Week Eight, Part 8 - Mock Mid-terms

Five minutes before the start of mock mid-terms at Notre Dame Law School, I’m still in the Kresge Library, cramming for Criminal Procedure. I’ve half-way memorized the holding for each major case, but can’t seem to get all the phrases right. It would be wiser to work through my notes doctrine-by-doctrine, I know, but there isn't time!

Some of the holdings are basic, like Acevedo: “Police may search a closed container located in a car, without a warrant, if probable cause exists to believe it contains contraband.”

Others legal principles are long and meaty. For Terry I memorize: “Where a police officer observes unusual conduct which leads him reasonably to conclude in light of his experience that criminal activity may be afoot and that the persons with whom he is dealing may be armed and presently dangerous, he is entitled for the protection of himself and others in the area to conduct a carefully limited search of the outer clothing of such persons in an attempt to discover weapons which might be used to assault him.”

At 5:59 p.m., I sprint down the stairs to Room 121. The lecture hall is packed. From the podium at the front, I grab four blue books and a packet labeled “Practice Exams.”

Anthony Wisniewski and Todd Wesseler, my study-buddies from Contracts, wave me over. I squeeze into the chair between them.

“You’re late,” Anthony growls. His forehead is moist and both pupils dilated. He mutters profanities under his breath and something about being “intellectually strip-searched for three hours.”

“No reasonable expectation of privacy,” I joke, citing Katz.

“Begin!” calls the proctor.

I read the instructions. We must complete four exams in three hours. That gives us 45 minutes apiece. When we take the graded exam in December, the length of each test will be extended to three hours.

Next I skim the questions from Professors Dutile, Kaveny, Bauer, and Rice. Each is a long fact-pattern full of multiple characters and unusual events.

The Torts exam begins: “Able, a student at Baker Storm Door Company and Dental School, drives from his apartment to the school on October 15th. The school was located on the main street of Carriesville, of which city Delta was the mayor. Delta’s uncle, Easy, had been a dentist until his sudden death.”

I search out the intentional torts as best I can and match the facts to the legal elements. Milk it! Rice requires that we limit our answers to three pages. “Any excess will not be read and will not count in your favor.”

After 45 minutes, I move on to Crim. The question is a 4th Amendment search-and-seizure issue. “On July 1 in Sanford, Maine, Police Officer Fred Foley received an anonymous telephone call. The caller alleged that Bill Brown, a local banker, always carried a concealed and illegal gun.”

On a scratch sheet, I jot down my 17 case names and holdings. I search for legal issues in the fact pattern. For each one I spot, I give a short context, state the rule of law, apply it, then draw a conclusion. As the Irish say, it's great CRAC.

Crim takes me an hour and a half before I finish – twice the allotted time. Still I’m pleased. In front of me is a bluebook full of 4th Amendment law, a subject about which I knew nothing eight weeks ago.

For the last 45 minutes I work on Contracts. Open book, open note. It’s beautiful.

The first graph of the mock exam reads: “George had roto-tilled his lawn, readying it for some sorely needed seeding. Unfortunately, he injured his back and was not able to seed the lawn himself. Time was of the essence because it was getting hot. George asked his neighbor, Gracie, for help. She agreed to help, worked for three days, and completed the job. Nothing was said at the time about payment. Months later, while admiring the lawn, George told Gracie that it was time for him to ‘settle up’ with her. He asked her how much he owed her and, after protestations, she replied that $250 would be fine. Later, George refused to pay anything.”

I hone in on the “functional reasons for legal formalities.” A written contract in this situation, I write, would have provided evidence of the agreement between George and Gracie. It would have acted as a deterrent against inconsiderate action. And it would have channeled economic or sentimental objectives into defined and recognizable channels.

Wonder what that means, I think to myself.

At 9:00 p.m., I put down my pen. Whew! I turn in bluebooks for Torts, Crim, and Contracts.

Downstairs to the student lounge, 1Ls are grinning and giving each other high fives. Guys and girls who for eight weeks barely made eye contact are huggin’ like long-lost relatives. Fall break starts tomorrow! No Socratic. No fact patterns. No casebooks.

I see Anthony by the door. He wonders whether I’m going to Senior Bar.

“Naw.”

“Come on! Everyone’s going. It’s the great law school hook-up.”

“Nope. Gotta get home,” I say. “Haven’t seen my wife since the week started.”

He asks what I thought about the test.

“Didn’t get to CivPro, but other than that, okay.

He nods. “Three out of four isn't bad. Some people just did one and left.”

I ask how he found the exams.

“Not as hard as I expected,” he says. “Mostly it feels good to know I won't flunk out.”

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