Reading and analyzing hundreds of bar exam essays might not be your idea of a good time, but we at BarIssues.com have found some hidden gems of humor buried within all those IRACs that made us LOL. We thought we’d share some of these ‘funny moments in bar exam history’ with you. Especially if you’re suffering from bar prep fatigue, these might make you smile. Courtesy of those who’ve gone before you and came out with State Bar recognized answers – despite the bloopers. However, please note we do not recommend trying to be witty on your bar exam answers! We believe these snippets of otherwise good answers were just the unintended result of writing under pressure.
Here are a few of our favorites:
1. It sucks to be Wilbur.
Here we had a fact pattern with an ‘eggshell-skull’ plaintiff, who was knocked down by a slow moving vehicle driven by Wilbur. The plaintiff suffered only a gash on his leg but, because he was a hemophiliac, he bled to death. After concluding Wilbur was liable for wrongful death and in negligence, our writer finishes with: “It sucks to be Wilbur.” (July 2004 Q6, Answer B) Dude, we agree.
2. Tongue twister!
“A long-arm statute is a state statute that states when the state can reach and grab an out-of-state defendant, and force the defendant to defend in the state court.” (July 2012 Q1, Answer B) Wow! That’s quite the- uh, statement.
3. She may lose sex.
In this Loss of Consortium analysis, the writer points out: “She will lose companionship; she will lose his assistance around the house and may have to hire someone to come in and take care of the chores he performed; and she may lose sex.” We don’t know what’s funnier: the fact that the “sex” was last on the list, or that it sounded conspicuously like one of the “chores he performed.” (from July 2004 Q6, Answer B)
4. Don’t go there.
In this writer’s argument for an overly vague statute concerning where minors “traditionally gather,” she curiously asserts: “Other than bars, offices and funeral homes, where don’t minors traditionally gather?” (from Feb 2007 Q5 Answer A)
Have you spotted an essay blooper you’d like to share? Or perhaps you wrote one yourself on a law school essay or past bar exam. Feel free to add to our list by posting yours in the comments below. Happy Studying!
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