination and with hostile witnesses, but ordinarily not on direct.

Question 157: In a negligence action, the plaintiff offers evidence that the defendant carries liability insurance to prove the defendant acted carelessly. This evidence is:

Admissible as relevant to ability to pay
Inadmissible under Rule 411 to prove negligence (Correct answer)
Admissible if the policy limits are high
Admissible in all civil cases

Correct answer: Inadmissible under Rule 411 to prove negligence

Rule 411 bars evidence of liability insurance to prove negligence or wrongful conduct, though it may be admitted for other purposes like ownership or bias.

Question 158: Under the UCCJEA as adopted in Indiana, which state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination?

Any state where either parent currently resides
The state where the child was born
The child's home state, where the child lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months before the proceeding (Correct answer)
The state with the most significant contacts, regardless of home state

Correct answer: The child's home state, where the child lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months before the proceeding

The UCCJEA gives priority to the child's home state, defined by six consecutive months of residence immediately before commencement, with temporary absences counted.

Question 159: A patient dies of a condition a doctor negligently failed to diagnose, but the patient already had less than a 50% chance of survival. In Indiana, the estate may still recover under:

No theory, because causation cannot be proven by a preponderance
Strict liability for misdiagnosis
A lost chance theory, with damages proportioned to the reduced chance of survival (Correct answer)
Breach of contract only

Correct answer: A lost chance theory, with damages proportioned to the reduced chance of survival

Indiana recognizes loss-of-chance in medical malpractice, allowing proportional recovery for the diminished probability of a better outcome.

Question 160: In an agency essay, a principal secretly instructs its purchasing agent not to buy goods over $5,000, but the agent has routinely made larger purchases for the principal from a longtime vendor. The agent buys $8,000 of goods. Is the principal bound?

Yes, because the agent had apparent authority based on prior dealings the principal permitted (Correct answer)
No, because contracts over $5,000 require written authority
Yes, but only if the agent personally guarantees the purchase
No, because express instructions always destroy all authority

Correct answer: Yes, because the agent had apparent authority based on prior dealings the principal permitted

Secret limitations do not defeat apparent authority when the principal's prior conduct led the third party reasonably to believe the agent was authorized.

Question 161: A business believes an adopted Indiana administrative rule exceeds the agency's statutory authority but faces no pending enforcement. Its best avenue is:

Refusing compliance and awaiting prosecution
An action for declaratory judgment on the rule's validity (Correct answer)
Petitioning the governor to veto the rule
A writ of mandamus against the legislature

Correct answer: An action for declaratory judgment on the rule's validity

Indiana law permits a declaratory judgment action to test the validity or applicability of an administrative rule.

Question 162: In Indiana, the statute of limitations for an action on a written contract for the payment of money is how long?

Four years
Two years
Six years (Correct answer)
Ten years

Correct answer: Six years

Indiana Code 34-11-2-9 provides a six-year limitations period for actions on written contracts for the payment of money.

Question 163: Under the Eleventh Amendment, a federal court generally cannot hear a suit against a state brought by:

A citizen of another state (Correct answer)
The state itself
A foreign nation
The federal government

Correct answer: A citizen of another state

The Eleventh Amendment bars federal court suits against a state by citizens of another state (or foreign nation) without the state's consent, protecting state sovereign immunity.

Question 164: Police interrogate a jailed defendant about a burglary after he was appointed counsel on an unrelated robbery charge. He waives Miranda and confesses to the burglary. The confession is:

Inadmissible under Edwards v. Arizona
Admissible only if his robbery counsel consented
Admissible, because the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is offense-specific and did not attach to the uncharged burglary (Correct answer)
Inadmissible, because his appointed counsel was not notified

Correct answer: Admissible, because the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is offense-specific and did not attach to the uncharged burglary

Under McNeil and Texas v. Cobb, the Sixth Amendment right is offense-specific, so questioning on an uncharged, factually distinct crime is permitted after a valid Miranda waiver.

Question 165: A tavern continues serving a visibly intoxicated patron who then drives and injures another motorist. Indiana's Dram Shop Act imposes liability on the tavern if it:

Had actual knowledge the patron was visibly intoxicated and the intoxication proximately caused the injury (Correct answer)
Merely should have suspected intoxication
Served any alcohol to the patron that evening
Failed to provide a ride home

Correct answer: Had actual knowledge the patron was visibly intoxicated and the intoxication proximately caused the injury

Indiana's dram shop statute requires actual knowledge of visible intoxication plus proximate causation.

Question 166: The doctrine of incorporation applies provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states through which constitutional provision?

First Amendment
Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause
Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause (Correct answer)
Tenth Amendment

Correct answer: Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause

The Supreme Court has selectively incorporated most Bill of Rights provisions against the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 167: A 17-year-old buys a car, continues driving it after turning 18, and makes two payments as an adult. The contract is most likely:

Enforceable only against the dealer
Enforceable, because continued use and payment after majority ratifies it (Correct answer)
Void from the outset
Voidable indefinitely at the buyer's option

Correct answer: Enforceable, because continued use and payment after majority ratifies it

A minor's contract is voidable, but conduct affirming the contract after reaching majority constitutes ratification.

Question 168: Under the Indiana Trial Rules, a defendant served with a complaint in Indiana generally has how many days to respond?

14 days, plus 3 if served by mail
20 days, plus 3 if served by mail (Correct answer)
21 days in all cases
30 days in all cases

Correct answer: 20 days, plus 3 if served by mail

Indiana Trial Rule 6(C) allows 20 days to respond, extended by 3 days when service is by mail under Rule 6(E).

Question 169: Goods are destroyed in transit under a shipment contract (FOB seller's city) after the seller duly delivered them to the carrier. Who bears the risk of loss?

The buyer, because risk passed on delivery to the carrier (Correct answer)
The seller, until the buyer receives the goods
The party with insurance
The carrier, in all cases

Correct answer: The buyer, because risk passed on delivery to the carrier

In a shipment contract, risk of loss passes to the buyer when the goods are duly delivered to the carrier.

Question 170: An MPT task memo instructs you to write a persuasive brief. Which approach best fits this instruction?

Advocate for your client's position using favorable framing of law and facts (Correct answer)
Present both sides neutrally and let the reader decide
Summarize only the facts without applying law
Recommend the client settle to avoid litigation

Correct answer: Advocate for your client's position using favorable framing of law and facts

A persuasive brief requires advocacy that frames the law and facts favorably for the client.

Question 171: Neighbors A and B share a common driveway under a written easement benefiting A's parcel. A sells his parcel to C. May C use the driveway?

No, because easements are personal to the original parties
Yes, because an appurtenant easement passes automatically with the dominant estate (Correct answer)
Only if B consents in writing
Only if the deed to C expressly mentions the easement

Correct answer: Yes, because an appurtenant easement passes automatically with the dominant estate

An appurtenant easement runs with the dominant estate and transfers automatically to successors regardless of whether the deed mentions it.

Question 172: You are asked to draft a contract clause concerning dispute resolution. Which of the following is an important consideration for the clause?

The clause should exclude any mention of legal fees.
The clause should be written in complex legal jargon to ensure enforceability.
The clause should specify the type of dispute resolution method (e.g., mediation, arbitration). (Correct answer)
The clause should avoid detailing the process to avoid future disputes.

Correct answer: The clause should specify the type of dispute resolution method (e.g., mediation, arbitration).

A well-drafted dispute resolution clause should clearly define the agreed-upon method for resolving future disputes, such as mediation, arbitration, or litigation. Specifying the method, rules, and venue helps streamline the process, reduce uncertainty, and potentially avoid costly court battles, making the clause effective and enforceable.

Question 173: Before holding a contested evidentiary hearing under AOPA, the agency must give parties notice that includes, among other things:

The time, place, and nature of the hearing and the legal authority involved (Correct answer)
The agency's annual budget
A guarantee of a favorable outcome for cooperating parties
The names of all agency employees

Correct answer: The time, place, and nature of the hearing and the legal authority involved

AOPA notice requirements include the hearing's time, place, and nature, plus the legal authority and matters asserted.

Question 174: A grantor conveys land "to A for life, then to B and her heirs." During A's lifetime, what interest does B hold?

A contingent remainder
An executory interest
A vested remainder in fee simple (Correct answer)
A reversion

Correct answer: A vested remainder in fee simple

B is an ascertained person with no condition precedent, so B holds a vested remainder in fee simple.

Question 175: A trusts essay involves a spendthrift trust. Which creditor can typically reach the beneficiary's interest despite the spendthrift clause?

A commercial landlord for unpaid office rent
A credit card company holding a default judgment
A child with a court order for child support (Correct answer)
An unsecured personal loan lender

Correct answer: A child with a court order for child support

Most states and the UTC allow exception creditors, including claimants for child support and alimony, to reach a beneficiary's interest despite a spendthrift provision.

Question 176: Under Indiana's 'one-pot' theory of marital property, which assets are subject to division at dissolution?

Only jointly titled property
Only property acquired after filing the petition
Only property acquired during the marriage
All property owned by either spouse, including premarital and inherited assets (Correct answer)

Correct answer: All property owned by either spouse, including premarital and inherited assets

Indiana places all property of either spouse, however and whenever acquired, into one divisible pot.

Question 177: An MPT task memo asks for an objective memorandum but you notice strong arguments for the opposing party. What should you do?

Convert the memo to a persuasive brief
Refer the issue to the senior partner without analysis
Address the weaknesses candidly because an objective memo evaluates both sides (Correct answer)
Omit the opposing arguments to keep the memo concise

Correct answer: Address the weaknesses candidly because an objective memo evaluates both sides

An objective memo must candidly evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the client's position.

Question 178: A buyer signs an installment contract for monthly deliveries of grain. One installment is slightly nonconforming but can be cured. Under UCC 2-612, the buyer may reject that installment only if:

The buyer gives 30 days written notice
The nonconformity substantially impairs the value of that installment and cannot be cured (Correct answer)
The seller has been late before
Any defect exists, under the perfect tender rule

Correct answer: The nonconformity substantially impairs the value of that installment and cannot be cured

Installment contracts are an exception to perfect tender; rejection requires substantial impairment of the installment that cannot be cured.

Question 179: Under Article III standing requirements, a plaintiff must demonstrate all EXCEPT which of the following?

A constitutional violation by the government (Correct answer)
Causation between injury and defendant's conduct
Injury in fact
Redressability of the injury

Correct answer: A constitutional violation by the government

Standing requires injury in fact, causation, and redressability; a constitutional violation is not required — statutory, regulatory, or common law injuries may also confer standing.

Question 180: An attorney inadvertently produces a privileged memo during discovery in a federal case. Under FRE 502(b), the privilege is not waived if:

The disclosure was intentional but limited
The holder took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure and promptly took reasonable steps to rectify the error (Correct answer)
The opposing party agrees to return it
The memo was marked confidential

Correct answer: The holder took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure and promptly took reasonable steps to rectify the error

Rule 502(b) preserves privilege for inadvertent disclosures when reasonable precautions and prompt corrective steps were taken.

Question 181: A seller of goods repudiates a delivery contract. The buyer purchases substitute goods in good faith at a higher price. The buyer's damages under UCC 2-712 are measured by:

Cover price minus contract price, plus incidental and consequential damages, minus expenses saved (Correct answer)
The full cover price paid
Market price at the time of contracting minus contract price
Contract price minus salvage value

Correct answer: Cover price minus contract price, plus incidental and consequential damages, minus expenses saved

A covering buyer recovers the difference between the cover price and the contract price plus incidental and consequential damages, less expenses saved.

Question 182: How much time is allotted for each MPT item on the Indiana Bar Exam?

90 minutes (Correct answer)
60 minutes
30 minutes
3 hours

Correct answer: 90 minutes

Each MPT item is designed to be completed in 90 minutes.

Question 183: Which of the following is generally considered inadmissible as evidence in court?

Direct evidence
Circumstantial evidence
Hearsay (Correct answer)
Relevant evidence

Correct answer: Hearsay

Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered in court to prove the truth of the matter asserted. It is generally inadmissible because the declarant is not under oath and cannot be cross-examined, raising concerns about reliability and the ability to test the veracity of the statement. While there are numerous exceptions, the general rule is that hearsay is inadmissible.

Question 184: An Indiana court may deny a noncustodial parent parenting time only upon finding what?

That the custodial parent objects to visitation
That the parents cannot communicate civilly
That the parent is behind on child support
That parenting time might endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development (Correct answer)

Correct answer: That parenting time might endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development

IC 31-17-4-1 entitles a noncustodial parent to reasonable parenting time unless the court finds it might endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair emotional development.

Question 185: In a contract for the sale of goods, which of the following best describes the "mirror image rule"?

The acceptance of the offer can include additional terms without affecting the contract.
The offer must be accepted within a reasonable time to be valid.
The offeror must provide a written acceptance for the contract to be enforceable.
The acceptance of the offer must exactly match the terms of the offer. (Correct answer)

Correct answer: The acceptance of the offer must exactly match the terms of the offer.

The 'mirror image rule' in common law contract formation dictates that for an acceptance to be valid, it must be an unequivocal and unqualified assent to the terms of the offer. Any change, addition, or qualification to the terms of the offer constitutes a counteroffer, not an acceptance, and thus no contract is formed under the original offer.

Question 186: What are prior inconsistent statements used for?

To prove the truth of the earlier statement in all cases
To establish a witness's qualifications
To introduce new evidence through a witness
To impeach a witness's credibility by showing contradictory earlier statements (Correct answer)

Correct answer: To impeach a witness's credibility by showing contradictory earlier statements

Prior inconsistent statements are primarily used to impeach credibility by demonstrating the witness said something different before, though some prior statements may also be substantive evidence.

Question 187: A buyer accepts a seller's offer for goods but adds a term requiring arbitration of disputes. Both parties are merchants. Under UCC 2-207, the arbitration term becomes part of the contract unless:

It materially alters the contract, the offer limits acceptance to its terms, or the offeror timely objects (Correct answer)
The seller fails to sign the acceptance
The goods are worth more than $500
The buyer fails to pay a deposit

Correct answer: It materially alters the contract, the offer limits acceptance to its terms, or the offeror timely objects

Between merchants, additional terms become part of the contract except where they materially alter it, the offer expressly limits acceptance, or objection is made within a reasonable time.

Question 188: What is the mailbox rule in contract law?

An offer expires when placed in the mailbox
An acceptance is effective when dispatched by the offeree, not when received by the offeror (Correct answer)
All contract communications must be in writing
Contracts must be mailed to be valid

Correct answer: An acceptance is effective when dispatched by the offeree, not when received by the offeror

The mailbox rule provides that an acceptance becomes effective at the moment of dispatch (when mailed), creating a contract even before the offeror receives it.

Question 189: In Indiana, a second or subsequent childless spouse of a decedent who has surviving children from a prior relationship receives what share of the decedent's real property under intestacy?

One-half of the real property in fee simple
The entire real property in fee simple
A one-third life estate in all real property
A life estate is not given; the spouse takes only one-fourth of the fair market value of the real property minus liens (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A life estate is not given; the spouse takes only one-fourth of the fair market value of the real property minus liens

Indiana Code 29-1-2-1 limits a childless second spouse to one-fourth of the fair market value of the decedent's real property (less liens), with the fee passing to the decedent's children.

Question 190: During a bar fight, a defendant swung a bottle at one person but missed and struck a bystander. Regarding the bystander, the defendant is liable for battery under which doctrine?

Comparative fault
Respondeat superior
Assumption of risk
Transferred intent (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Transferred intent

Transferred intent applies when a defendant intends a tort against one person but commits it against another.

Question 191: Under Indiana's simultaneous death rules, when a devisee fails to survive the testator by the statutory period (absent contrary will language), the devisee is:

Required to have survived by at least one year
Entitled to half the gift, shared with the alternate taker
Treated as having predeceased the testator, so the gift passes as if the devisee died first (Correct answer)
Deemed to have survived, so the gift passes through the devisee's estate

Correct answer: Treated as having predeceased the testator, so the gift passes as if the devisee died first

A beneficiary who does not meet the survivorship requirement is deemed to have predeceased the decedent, preventing double administration of the same property.

Question 192: A statute lets an agency set 'reasonable standards necessary to protect public safety.' A delegation challenge will most likely fail because:

The statute supplies an intelligible principle guiding agency discretion (Correct answer)
Agencies may exercise any power not expressly forbidden
Delegation challenges no longer exist
Safety regulation is inherently judicial

Correct answer: The statute supplies an intelligible principle guiding agency discretion

A legislative delegation is valid when the statute provides sufficient standards or an intelligible principle to guide the agency's discretion.

Question 193: What is relevance in evidence law?

Evidence that has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable (Correct answer)
Evidence that the judge personally finds interesting
Evidence that proves a fact conclusively
Only direct evidence of the crime

Correct answer: Evidence that has any tendency to make a material fact more or less probable

Relevant evidence is any evidence that has a tendency to make a fact of consequence to the case more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

Question 194: Which statement about de facto custodians under Indiana law is accurate?

De facto custodian status guarantees an award of custody
Indiana does not recognize de facto custodians
A person who has been the child's primary caregiver and financial supporter for the statutory period may be joined and considered in a custody proceeding (Correct answer)
Any relative who babysits regularly qualifies automatically

Correct answer: A person who has been the child's primary caregiver and financial supporter for the statutory period may be joined and considered in a custody proceeding

Indiana recognizes de facto custodians who have been the child's primary caregiver and support for at least six months (child under 3) or one year (child 3 or older), giving them standing and additional best-interests factors.

Question 195: In a family law essay, a premarital agreement waiving spousal maintenance is challenged. Under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, the agreement is unenforceable if the challenging spouse proves:

That the agreement was signed less than 30 days before the wedding
Involuntary execution, or unconscionability at signing plus inadequate financial disclosure (Correct answer)
Only that the terms now seem unfair after changed circumstances
That no attorney reviewed the agreement, which alone voids it

Correct answer: Involuntary execution, or unconscionability at signing plus inadequate financial disclosure

Under the UPAA, a premarital agreement fails only if executed involuntarily or if it was unconscionable when signed and the challenger lacked fair disclosure, waiver, or knowledge of the other's finances.

Question 196: A prosecutor offers a lab report through a supervisor who did not perform the testing. The defendant objects on Confrontation Clause grounds. Under Supreme Court precedent, the report is likely:

Admissible because lab reports are business records
Admissible if the report is notarized
Inadmissible testimonial evidence unless the analyst testifies (Correct answer)
Admissible because supervisors may always testify for subordinates

Correct answer: Inadmissible testimonial evidence unless the analyst testifies

Under Melendez-Diaz and Bullcoming, forensic reports prepared for prosecution are testimonial and require the testing analyst's live testimony.

Question 197: In Indiana, which court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from a trial court's imposition of a death sentence?

The Indiana Tax Court
The federal Seventh Circuit
The Indiana Supreme Court (Correct answer)
The Indiana Court of Appeals

Correct answer: The Indiana Supreme Court

Appeals in cases imposing a death sentence go directly to the Indiana Supreme Court, bypassing the Court of Appeals.

Question 198: When may character evidence be used to prove conduct?

Only the prosecution may introduce character evidence
Character evidence is always admissible to prove conduct
In criminal cases, the defendant may offer evidence of pertinent good character traits (Correct answer)
Character evidence is never admissible in any case

Correct answer: In criminal cases, the defendant may offer evidence of pertinent good character traits

In criminal cases, the defendant may offer evidence of relevant good character traits. The prosecution cannot initiate character evidence but may rebut once the defendant opens the door.

Question 199: In a criminal trial, the defendant offers testimony from his pastor that he has a reputation for honesty. The prosecution may respond by:

Offering evidence of specific dishonest acts as extrinsic proof
Cross-examining the pastor about specific instances of the defendant's dishonesty (Correct answer)
Calling witnesses only about unrelated character traits
Nothing, because character rebuttal is prohibited

Correct answer: Cross-examining the pastor about specific instances of the defendant's dishonesty

Once the defendant opens the door with character evidence, the prosecution may inquire into specific instances on cross-examination under Rule 405(a).

Question 200: A parent petitions to modify child support in Indiana less than 12 months after the existing order. What must the parent show?

Nothing; support may be modified at any time on request
That the other parent consented in writing to modification
A substantial and continuing change in circumstances making the current order unreasonable (Correct answer)
That the guideline amount would differ by at least 20% from the current order

Correct answer: A substantial and continuing change in circumstances making the current order unreasonable

Within 12 months of the order, modification requires changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unreasonable; the 20%-difference route applies only after 12 months.

Question 201: What is the difference between separate and marital property in divorce?

Separate property includes everything in one spouse's name
Separate property was owned before marriage or received as a gift; marital property was acquired during marriage (Correct answer)
There is no legal distinction between property types
All property becomes marital upon marriage

Correct answer: Separate property was owned before marriage or received as a gift; marital property was acquired during marriage

Separate property generally includes assets owned before marriage, inherited individually, or received as gifts. Marital property includes assets acquired during the marriage through joint effort.

Indiana Bar Examination (Uniform Bar Examination)

The Indiana Bar Examination is a Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) administered over two days, consisting of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT), testing candidates on core legal subjects and practical lawyering skills. A minimum scaled score of 266 out of 400 is required to pass.

200

Questions

360 min

Time Limit

67%

To Pass

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