RHODE ISLAND BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Rhode Island Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
UBE state · MBE/MEE/MPT weighted 50/30/20 · minimum passing score 270 (lowered from 276, eff. Feb 2021) · score transferable to/from other UBE jurisdictions within the window · plus MPRE + character/fitness via the Board of Bar Examiners and the Rhode Island Supreme Court · no separate state-law essay blended into the result · essays graded on national majority law—reserve Rhode Island distinctions for practice unless the call of the question localizes.
2. CIVIL PROCEDURE
Tort SOL 3 years (§9-1-14) · general/contract SOL 10 years (§9-1-13)—one of the longest; but UCC sale-of-goods is 4 years · slander 1 year / libel 3 years · Rhode Island Rules of Civil Procedure track the Federal Rules (notice pleading, Rule 12) · long-arm to full due-process limits (§9-5-33) · Superior Court of general jurisdiction.
3. EVIDENCE
Own Rhode Island Rules of Evidence, FRE-patterned and largely parallel · expert reliability is Daubert-influenced (DiPetrillo v. Dow Chemical), not Frye · statutory physician-patient privilege (no FRE analog) plus attorney-client, spousal, clergy—the privilege is the key testable difference.
4. FAMILY LAW
No-fault: irreconcilable differences OR 3-year separation, PLUS retained fault grounds (§15-5-3) · no NEW common-law marriage · equitable distribution (not community property), excluding premarital and gifted/inherited property (§15-5-16.1) · rehabilitative alimony emphasis · RI child-support guidelines.
5. WILLS / TRUSTS / ESTATES
Non-UPC · attested will = signature + 2 witnesses who sign in the testator's presence (§33-5-5) · HOLOGRAPHIC WILLS NOT RECOGNIZED—a handwritten, unwitnessed will FAILS · surviving spouse takes a LIFE ESTATE in the decedent's real property (dower-influenced) plus a statutory allowance—NOT a UPC fee share or sliding-scale elective share · intestacy: spouse gets a life estate in realty (descendants hold the remainder) + statutory share of personalty (§33-1-5 et seq.) · dollar-cap homestead exemption (§9-26-4.1).
6. REAL PROPERTY
Notice recording act (§34-11-1)—later BFP must take without notice AND record first · adverse possession 10 years (§34-7-1) · predominantly NONJUDICIAL power-of-sale foreclosure by auction after statutory notice (§34-27-4)—no court action; strict notice compliance required, residential mediation/notice protections apply.
7. TORTS
PURE comparative negligence (§9-20-4)—plaintiff NEVER barred for being more at fault; a 90%-at-fault plaintiff still recovers 10% (matches the MBE default; contrast the modified-51% UBE states) · RETAINS joint-and-several liability with contribution under UCATA (§10-6-1 et seq.)—plaintiff collects the full judgment from one solvent defendant, who then seeks contribution · NO general damages cap (including med-mal noneconomic) · punitive damages on a demanding malice/willful-wanton standard · Liquor Liability Act dram-shop (visibly intoxicated/minor) (§3-14-1 et seq.), with notice/procedural requirements · net effect: a plaintiff-friendly tort forum—pure comparative, joint-and-several retained, no cap.
7A. TORT PRACTICE QUICK NOTES
Because joint-and-several liability survives, sue every solvent tortfeasor and let them sort out contribution among themselves under UCATA · the absence of a med-mal noneconomic cap distinguishes Rhode Island from most New England neighbors · pure comparative negligence means causation and percentage-of-fault arguments matter more than all-or-nothing bars · for any localized estates question, lead with the surviving-spouse life estate in real property and the rejection of holographic wills—both depart sharply from UPC defaults.
8. CONTRACTS / UCC
UCC adopted (Title 6A)—Article 2, negotiable instruments, Article 9 uniform · standard Statute of Frauds (§9-1-4) · 10-year general-contract SOL (4-year UCC goods) · otherwise national/Restatement rules.
9. BUSINESS ENTITIES
Rhode Island Business Corporation Act (MBCA-based, Title 7 ch. 1.2) · LLC Act · uniform partnership statutes · MBCA/RUPA/RULLCA-style fiduciary, derivative, and piercing analysis applies · confirm Secretary of State formation and annual-report requirements.
10. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Rhode Island RPC based on