First, sorry it took so long to reply to your post. But, we are in the midst of preparing our students for the February 2008 bar exam and as a result, we are pretty busy and our enrolled students’ needs always have to come first. However, I did want to get back you.

First, Merriam’s or any other non-legal dictionary would not be a source that I would recommend going to in order to get sound legal definitions. However, it can certainly provide valuable information and should not be discounted entirely.

Second, my version of Black’s Law Dictionary actually contains 14 definitions of homicide. Your definition (quoted from Black’s law dictionary) fails to include the next part of the definition which goes as follows: “A person is guilty of homicide if he purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of another human being.” There is still more to the definition. However, certainly, this second sentence (which you left off in your definition) does refer to a fault or ‘wrongful” aspect. Furthermore, since homicide is a killing that is against the law, it is necessarily “unlawful”.

Of most importance is that the definition used in our model answer is one that is embraced by the California Bar Examiners. You could certainly include the entire three sentence definition that is contained in Black’s law dictionary on your bar exam essay answer. However, it is nearly a paragraph in length and will get you very little distance with the graders. In fact, it would likely cause you to lose points since in most murder exams homicide is only a very, very small part of the overall discussion.

Compare the entire Black’s definition of homicide which I have quoted below:

Black’s Law Dictionary Definition of HOMICIDE:

“Homicide is the killing of one human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another. A person is guilty of criminal homicide if he purposely, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes the death o another human being. Criminal homicide within criminal codes includes murder, manslaughter or negligent homicide.”

California Bar Exam Accepted Definition of HOMICIDE:

Homicide is the unlawful killing of one human being by another.

OR, an even shorter form that would be acceptable:

Homicide is the unlawful killing of another.

(With the latter definition, you would just need to be careful of situation where causation was put at issue by the fact pattern).

Here is why you should use the shorter definition: you will garner no points for using a longer definition and using a longer definition will waste valuable time. Furthermore, since the bar examiners in California have embraced the shorter definition (including the “unlawful” aspect), it is the one that we recommend. It would still be okay to state the rule as simply the killing of a human being by another. But, we use the definitions that we see the most often in the California bar exam released answers. This is the best source for what the bar examiners in California are really looking for.

All of this being said, the fact that you have made a point out of this suggests to me that you might have some difficulties seeing the forest through the trees. Obviously, I do not know you and I do not know if you are currently taking the California bar exam. However, a successful examinee will recognize that one or two word differences in definitions does not a failing or passing exam answer make. Instead, it is your ability to identify the relevant legal issues presented by each fact pattern and to resolve all legal issues with sound legal arguments. The points come from your analysis. Your ability to analyze and to apply the law is the key to passing essays in California.

I have worked with thousands of bar examinees over the years and probably the most common problem students of the bar have is that they fail to recognize it has far less to do with memorization of rules than it does with their ability to APPLY the law to the facts, to IDENTIFY and RESOLVE legal issues. This is the key.

The bar exam is not asking you to regurgitate a bunch of rules. Instead, examinees must show their ability to apply legal principles to fact patterns such that the grader can read your exam and have confidence that if you are released to be an attorney that you will be able to think like a lawyer. Anyone can memorize definitions. But, to show the graders that you can identify the issues and to resolve those issues, that is how you pass.

So, my advice to you - - assuming you are studying for the bar exam here in California - - is to work on the big picture. Move away from the minutia (that is for the MBEs - not the essays). Once a student is able to see the forest for the trees, there is usually great improvement.

Good luck to you and all the best!

Bar Exam Guru

Merriam Webster, Black’s, and I beg to differ.

Homicide is merely the killing of a human being by another human being. It is not necessarily unlawful.