ProfessorTommy.Tips

From ABA Law Student Division's Student Lawyer, April 24, 2026: Every year on May 4, fans celebrate Star Wars Day with the familiar phrase, “May the Fourth be with You.” For me, this is more than just a clever pun. I have been a long-time Star Wars fan, and I have found ways to bring that enthusiasm into my teaching. Across the prequels, originals, sequels, and standalone films, Star Wars offers a series of lessons that translate surprisingly well to bar preparation. Each qu

If you’ve spent any time studying Evidence, you’ve probably internalized one core principle: Everything starts with relevance. Relevance under the Federal Rules of Evidence is intentionally broad: Rule 401: Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable and that fact is of consequence. Rule 402: Relevant evidence is admissible unless a rule excludes it. Irrelevant evidence is not admissible. Rule 403: Even relevant evidence can be excluded if

If you’ve been following the news, you may have seen the lawsuit filed by FBI Director Kash Patel against The Atlantic and one of its writers, alleging a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece” that was published on April 17, 2026. As always with my " In the News, On the Bar Exam " series, let me start here: I’m not weighing in on whether the lawsuit is correct, justified, or politically motivated. Instead, I’m using this headline as a bar exam opportunity because

Today is Superman Day , and there’s a reason Superman has endured for generations. He’s strong, fast, and nearly unstoppable. But he’s not invincible. He has a weakness: Kryptonite. And when it shows up, everything changes. Bar prep works the same way. Source: www.dc.com Most students don’t fail the bar exam because they lack intelligence or work ethic. They struggle because of a few consistent, identifiable weaknesses—their own version of kryptonite—that quietly undermine th

If you're taking Evidence or preparing for the bar exam, you've probably seen two different phrases that seem to describe the same concept: “admissions by a party-opponent” and “statements of an opposing party.” They refer to the same rule. The terminology changed in 2011 when the Federal Rules of Evidence were restyled, but the substance of Rule 801(d)(2) didn't change. Still, the new wording matters because it can help you think about the rule more accurately. Photo by Mar