February 2018 Bar Examination - ESSAY I - Please answer the following questions

Sep 21, 2026

February 2018 Bar Examination essay materials include two separate fact scenarios. Essay I presents a custody dispute involving Rob and Ann, including abuse history, child support nonpayment, remarriage, and how Charlie’s stated desire to live with Ann affects custody modification. Essay II describes a traffic crash, emergency response, subpoenas for cell phone records, conflicting statements, and evidentiary objections during trial. The questions request full legal analysis for each scenario.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages46

Reading Time1 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

ESSAY I

Please answer the following questions

ESSAY II

February 2018 Bar Examination # ESSAYI Rob and Ann were high school sweethearts and began living together in Atlanta aftercollege.Ann soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son,Charlie.After Charlie's birth,Rob and Ann were married.Two years later,another son,Brian,was born.Rob was aproud and adoring father to both boys. Ann was often verbally and physically abusive towards Rob.Ann never,however,directedher abuse towards the children.One night,Ann became belligerent and stabbed Rob witha butcher knife.Ann subsequently moved out the home,and the parties divorced. Under the divorce decree,and by consent of the parties,Rob and Ann shared joint legalcustody of their sons,but Rob was awarded sole physical custody.Ann had visitationrights on alternating weekends,but Rob often allowed Ann to spend extra time with theboys.The divorce decree required Ann to pay Rob a small amount of child support,butshe never made these payments.Rob never sought to compel Ann's payments. Rob subsequently married Marie.Marie,a schoolteacher,noticed signs of learningdifficulties in both boys,and Rob enrolled them both in private school.Rob never askedfororreceivedany assistance from Ann with tuition costs.As parents,Rob and Marie wereloving but firm. Ann remarried and divorced,after pushing her second husband down a flight of stairs.Ann then moved to Florida and married Mitch.Ann entered counseling to address heranger management problems,and she has never been abusive towards Mitch. After Ann and Mitch married,Charlie and Brian continued to live with Rob and Marie duringthe school year and had extended visits with Ann and Mitch on holidays and during thesummer. Rob and Marie began to notice problems with Charlie's attitude and behavior,particularlyfollowing visits with Ann and Mitch,whose parenting style was less rule-oriented thantheirs.Charlie became bad-tempered and withdrawn,and began bullying Brian. On January 1,2017,Charlie turned 14,and,shortly thereafter,he announced that hewanted to live with Ann.Ann then petitioned the court for a modification of custody. ## Please answer the following questions: 1.Does Charlie have the right to make the election to live with Ann?If so: a.What is the standard the court will use and what are the factors the court will considerrin connection with this election? b.Can Charlie's election by itself constitute a basis for the court to award the requestedmodification? 2.Assume the court allows Charlie to live with Ann.At the time,Brian is 12 years old.IfBrian expresses astrong preference to live wherever Charlie lives,would the court be likelyto consider Brian's wishes? 3.Assume the court grants sole physical custody of both boys to Ann and orders Rob topay child support.What factors will the court consider in making the child support award? 4.Assume that,during their divorce proceedings,the parties had not agreed on custodyand Ann had sought sole custody of both boys.Would Rob's custody rights with regard toCharlie have been different than his custody rights with regard to Brian?Why or why not? Please explain each of your answers fully. # ESSAY II On Saturday morning,the SmallTown Police received a911 phone call from Kellie.Kellietold the police she had just seen a truck with a vanity plate reading "Speedy"pass her onHighway 10 at a high rate of speed.Kellie went on to tell the dispatcher that it appearedthe driver of the truck was texting with one hand,driving with the other hand,and notlooking at the road. This information was given to Officer Russellof the Small Town Police Department fiveminutes later,while he was eating a doughnut near the Shrimp Shack in downtown SmallTown.Minutes later,Officer Russell heard a loud crash from the direction of the ShrimpShack.Within seconds,Officer Russell arrived at the Shrimp Shack and saw that a truckwith a vanity plate reading "Speedy"had crashed through a large window of the ShrimpShack. Officer Russell was immediately approached by

FAQs

Does Charlie have the right to elect to live with Ann, and what factors guide the court’s decision?

The essay asks whether Charlie’s election is permitted and requires identifying the legal standard and the factors the court considers in connection with that election.

If the court allows Charlie to live with Ann, how would Brian’s preference typically be treated at age 12?

The questions ask whether, given Brian’s strong preference to live where Charlie lives, the court would likely consider Brian’s wishes under the applicable rules.

What evidence and legal issues arise in the crash scenario when introducing statements from the 911 call, bystander, and Shrimpy’s injury report?

Essay II asks you to evaluate the admissibility of multiple categories of testimony offered in sequence, focusing on hearsay objections and related evidentiary rules.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Ben Jamin