advanced exam strategies workshop

8/3/2019 Advanced Exam Strategies Workshop

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Advanced Exam

Strategies:Curing Common Problems on Exams

2L Workshop: Charlotte School of Law Program for Academic Success

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Final Exam.


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Overview: What to Expect 7 major types of exams in law school Top five exam problems

How do you fix the problems


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7 Major Types of Questions Traditional Long Essay Short Answer Question

Policy/History (Wild Horse) Multiple Choice Questions Open Book Exam Take Home/Thesis Practical Exam


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Traditional EssayIn the year 2010, the United States faced a dilemma. Years of malfeasance by banks and loan institutions had created a perfect storm ofeconomic disaster. Bad mortgages tied to other investments had begun to fail at an alarming rate. This triggered a collapse of the stockmarket. Suddenly the United States was looking at an economic disaster at least on par with the Great Depression of the 1930s. As theeconomy plunged, crime rose swiftly. Indeed, most commentators and politicians described the situation as an epidemic of crime. The

unexpected plunge of the stock market seemed to trigger a tremendous amount of violent crime. Looking for a way to stem the tide ofviolent crime, Congress decided that creating a national data bank of fingerprints would make it easier to solve crimes.

Congress reached a consensus that the best way to create a data bank was to require states to fingerprint all applicants for driverslicenses. Additionally, to ensure that fingerprints would be obtained quickly, Congress required each state to have its drivers renewlicenses within the next calendar year. Accordingly, Congress passed the following statute:

After lengthy hearings, the members of Congress have determined that the increase in crime is having such a substantial negative effect oncommerce in the United States that emergency measures are needed. We have also determined that the most effective way in which tocombat this crime and help revive the economy is to create a national database of fingerprints. Accordingly, the following bill shall go intolaw beginning on January 1, 2006:

Crime Prevention Bill 4066Each state shall require the drivers registered within the state to re-register for a new drivers license by January 1, 2012. As part of theregistration process, the state shall take fingerprints of the person registering for the new drivers license. The state shall then forward thefingerprints to the appropriate federal law enforcement authorities. States need not enact any legislation to implement this bill; they needonly instruct the appropriate executives to carry out this directive. In any state that does not implement procedures to effectuate this law, any citizen may bring suit against the Governor in his or her officialcapacity in federal court to compel compliance with this statute. Such citizen shall be entitled to damages of $10,000 and an injunctionshall be entered requiring the state to comply with the statute. Only one award of damages shall be made against any state official,regardless of how many suits shall be filed.

Each state may also choose to create its own database with the fingerprints. In the event that state shall choose to do so, it may designate

which state authority shall keep the database.

Crime Prevention Bill 4066 was passed in each house of Congress unanimously and was eagerly signed by the President. It went intoeffect on January 1, 2006.

Although the bill was passed unanimously, various states reacted differently. The Governor of Texas refused to implement the bill. BillLouden, a citizen of Texas, was aware of the bill. Incensed that the governor was not willing to do her share to combat crime, Loudenbrought suit in federal district court in Dallas, Texas against Governor Francis Lehi.

You are counsel for Governor Lehi. What are the strongest arguments you can make on her behalf? Discuss all possible issues you wouldraise.


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Short AnswerThe Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) creates a federal cause ofaction against any person who commits a crime of violence motivatedby the gender of the victim. In essence, VAWA gives the victim ofsuch crimes a federal civil rights cause of action against theperpetrator. The act was passed pursuant to the Commerce Clauseon findings that violence against women imposes severe andsubstantial economic costs to society including, but not limited to,costs incurred from hospitalization, rehabilitation, and lost productivity.The Senate report accompanying the act specifically found: Gender-based crimes and fear of gender-based crimes restricts movement,reduces employment opportunities, increases health expenditures,and reduces consumer spending, all of which affect interstatecommerce and the national economy. Is VAWA constitutional as an

exercise of commerce power under United States v. LopezandGonzales v. Raich?


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Policy (Wild Horse)You are at your familys tailgate party for the big NASCAR race and

your uncle, Billy Bob, and your mothers first cousin, Tommy

Shane, get into an argument over whether the Constitution shouldbe interpreted as written, i.e., literally, or whether it should be

interpreted based on contemporary standards. Everyone knowsyou just finished Constitutional Law 1 and looks to you to settle thedebate. Discuss the various methods for interpreting theConstitution to help settle the debate so everyone can enjoy therace.


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The Rest of the StoryMultiple Choice Questions: Practice, Practice, Practice Identify, Respond, Eliminate Reading Comprehension:

every word has to be right

Open Book Exam: Dont be lulled into complacency Practice the way you will perform

Turn your book into an exam buster Study like it is closed book Time is not your friend

Practical Exam

Take Home/Thesis

Learn aboutyour professor

Spend time on it Organization is

essential


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Five Prolific Problems Misuse of Facts Faulty Issue Statements

Imprecise Rule Statements Poor Organization Conclusory Analysis


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Misuse of Facts/ Misreading

the QuestionDiagnosis: Making facts up Flat out ignoring facts

Answering a different question than the one asked

Remedy: Reading Comprehension is a big part of succeeding on an

exam

Use your common sense not your imagination

What is the call of the questionof each of the three questions onyour handout?


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Faulty Issue StatementsDiagnosis: Specificity problem: Too general Articulation problem: Imprecise wording of issue statement Identification problem: Issue spotting

Remedy: Specific articulation of the issue is your compass for the

answer Whether [theory or principle] when [facts relevant to

theory]

Issue spotting comes from mastery of the material prior tothe exam


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Faulty Issue StatementsThe issue is whether the bill violates the Commerce Clause.

The issue is whether Congress has exceeded its authority under

the Commerce Clause when the bill is attempting to curb crime.

The issue is whether Congress exceeded its authority under theCommerce Clause which limits legislation to laws whichsubstantially affect interstate commerce by implementing CrimeBill 4066 which requires all citizens to be fingerprinted when theyre-new their drivers licenses in their states of residence.


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Imprecise Rule StatementsDiagnosis: If you have a bad rule statement, youve got nothing

to apply in your analysis. Elements Missing In Action Elements not adequately explained

Remedy: Create your rule statements in advance and memorize

them

Practice with your rule statements prior to the exam to seeif you are missing somethingRemember as you move into constitutional law, criminalprocedure and evidence that your rule statements will getmore complex as well as less element based.


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Commerce Clause

The Commerce Clause is found in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3,of the Constitution and empowers Congress "to regulateCommerce with foreign Nations, and among several States, andwith the Indian Tribes. Commerce can be defined as everyspecies of commercial intercoursewhich concerns more states

than one and is essentially every form of activity involving or

affecting two or more states. Gibbons. To be within Congresspower under the Commerce Clause, a federal law must either: (1)regulate the channels of interstate commerce; (2) regulate theinstrumentalities of interstate commerce; (3) regulate activities thathave a substantial effect on interstate commerce


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Poor Organization

Remedy: Most easily corrected by taking a few minutes to outline prior

to writing Every time you practice, write in one of the formats and

within a time limit

Diagnosis:1. Failure to use IRAC, CREAC, BaRAaC, etc.2. One large paragraph3. Issues start and stop intermittently

Take the time to clean it up!


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Conclusory Analysis

Remedy: #1 most prevalent point stealer (This means that fixing this

common problem can have a huge impact on your grade)

Analytical statements = legal concept + salient fact + reasoning Remember that it is your job to DO something with the facts,not just recite them!

Diagnosis: Typically seen as fact-fact-fact-conclusion Lack of connection between rule and facts Look for absence of because, since, or as.

Too conclusory; analysis needs work; need deeperanalysis


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Issue Rule/Concept Facts ReasoningCrime Bill 4066 isunconstitutional under theCommerce Clause

because

The Bill does not regulatean activity which has asubstantial effect on

interstate commercebecause

The bill requires all driversto be fingerprinted whenthey renew their licenses in

an attempt to reduce crime

Crime Bill 4066 isunconstitutional under theCommerce Clausebecause

The Bill does not regulatean activity which has asubstantial effect oninterstate commercebecause

Under Morrison, individualinstances of crime do nothave a substantial effect oninterstate commercebecause crime is not aneconomic activity andcrime is typically local


The bill requires all driversto be fingerprinted whenthey renew their licenses inan attempt to reduce crimewhen

Under Morrison, individualinstances of crime do nothave a substantial effect oninterstate commercebecause crime is not aneconomic activity andcrime is typically local


The bill requires all driversto be fingerprinted whenthey renew their licenses inan attempt to reduce crime


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Crime Bill 4066 is unconstitutional under theCommerce Clause because the bill does notregulate an activity which substantially affects

interstate commercebecause the bill requires alldrivers to be fingerprinted when they renew theirlicenses in an attempt to reduce crime. UnderMorrison, individual instances of crime do not

have a substantial effect on interstate commercebecause crime is not an economic activity andcrime is typically local and belongs to the state tohandle.

Example of proper legal analysis

for an exam:


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Conclusion: What Happens

Now? Your focus needs to be the exam Practice the way you want to perform Nothing can compensate for failure to master the material

There is still time to fix any one of these problems before finals

Come and see us at CPAS and we can discuss any of theseissues with you!

advanced exam strategies workshop

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