07 January 2004

Ack ! ! !

O.K. As we all know, I seldom, barely ever, almost never make any mistakes. So, on those rare occasions when the unthinkable occurs I must make a note of it.

In this post, I said that The Firm was ruined for me because I realized that States don't test federal material. AV corrected me:
On the Virginia bar exam (just took it last July), we get hit w/ a ton of Federal Jurisdiction and a blend of Fed w/ state (particularly on "conflicts" questions.) One question actually asked if the defendants had preserved their rights for appeal and to spell them out (there were fed & state actions taken.) Moreover, we are told that if a point of Evidence comes up, we must look to the federal law. (Now, I did not see this on New York.....but for Connecticut, you were safe in writing the federal law as a response to most issues.) *shrug* Just FYI. :-)
Not one to take being told I am wrong laying down (especially about a bar exam I took), I looked into it.

Durn. Federal Practice and Procedure is one of the subjects on the Virginia bar exam. Well, O.K., there are a lot of subjects maybe my excuse can be that it wasn't one of the subjects on the test my year.

Double Durn! The fourth question on my test involved federal issues. Didn't remember that.

Okay, I'm wrong. I guess I can go back to enjoying The Firm. Although, I could claim that I meant States don't test on federal criminal law. I'd be lying but how would any of you know that?     oops.

BTW Virginia is a common law evidence State. Federal rules are probably close enough to get a pass but when you are in court and the other party starts talking about the res gestae exception to the hearsay rule you aren't going to find it in the federal rules.

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