The Curse of Evidence

Our Evidence professor has given the same type of exam for years now. It consists of 40 multiple choice questions, 10 of which have a space afterwards in which to explain why choice D is correct or incorrect. There is also a fairly short essay question. This essay question has been on differences between the FRE and the rules of evidence of this state every year for a long time now. He picks a particular area of evidence rules and essentially has students explain the differences in detail. This was common knowledge, and everyone has been obsessing about the subtleties of these differences for weeks. The 2L's and 3L's all assured us that he has given essentially this same test for as long as anyone can remember.

Direct quotes from an exchange during the exam review session on the last day of class in Evidence:

Professor: I hate reading long answers. The space provided will be more than enough for both the short answers and the essay.

Student: (looking directly at last year's FRE/ARE comparison essay, including sample answer, which was distributed at the review session) So you're not going to give us a fact pattern or anything for the essay?

Professor: Are you serious? I just said I don't like reading long answers, especially handwritten ones. If I gave you a fact pattern, you people would write way too much.

We got a complicated, confusingly worded fact pattern on the exam. It's like expecting to get a warm, fuzzy, playful puppy at Christmas, but when you open that big moving box with the air holes, a 16-foot starving and sexually frustrated crocodile jumps out.

I hate law school. I hate the fact that summer interships for two entire years (and to a large extent, initial post law school job offers) are determined on the basis of first year grades which mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except that some people are better at writing law school exam answers. No, I don't have poor grades.

I want to take a hostage. Oh wait, if I do indeed take a hostage sometime soon, this statement might be admissible under 803(3) as a statement of intent to prove that I actually took a hostage under the present state of mind hearsay exception.