Criminal Law @ Moritz College of Law

Most recent exams for practicing as we get close to finish line

You all will be done with exams in just a matter of hours now, but there is always time for more old exams for practice.  I promised to put up a couple more, and hear are my latest two:

From 2 years ago: Download Berman 2021 Crim final exam

From last year: Download Berman 2022 Crim final exam

Review, review, review ... Tuesday, Wedensday, Thursday at 2pm

I have not heard any complaints about my review session plans, and so I am still planning to have (entirely optional) review sessions in the early afternoons this week, Tuesday to Thursday (December 12 to 14).

As I mentioned in class, I do not make any presentation during these sessions, I just make myself available to answer questions (often at great length).  We can plan to meet at 2pm in our usual classroom (though if there are exam-takers in our usual room, we should move to an open room nearby).

 

UPDATE:  And for those Zoom interested, there is a new Zoom link on Carmen for joining the review sessions remotely (in the Announcement section).  I am also recording these sessions and will have the videos on Carmen as well (located where the class recordings are, under Modules).

 

 

Fifteen, Ten, Five ... so many years ago for these exams

You take a deep breath and think about taking a practice exam.  It's your 1L year and you're gonna do great since you have come to the right place for Berman's practice exams.  I previously blogged with a link to a (lucky?) seven past exams here.  Now, you can count to ten and take it in with links to three more past exams in a sequence of fives:

From 15 years ago: Download 2008 Final Crim Law exam

From 10 years ago: Download Berman 2013 Crim Law final

From 5 years ago: Download 2018 Final Crim Law Exam

Mapping out final class plans (and tentative review session plans)

I hope everyone has been having a relaxing holiday weekend, and I am eager to try to avoid adding to the stresses of the end of classes and the start of exam period.  To that end, I want to remind everyone what to expect in the coming weeks:

Class plans:

We finish our official class sessions in this coming week, and we will finish up our substantive review of attribution doctrines with a quick tour of complicity and conspiracy on Monday and Tuesday.  If you have read, thoroughly and carefully, the Ochoa case in our text, you will be well prepared for our class discussions.

We will not have class on Wednesday.

Our final class on Thursday will involve completing evaluations as well as discussing some broad themes of the class and what you should expect on the final exam.  If time permits, I am also happy to conduct an "open" review sessions to answer any questions you might have about course materials.

 

Review session plans:

I am tentatively planning to have (entirely optional) review sessions in the days leading up to our exam.  Specifically, I will plan to be in our classroom to answer questions during the early afternoons (say 2pm) Tuesday to Thursday (December 12 to 14).  These dates and times and the location are entirely flexible, and I am eager to hear any suggestions for other times that will be helpful to you in the coming weeks.

Prior posts with older law movie recommendations (and some old exams)

I am planning to use the Thanksgiving break to eat too much and catch up on rest (and watch football) and spend time with family (and watch football) and play some board games and watch some movies (and football).  In some prior pre-turkey day posts, I have flagged some of my favorite law-related movies:

• 12 Angry Men (1957)
• Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
• The Fortune Cookie (1966)
• A Few Good Men (1992)
• My Cousin Vinny (1992)
• The Firm (1993)
• Primal Fear (1996)
• The Devil's Advocate (1997)
• Michael Clayton (2007)
• Just Mercy (2019)

Though most of these movies were made before most of you were born (and a couple are even before I was born), these all still hold up pretty well.  (I have left out law school classics like the The Paper Chase (1973) and Legally Blonde (2001) because you all have plenty of law school without needing to watch movies about it.)

Though I think rest and movie watching should take priority over work during the break, I figure I should elevate here some links to some of my old exams for those starting to focus on post-break realities.   This old post from almost exactly a decade ago has links to seven old exams.  That's way more than anyone should review anytime soon, but be sure to let me know if you have any problem accessing any of these old materials. 

Raw scores for 2023 midterm exam now posted on Carmen under Files

I have now posted, to the Files folder on our Carmen class site, the raw scores for the midterm exam administered earlier this month (in a single page PDF).

I have already discussed a bit what (little) these raw scores mean during our class last week, but I am happy to answer any additional general questions in class.  I will also plan to soon have official times for optional one-on-one conferences for any and all students who may want to meet to discuss their performance or who may have specific questions about this midterm and/or law school exams more generally.

As I have been seeking to stress in class, this midterm is quite intentionally designed as a learning experience and the raw score results are part of the learning process.  I will be eager to continue to advance that learning via one-on-one or group discussions in the weeks ahead.

Practice materials with old practice midterm and a could of real midterms

As I briefly mentioned in class, the midterm is really supposed to be almost like a practice test, and so I do not recommend that you spend too much time practicing for it. But, if you do want to experience a true practice exam, you can find it available here on-line via an old blog posting.

Whenever I have taught a section of Criminal Law that does not have an actual mid-term, I have encouraged students to review using this practice exam AND I have follow-up materials available here on-line via another old blog posting.

Review mens rea issues with my very first exam question (given 26 years ago)!

This week we will wrap up our mens rea unit, and in a few weeks I will be giving you a (small and friendly) mid-term exam that will surely cover some mens rea issues.  As a tool for review and to reveal a common structure for my exam questions, below you can find the full text of a question I asked students on the very first final exam that I gave the very first time I taught Criminal Law at OSU (way back in 1997(!), before we were even the Moritz College of Law):

Oliwood Criminal Code § 555.21. No person shall sell beer or any other intoxicating liquor to any person under 21 years of age.  Violators of this statute, upon a first offense, shall be fined not more than $1000, and/or be required to do not more than 50 hours of community service.

Joseph Merchant, who operates a liquor store near the local university, has a reputation for selling alcohol to underage persons.  Beau Younger, a large and mature looking 19-year-old student at Oliwood State, enters Merchant’s store seeking a bottle of rum. Based on Younger’s appearance, Merchant believes that Younger is in his mid 20s. But, knowing that the police are watching his every move, Merchant asks Younger for some identification. Younger reacts by shouting, “Damn, I’m 25 years old, and I’m sick and tired of getting carded.  You just better give me the booze or else I may have to rough you and this joint up.”  Not wanting any trouble, Merchant sells Younger the rum.  The police find out Younger’s true age as he leaves the store, and they arrest Merchant for violating Oliwood Criminal Code § 555.21.

Joseph Merchant has retained you to defend him. Prepare a brief memorandum discussing and assessing the issues you expect to raise in your defense of Mr. Merchant.

I do not plan to discuss this question in class, though I will be happy to do so (next week) if there is student interest in using class time to go over this question.

NEW ZOOM LINK FOR ALL OUR REVIEW SESSIONS!!

I am still planning to conduct (entirely optional) review sessions in the days leading up to our exam.  Specifically, I plan to be on Zoom to answer questions in two weekend sessions: 

Saturday, December 17, starting at 1:30pm

Sunday, December 18, starting at 11:30am

In addition, I will plan to conduct an in-person review session in our usual classroom (which will also be Zoomed): 

Monday, December 19, starting at 11am.

I will also plan to record/post these review sessions, AND I have created a new zoom link for our review sessions in order to ensure I can make a recording and post it on Carmen after each of our planned review sessions.

I have posted the new Zoom link on under Announcements Carmen and will also plan to send it to the whole class via email on Saturday morning (I do not want to post it here and risk bombing).  Feel free to email me if you cannot find the new link.

Last year's final exam and links to many more

As I have suggested in various ways at various times, reviewing my old exams can be an effective way to prepare for my new final.  As some of you may now, the easiest way to find my old finals is by scrolling down posts at the Preparing for the final category archive.  (Or, perhaps even easier is to jumpt to the December 2021 archive.)  I am pretty sure you can find nearly all my old exams via links in prior posts via the archives.

The only prior final exam not already on this site is my Fall 2021 exam.  So here it is:

Download Berman 2021 Crim final exam

Please let me know, via the comments here or email, if you have any problems accessing this old exam or any of the older ones.  And if I can do anything more to help as your work through this finals Fall, please feel free to reach out.

Mapping out review session plans for days before our exam

As mentioned in class, I am tentatively planning to have (entirely optional) review sessions in the days leading up to our exam. Specifically, I plan to be on Zoom to answer questions in two weekend sessions: 

Saturday, December 17, starting at 1:30pm

Sunday, December 18, starting at 11:30am

In addition, I will plan to conduct an in-person review session in our regulat classroom on Monday, December 19, starting around 11am.

I will assume these times are workable unless and until otherwise from folks with suggestions for better times.

Raw scores and scoresheet/grading grid for 2022 midterm exam now posted on Carmen under Files

I have now posted, to the Files folder on our Carmen class site, the raw scores for the midterm exam administered earlier this month (in a single page PDF).  I have also posted, as a separate pdf, my scoresheet/grading grid that I used for calculating raw scores.

I have already discussed a bit whet these raw scores mean during our class this week, but I am happy to answer any additional general questions in class and I will also plan to have time after class for conferences for any and all students who may want to meet to discuss their performance or who may have specific questions about this midterm and/or law school exams more generally.

As I have been seeking to stress in class, this midterm is quite intentionally designed as a learning experience and the raw score results are part of the learning process.  I will be eager to continue to advance that learning via one-on-one or group discussions in the weeks ahead.

For your review and preparation (and enjoyment?): prior mid-terms and exam prep materials

To help you prepare for the coming mid-term (on Wednesday, Oct 12), I am happy to provide prior exams and other exam prep materials.  To start, I will post here the mid-term exam I gave students in this class last Fall, as well as a "practice" mid-term that I typically offer when I teach a large-section class (and associated follow-up materials).

Download Berman Crim Law midterm for 2021

Download practice_exam.rtf

Download key_issues_on_practice_exam.rtf

Download exam_tips_memo.rtf

I think this is (more than) enough material for helping you prepare for the mid-term (which is supposed to be a relatively low-key event).  But you can find more old exams in the archives if you are a glutton for exam punishment.

NEW ZOOM LINK FOR REVIEW SESSIONS!!

A number of folks have inquired about recording our review sessions, which led me to realize that we could still zoom meet using our "old" class link, but I was not 100% sure I would still able able to zoom record at that link.  So I have created a new zoom link for our review sessions in order to ensure I can make a recording and post it on Carmen after each of our planned review sessions.

I have posted the new Zoom link on under Announcements Carmen and will send it to the whole class via email (I do not want to post it here and risk bombing).  Feel free to email me if you cannot find the new link.

In case you want easy access to ever more old exams...

here are some more links to prior posts providing downloadable copies of my exams from:

• 2013

• 2014 and 2016 and 2017

And remember, our scheduled review sessions start which me available to answer questions in person at our usual room on Thursday, December 16 at 1:30pm and Friday, December 17 at 11:00am.

Congrats on being ever so close to officially finishing your first semester of law school!

Old exams from the "Eights"

I think the only two past exams of mine that do not already appear somewhere in the archives of this blog are from Fall 2008 and Fall 2018.  So:

Download 2008 Final Crim Law exam

Download 2018 Final Crim Law Exam

Mapping out review session plans for Thursday (12/16), Friday (12/17) and Sunday (12/19)

As mentioned in class, I am tentatively planning to have (entirely optional) review sessions in the days leading up to our exam. Specifically, I plan to be at the law school and will head to our usual room to answer questions for as long as possible/needed on:

Thursday, December 16, starting at 1:30pm

Friday, December 17, starting at 11:00am

In addition, I will be willing to also have a Zoom review session on Sunday, December 19, starting around 12noon. I am assuming these times are good unless and until otherwise from folks. 

Linking to a bunch of older exams in this new post

As I have suggested in various ways at various times, reviewing my old exams can be an effective way to prepare for a new final. To help toward that end, here I can link to prior posts where you can download a number of my oldest exams:

• 1997 and 1998 exams

• 1999 and 2003 exams

• 2000 and 2001 exams

• 2010 exam

After you get a chance to look through these (lucky?) seven prior exams, I will plan to post a few more.  And if you have any problem accessing any of these exams, please let me know.

Raw scores for midterm exam now posted on Carmen under Files

I have now posted, to the Files folder on our Carmen class site, the raw scores for the midterm exam administered earlier this month (in a single page PDF). 

I plan to discuss what these raw scores mean during our class this coming week, and I will also discuss plans for setting up conferences for any and all students who may want to meet to discuss their performance or who may have questions about this midterm and/or law school exams more generally.

As I will stress in class, this midterm is quite intentionally designed as a learning experience and the raw score results are part of the learning process.  I will be eager to continue to advance that learning via one-on-one or group discussions in the weeks ahead.

Simpsons hypo (aka RIP Rod and Todd Flanders) for considering unintended homicides

I mentioned in class a Simpson's hypo for your consideration if you want a fact pattern to use to explore the various ways that various jurisdictions approach unintended homicide charges. Here it is, with helpful links to the Simpson's wiki:

Mr. Burns, that rich old codger, is having a problem with birds on his country estate.  Bart Simpson built a tree house on the property when he was ward of Mr. Burns, and Bart recently left open a huge vat of Marge’s home-made peanut butter.  (Bart had to take it to the tree house to keep Homer from eating all of it himself.)  Smelling the peanut butter, birds from all over Springfield have invaded Burns’ property.

Burns tells his willing servant Waylon Smithers to get one of his antique flare guns and start firing shots into the tree around the tree house to scare all the birds away.  Burns urges Smithers to be sure to check whether anyone is in the area; Burns knows kids still like to use the tree house, even though Burns had his staff put up a sign stating that kids playing in the tree house would be prosecuted for trespassing.

Eager to do Burns' bidding and to shoo the birds away quickly, Smithers only calls out -- "Hello, can anyone hear me?" -- in any effort to determine if anyone is in the tree house.  Smithers does not directly check to make sure no kids are in the tree house beyond repeatedly calling out.  After calling out a few times, he gets no response (though the woods are noisy).  Smithers decides that he has done enough given that he does not plan to shoot directly at the tree house.  He then takes aim at branches nearby the tree house and starts firing.

Sadly, it turns out that Rod Flanders and Todd Flanders, devout children of the Simpsons' devout neighbor, were in the tree house praying because they thought being high off the ground brought them closer to their lord.  (The Flanders sincerely thought that praying, rather than playing, in the tree house was perfectly fine.  The kids had heard Smithers call out each time, but they thought it was the lord speaking to them.)  Tragically, the third shot from the antique flare-gun fired off line and into the tree house. 

The third flare shot by Smithers which entered the tree house struck Rod Flanders directly in the chest.  Todd Flanders discovered that his older brother Rod has been killed instantly by the flare; distraught, he jumps out the tree house window to his death.

Smithers turns himself in, and now you are the prosecutor trying to decide whether he might be guilty of some form of homicide in Washington (at the time of Williams); in Massachusetts (at the time of Welansky), in Oliwood under the MPC; and in Ohio now.

Test yourself on mens rea issues with the help of a question from my first exam (given 24 years ago)!

Below you will find the full text of one of the questions I asked students on the very first exam I gave the very first time I taught our class (way back in 1997):

Oliwood Criminal Code § 555.21. No person shall sell beer or any other intoxicating liquor to any person under 21 years of age.  Violators of this statute, upon a first offense, shall be fined not more than $1000, and/or be required to do not more than 50 hours of community service.

Joseph Merchant, who operates a liquor store near the local university, has a reputation for selling alcohol to underage persons.  Beau Younger, a large and mature looking 19-year-old student at Oliwood State, enters Merchant’s store seeking a bottle of rum.  Based on Younger’s appearance, Merchant believes that Younger is in his mid 20s.  But, knowing that the police are watching his every move, Merchant asks Younger for some identification.  Younger reacts by shouting, “Damn, I’m 25 years old, and I’m sick and tired of getting carded.  You just better give me the booze or else I may have to rough you and this joint up.”  Not wanting any trouble, Merchant sells Younger the rum.  The police find out Younger’s true age as he leaves the store, and they arrest Merchant for violating Oliwood Criminal Code § 555.21.

Joseph Merchant has retained you to defend him.  Prepare a brief memorandum discussing and assessing the issues you expect to raise in your defense of Mr. Merchant.

I do not plan to discuss this question in class, though I will be happy to do so if there is student interest in using class time to go over this question.

A few more (not-so-old) exams for your review

As promised, here are a few more of my old exams, and these are ones that are not so old.  As always, let me know if you have any difficulties accessing any of these materials:

Download Berman 2014 Crim Law Final

UPDATE:  I think I may have mistakenly posted only an incomplete draft version of the 2017 exam.  Here is the full exam:

Download Berman 2017 Final Exam full

And, if you are gluttons for punishment, here now also is my 2016 final:

Download 2016 Crim Law final

Rounding up old exams already on the blog, with more to come

I have mentioned that one can find a number of my old exams already posted in the archives of this blog.  But, to make everyone's life a bit easier, I have rounded up a bunch (but not all) of these old exams here.  Let me know if you have difficulty downloading what appears below (and in coming posts I will upload some newer exams)

Download Berman 2013 Crim Law final

Download 2010 Crim Law final

Download Final 2003 Crim Law exam

Download 2001 Final Exam

Download 1998 Final Exam

Download 97 Final Exam

Providing link to practice exam and outline of key issues and exam tips

I realized today that I have been remiss in not elevating to the top of the blog the practice exam offered in class a few weeks ago.  For those who have not yet done the practice exam (or want to relive the experience), I am making it available here on-line (and continue to encourage folks to use it as for an exam-taking simulation):

Download practice_exam.rtf

I am now also posting general feedback in the form of an outline of key issues on the exam and basic law school test-taking tips:

Download key_issues_on_practice_exam.rtf

Download exam_tips_memo.rtf

Current plans for review sessions

As I have mentioned in class, my "scheduled" review sessions are designed to provide a designated time and place for students to gather in order to ask me questions about course materials, doctrines or past exams (many of which can be found at links here and here).

As of this writing, I am still committed to scheduled reviews session on:

• Monday Dec 11 at 3pm
• Wednesday Dec 13 at 11am

Interesting local verdict in case that reads like an exam question

Though we are moving on from our self-defense discussions to other defenses, I think it useful to know and notice that defensive use of force is the most widely invoked and widely litigated of all the classic basic criminal law.  As but one example of its importance, today on the CrimLaw professor list-serve there has been an (academic?) accounting of whether and how, under Texas law, it would be defensible for citizens in Texas to have been trying to kill the mass church shooter once he was in his car and fleeing the scene.

As another more local example of self-defense doctrines in action, consider this Columbus Dispatch article in today's paper.  The article is headlined "Jury acquits man in fatal shooting during street brawl," and here are the details:

Earl M. Lindsey testified that he feared for his life when an unarmed man threw a punch at him and a large group of people, some with guns, surrounded him in a South Side intersection.

So, Lindsey said, he pulled a handgun and fired a single shot into Rashawn M. Wilson’s chest. Wilson, 18, died six days later. “I didn’t have any other option,” Lindsey told a Franklin County jury last week.

On Monday, the jury acquitted him of murder, determining that he acted in self-defense.

Wilson’s mother responded to the verdict by cursing at Lindsey after the jurors had been excused. “You put a bullet in my son,” she shouted as deputies hustled her from the courtroom.

Lindsey testified last week that he saw at least three people with guns and heard two gunshots as a crowd converged on him during a street brawl at the intersection of East Gates and Ann streets on May 23, 2016. Wilson “swung on me,” Lindsey said, but he never saw a gun in Wilson’s hands.

To shoot Wilson under those circumstances was “extreme, unnecessary and unjustified,” Assistant Prosecutor Mark Wodarcyk told the jury Monday in his closing argument. “At most, Rashawn was going to engage in a fist fight.”

Seconds after Lindsey shot Wilson, a neighbor fired at Lindsey from a nearby front porch, striking Lindsey in the side of the neck. The bullet remains lodged near Lindsey’s spine and left him with some paralysis. He wasn’t able to fully lift his right hand when he was sworn in before testifying.

The neighbor, Aaron Mahan, wasn’t part of the confrontation in the street. He testified that he fired when Lindsey pointed the gun in his direction after shooting Wilson. “I shot the guy who shot the kid,” he said.

Mahan, who said he is a concealed-carry instructor, was not charged in the case.

Testimony established that the fatal encounter began with a fist fight among several young women. Lindsey said he was trying to separate the combatants when a large group of people, some with guns, began to close in on him. Wodarcyk called it “a simple neighborhood fight” and said Lindsey “decided to put himself in the middle of it with a loaded handgun.”

Defense attorney Byron Potts argued to the jury that Lindsey was justified in using deadly force because he was surrounded by a large crowd that included “multiple people with guns.”

Based on this description of the case, is anyone surprised that Earl Lindsey was acquitted here in Ohio. If the case was tried in Oliwood, do you think the outcome might have possibly been different?

Also, is anyone surprised or troubled that neighbor Aaron Mahan was not charged with any crime?

Providing link to proctice exam and outline of key issues and exam tips

As of this writing, everyone has had a number of chance to do the practice exam under simulated exam conditions.  For those who have not yet done the practice exam (or want to relive the experience), I am making it available here on-line (and continue to encourage folks to use it as for an exam-taking simulation):

Download practice_exam.rtf

And with everyone having now had a good chance to work on the practice exam, I am now also reposting general feedback in the form of an outline of key issues on the exam and basic law school test-taking tips:

Download key_issues_on_practice_exam.rtf

Download exam_tips_memo.rtf

Another old exam for those who are gluttons for my flights of first-year exam fancy

Nice to see so many of you working so hard and well at the Thursday review session.  Another session will be taking place at 11am on Friday (12/9) and the last review session will be at 4:30pm on Sunday (12/11).  If you are looking for new "old" exams of mine to review, here is the crazy one I delivered in 2013:

Download Berman 2013 Crim Law final

Planning review sessions ... NOW including on Sunday afternoon

As I mentioned in class, my "scheduled" review sessions are designed only to provide a designated time and place for students to gather in order to ask me questions about course materials, doctrines or past exams (many of which can be found via this link).

As of this writing, I am thinking about having one scheduled review session on Thursday Dec 8 at 4pm, and another one on Friday Dec 9 at 11am.  I will also consider doing a session at sometime on Sunday Dec 11 if you clamor for such a session.

UPDATE:  I have now officially wrangled the time on Sunday, Dec 11 from 4:30pm to 6pm (and only that time) for one final review session.

 

Starting our grinding over self-defense doctrines and midterm review

I had grand plans to get our review of the "classic" criminal law defense of self-defense off to a flying start during Monday afternoon's class, and I also had expected to start reviewing mid-term efforts with students right after class.  But, as you all likely now know, a troubled (and now deceased) young man decided to disrupt all OSU campus plans for this afternoon.

So I have taken to this space to get the grind going in the following ways:

1. Background/grinding on Ohio self-defense law:  Almost exactly 40 years ago, Ohio's procedures for applying self-defense doctrines were contested all the way up to the US Supreme Court. I have never made the SCOTUS ruling in Martin v. Ohio a required part of the course materials, but I think folks might now find it interesting to read and reflect on the ruling in Martin v. Ohio, 480 U.S. 228 (1987), available here and/or here and/or via Westlaw/Lexis.

2.  Background/grinding on mid-term review: I have now taken the time to divide up the mid-term data into what I consider helpful quartiles to produce this accounting:

                     Top 25%         Mid 50%            Bottom 25%

WORDS        > 1650          1001-1650          < 1000

PART A        46 or more          39-45         38 or less

PART B        18 or more          14-17         13 or less

Though much too crude, I think these quartiles provide a useful rough guide to how your first exam taking experience went.  If you are on the top 25% on a question, then generally speaking you are doing the kind of work needed to secure an A.  If you are in the mid 50%, then you are still doing well and need not worry about "bombing."  If you are in the bottom 25%, you should try to figure out "what went wrong" so that you can do better the next time.

I will readily/eagerly/happily be available from 12noon to 5pm on Tuesday and from 3pm to 5:30pm on Wednesday and from 2:30pm to 5pm on Thursday to go over the exam with individual students.  I would be grateful if a couple of folks or groups come to see me at the same time so I need not repeat my general advice/feedback over and over again (and I am pleased a pair of students have already "booked" an appointment for 12noon on Tuesday).

Please use the comments to sign up for meetings in 30 minute blocks in the windows of time indicated above.  Thanks!

If you have any pre-midterm questions...

ask your classmates, and if they do not have a ready answer, just relax about it.  

But if you cannot relax, and think I can help, ask the question in the comments here and I will try to respond so all can see/hear.

UPDATE:  I just saw this good question in a prior thread:

Student Q: "Professor Berman, when using rules from the MPC/ORC to answer the exam questions, do we need to specifically cite which section of the MPC/ORC the rule is coming from?"

Berman A: There is need to cite to a precise/specific code provision if you can make the substantive point effectively without doing so, but you may often find it more efficient to be able to cite to a specific code section rather than to have to explain the point you want to make in extended prose.

 

Prior posts with prior real and practice mid-term exams

Happy exciting October ... which is made even more exciting because a week from today you will all get the opportunity to get your first law school exam behind you.  Though I suspect many may fall prey to the common tendency to prepare too much rather than too little for the (not-all-that-important) mid-term, I also suspect my tendency to write exam questions that are crazy hard will tend to aggravate that common student tendency.

These concerns aside, and with the prior warning that all the prior exams you find are crazy hard, here are links to prior posts in which you can find links to prior mid-term exams.  Specifically, the first two links below are to the "practice" mid-term that I still offer when teaching a large-section class (and associated follow-up materials), and the other links provide through prior posts access to the actual mid-terms that I administered in 2013 and 2014:

Reflections on the practice exam experience

Practice exam feedback materials

For your review and enjoyment... my (too long) 2013 Crim Law mid-term

Materials and times for [2014] midterm review

Review session plans for Thursday (12/11) and Saturday (12/13)

As mentioned in class, I will plan to conduct (entirely optional) review sessions in the days leading up to our exam.  Specifically, I plan to be at the law school and will head to our usual room to answer questions for as long as possible/needed on:

• Thursday, December 11, starting at 10:30am
• Saturday, December 13, starting at 12:30pm

On Thursday, I will have to leave by around 12:45pm to catch a flight, and on Saturday I will have to leave by around 4:30pm to pick up my daughter from a rehearsal.  But, save for those restrictions, my time is yours for any and all types of review students request.

Links to a bunch of my old exams

As I have suggested to various folks at various times, reviewing my old exams is an effective and important way to prepare for my final. To help toward that end, here I will now post links to prior posts where you can download many of my old exams:

• 1997 and 1998 exams

• 1999 and 2003 exams

• 2001 and 2002 exams

• 2010 exam

After you all get a chance to look through all (lucky?) seven of these prior exams, I may post a few more.

Materials and times for midterm review

As long promised and now finally delivered, here are available for download both the Crim Law 2014 midterm and the grading grid I used when reviewing/scoring answers:

Download Berman full mid-term for 2014 crim law

Download Basic 2014 mid-term exam scoresheet

Also, I will be available to review student performances one-on-one at the following times throughout this week and next week:

Wednesday 11/19: From 4:30pm to 6:00pm

Thursday 11/20: From 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Friday 11/21: From 3:00pm to 5:30pm

Monday 11/24: From 3:00pm to 5:30pm

 

UPDATE on MEETING TIMES AS OF 11/19 at 3pm:

11/19:  Still open

11/20:  Valerie J at 4pm, Holly C at 4:30; Neil S at 5

11/21:  Sasa T at 3pm;  Robert Y at 3:30; Devin S at 4; Abi W at 4:30

11/24:  Madison T at 3pm; Madison G at 3:30

I can/will make more review times available as needed and able...

 

ANOTHER UPDATE on MEETING TIMES AS OF 11/20 at 9am:

If those with scheduled times can send me their exam numbers AHEAD of the meeting time so I can prepare for the meeting, I ought to be able to complete most review meetings in 15 minutes.  So those eager to still get fit but not yet on the schedule might usefully send me their exam number AND hang around during meeting times to get in the mix.

Any lingering concerns or questions (other than grades) with respect to mid-term?

I just wanted to create this space for any enduring question on concerns regarding the mid-term exam.  For a host of reasons, process questions would be easier to answer than substance questions.  But I remain eager to continue the learning from an experience intended to be high-learning, low-stress (to the extent possible).  

I sincerely hope that, with the exam now in the rear-view mirror, everyone is now looking forward and gearing up for a lot of exciting homicide discussions over the next few weeks.  Though I love all parts of the course, I think the next 3-4 weeks are among the most dynamic, engaging and real-world exciting of the entire semester.

For your review and enjoyment... my (too long) 2013 Crim Law mid-term

In an effort to make up for messing up in Monday's class, I will post now the mid-term exam I gave students in this class in Fall 2013.  I think the exam was way too long and probably too hard, but that is my (problematic) tendency with most of the exams I write.  So, with that warning:

Download Berman full mid-term for 2013 crim law

 

How about having the mid-term sometime on Friday, October 17?

I would be able/eager to offer the mid-term on either the morning or afternoon of October 17, and the class that day would have an extra focus on the exam (either as prep or as immediate review).

In addition to urging folks to weigh in on that particular date, if it sounds to you like a good date please also in the comments indicate whether you would prefer the exam to be in the morning or afternoon. 

Relaxation, celebration and reasons to feel lucky Berman Crim Law 2013 is over

If memory serves, I believe 1Ls finish up their second exam today, and I want to encourage everyone to take a deep breath after the exam and enjoy a well-deserved afternoon of relaxation.  No matter how much you feel you need to do to study for your final exam next week, taking at least a few well-earned hours off to recharge your batteries is always a wise and sensible exam-time strategy.

I will be in my office at Moritz after about 3pm this afternoon, and I would be happy and eager to celebrate (and toast) your achievements so far.  In fact, because I have lots of (non-pressing) work to do, I could be readily lured away from my office to cover a round of celebratory drinks just about anytime late Friday afternoon.

Last but not least, and to have a little fun with a Daft Punk lyric, even if you have been up all night 'til the sun, and up all night to study some, you should feel you've gotten lucky that my exam is already over.  That is because, if my exam was still on tap, I would have a really hard time resisting adding a question concerning some of the amazing real-world crim law stories from this week covered on my other blog in these posts:

• Texas tough means probation for teen who killed four and injured more while drunk driving?

• Killer bride in Montana takes a plea deal to second-degree murder just before jury gets case

• How can and should Ohio's justice system deal with merciful elderly aggravated murderer?

Especially because I hear some students are eager to pursue the idea of a Cordle-inspired e-book, the first story linked above provides a sad and useful reminder that issues relating to the the appropriate prosecution and punishment for deadly drunk drivers are sure to be timely for many years to come.

Final review session at 12 noon on Sunday ... UPDATE: I will now be in closer to 12:30pm or later...

By popular demand, I will come in to Moritz and be in our usual room at noon to go over whatever students want help going over.

UPDATE:  A wife with a bad cold is slowing me down this Sunday morning... I am sick from the OSU game last night, but she is truly sick.  As a result, I probably will not make it in to our usual locale until around 12:30pm or maybe even a bit later.  

Sorry for the slight delay....

My 2010 Crim law exam and links to some of those which came before

As promised, I am now posting here a copy of the last Crim Law exam I gave (from 2010). 

Download 2010 Crim Law final

And you can get all my other old exam via these prior posts:

• 1997 and 1998 exams
• 2001 and 2002 exams
• 1999 and 2003 exams

If you all get through all (lucky?) seven of these prior exams, I can post a few more.  But remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint!

All the raw scores and data analysis from mid-terms in one spreadsheet

Thanks to the wonderful and efficient and spreadsheet savvy Mrs. Berman, I can now post (two days before promised) all the raws scores and other metrics following my review of all your mid-term efforts.  You should give all thanks to my better half for helping me make this information available ASAP in this form, you should give all curses and questions to me about the substantive or procedural particulars.

Download Berman Criminal Law mid-term metrics

Plans for big transitions and activities in days and weeks ahead

In part because it seem there are few remaining burning questions about homicide issues (at least few noted in response to this post) and in part because we have lots of exciting topics to get to ASAP, I am expecting and hoping everyone is rested and ready to roll on our next set of topics.  And, of critical importance for those who have not yet been involved in a role-play, we are due to have one exciting legislative experience this Friday and another one (or maybe even two, if needed) tentatively slated for just before Thanksgiving.

Here are a few (tentative) basics about the coming schedule and role-plays so you can plan accordingly and effectively, both to ensure you are keeping up with the reading and being involved in at least one role-play (which is a requirement to complete the course successfully):

Week of 10/28:  Broad discussion of past, present, future of modern rape law, ending with legislative role-play on Friday (11/1). 

Weeks of 11/4 and 11/11: Focused discussion of defenses, with special attention on self-defense and contrasts between MPC and Ohio approaches to defenses.  This unit ends with lawyering role-play involving representation of modern-day Tom Dudley.

Weeks of 11/18 and beyond:  Attempt and complicity materials, including a lawyering role-play (if needed) involving representation of persons accused of being accomplices in a rape.

Any lingering/burning questions about homicide (e.g., how would Joe Shooter be prosecuted)?

Especially because lots of additional doctrines and ideas are going to come at you fast over the next few weeks, right now would be an especially good time to review the doctrines and lessons of the homicide unit that has occupied our energies over the last few weeks.  Folks with any burning questions or concerns can bring them up in the comments to this post (or, of course, contact me in person).

Among the ways students might very usefully review this until would be to go back to the Joe Shooter facts and imagine how they would respond to those facts on an exam if I were to ask what possible charges might be brought against Shooter by an Ohio and/or Oliwood prosecutor and what challenges would such a prosecutor face in making various charges "stick."

Should there be special trial rules for the death penalty? Why?

As we continue to discuss and debate how criminal trial procedures might be structured if and when a society decides that accuracy should be the primary goal and principal value, consider whether and why the availability for a certain type of punishment (e.g., the death penalty or LWOP) should impact the way procedures are structured.  The US reality, as I explain in detail in my upper-level sentencing course, is that trial procedures are a lot different in most states when a case involves a possible death sentence. 

Helpfully, we can draw insight on ths issue with reference to two notable jurisdictions based on the mid-term papers of Grady and Natalie, who discussed the operation of the death penalty China and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

Below I have uploaded the mid-term papers of Grady and Natalie, and I highly encourage everyone to read these papers closely and then share comments concerning the question in the title of this post.

Download Owen on DP in China

Download Hoover on DP in Saudi Arabia

Do you think Germany or Japan could have more accurate trials than the US?

Our last few classes will be focused on a discussion and debate about whether and how criminal trial procedures can and should be structured if/when a society decides that accuracy in the guilt/innocence determination can and should be the primary goal and principal value for criminal trials.  And, helpfully, we can draw insight on this issue with reference to two notable jurisdictions based on the mid-term papers of Kyle and Joshua, who discussed trial procedures in Germany and Japan, respectively.

Below I have uploaded the mid-term papers of Kyle and Joshua, and I highly encourage everyone to read these papers closely and then share comments concerning the question in the title of this post.

Download Schrodi_GermanCrimPro

Download Maygar Japan CJS

The first two questions (take-home variety) of Berman's final exam

By popular request/demand, I am posting here a (slightly tweaked) version of the exam questions discussed in class.  These are now in final form and will also be distributed in hard-copy form in Monday's class.

Please let me know if you have any problem accessing this document.

Download First part of Berman's 2012 CCP Final

Electronic versions of the two key Ohio revised code handouts...

can be downloaded here:

Download 2010 Ohio liability-MR statutes

Download 2010 version of Ohio homicide statutes

Please use the comments to this post to report any problems accessing these documents or indicating if you want/need me to post any other materials.

"Trial to begin in boy's death at Mass. gun expo"

The title of this post is the headline of this AP article reporting on a sad case about to become a headline-making criminal trial in Boston.  Here are the basics:

Eight-year-old Christopher Bizilj -- 4-foot-3 and 66 pounds -- stepped up to the firing range to shoot an Uzi as his father and 11-year-old brother watched from a few feet away. As Christopher fired the 9mm micro submachine gun at a pumpkin, the weapon flipped backward and shot him in the head.  He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Prosecutors brought manslaughter charges against the gun club where the machine gun shoot took place, two men who supplied the weapons and a small-town police chief who owns a company that sponsored the gun fair.  On Monday, the first trial begins in what is expected to be a heart-wrenching recounting of Christopher's death on Oct. 26, 2008.

Edward Fleury, the former police chief in the tiny western Massachusetts town of Pelham, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter as well as four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor.  Fleury was charged because he owned COPS Firearms & Training, which co-sponsored the gun fair at the Westfield Sportsman's Club.  He also hired the two men who supplied the guns and ran the shooting range portion of the event.

Fleury's lawyer, Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, says there is no way Fleury could have anticipated that a child would die when he co-sponsored the event.  The two men who supplied the guns -- Carl Giuffre and Domenico Spano -- had conducted the same gun shoot at the Westfield club for seven years without incident.

Fleury's lawyer also argues that prosecutors should have called Christopher's father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, to testify before the grand jury that indicted Fleury.  Charles Bizilj brought his two sons to the machine gun shoot and gave them permission to fire the Uzi.

"The prosecutor urged the grand jury to find that Chief Fleury disregarded a probable risk of death of a child.  However, the child's father did not believe that allowing his son to fire the machine gun would create a probable risk of death," Scapicchio wrote.  "The truth is that death was not a probable consequence. Instead, it was a tragic pure accident."

Hampden District Attorney William Bennett did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Bennett has said Charles Bizilj chose the compact Uzi for his son after he was assured it was safer than a larger weapon.  He said the small size of the gun, along with its rapid rate of fire, actually made it more likely that the third-grader from Ashford, Conn., would lose control of the weapon and the muzzle would come close to his face.

Bennett said Charles Bizilj was not charged because he was a layman and based his decision to allow his sons to fire the gun on information from others who should have known it was too dangerous....

Charles Bizilj said Christopher had fired handguns and rifles previously but had never shot an automatic weapon such as an Uzi.  "I watched several other children and adults use it. It's a small weapon, and Christopher was comfortable with guns.  There were larger machine guns with much more recoil, and we avoided those," he told The Boston Globe the day after his son's death.

Bennett said Christopher was one of at least four children who fired automatic weapons at the fair.  He said Fleury had wrongly assured Giuffre and Spano that it was legal for children to use the Uzi.

Charles Bizilj was filming his son and captured the shooting on video.  Fleury's lawyer has asked the judge to exclude the graphic video from the trial.

The Bizilj family has been devastated by Christopher's death, said Bruce Melikian, an attorney who represents the family in a wrongful death lawsuit against Fleury, Spano and Giuffre. "I'm not sure what this trial will accomplish," Melikian said.  "I think their main concern is that no one else ever has to go through this again."

Fleury faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge.  He faces a maximum of 10 years if convicted of furnishing the weapon to a minor.

This sad real case almost sounds like a hypo from a criminal law exam, and thus it might present a good opportunity to test your knowledge of various doctrines.

Working plans for exam review sessions

As of this writing, and as discussed in class, I am planning to have (at least) two general review sessions:

• Monday, Dec. 6 at 2pm 
• Friday, Dec. 10 at 2pm

Please let me know ASAP in comment or via e-mail if additional such sessions are desired (or whether alternative times the week of Dec 6 would be preferred).