Deciding Between Two Close Answers

MBE StrategiesWhen you are deciding between two answers that are similarly worded, always ask yourself HOW is this answer different from that one? What is it doing that the other one isn’t? Does one fit “inside” the other? If they are clearly different, ask yourself which comes first. For example, in criminal procedure Probable Cause comes BEFORE Exigent Circumstances. If there’s no Probable Cause, exigency is irrelevant. Likewise, an Expectation of Privacy comes BEFORE an Unreasonable Search. If there is no Expectation of Privacy, the search, no matter how conducted, cannot be unreasonable. In contracts, Contract Formation comes BEFORE Breach. If there was no Formation, there can be no Breach. In Negligence, Duty comes BEFORE Causation – if there’s no duty, causation is irrelevant. Look for their relationship to each other and it can become more clear which is the better answer.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *