HAWAII BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Hawaii Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
· NOT a UBE jurisdiction (despite using NCBE materials) · Two-day exam: MBE (200 questions) + MEE (6 essays) + MPT (2 tasks) plus a separate Hawaii Legal Ethics Examination · MBE = 50%; MEE/MPT/Hawaii Ethics = remaining 50% · Scored by Hawaii on a 200-pt scale; cut ≈ 134 scaled (≈268 on 400) · Score is NOT portable — cannot transfer in or out · MPRE requires scaled 85 (higher than the 75–80 most states accept) · Because the essays are standard MEE/MPT, write them as general multistate law, not Hawaii law · NextGen transition planned ~2028 — verify current cut score and format with the Hawaii Board of Bar Examiners.
2. CIVIL PROCEDURE
· Trial court of general jurisdiction = Circuit Court; District Courts handle smaller civil (≤ $40k) + misdemeanors · HRCP track the federal rules (Rule 12, summary judgment, discovery) · But Hawaii keeps lenient Conley notice pleading — has NOT adopted Twombly/Iqbal plausibility · Long-arm (HRS § 634-35) = full due-process reach · SOL: torts/PI 2 yrs; written/oral contracts 6 yrs; defamation 2 yrs; med-mal 2 yrs / 6-yr repose; real property recovery 20 yrs.
3. EVIDENCE
· Hawaii Rules of Evidence (HRE), HRS ch. 626, modeled on FRE · HRE codify privileges the FRE lack: physician-patient, psychologist-patient, accountant-client, plus victim-counselor · Independent reliability analysis (State v. Montalbo) rather than a strict Daubert/Frye label · Patient-litigant exception waives physician-patient privilege when the patient puts their condition at issue.
4. MARITAL PROPERTY / FAMILY LAW
· Common-law equitable-distribution state — NO community property · HRS § 580-47: court divides ALL property (incl. premarital and inherited) "just and equitable" using marital-partnership categories · Pioneer of reciprocal-beneficiary status; same-sex marriage since 2013 · UPAA adopted (premarital agreements enforceable); best-interests custody (HRS § 571-46); Hawaii's own child-support guidelines worksheet.
5. WILLS / TRUSTS / ESTATES
· UPC jurisdiction (HRS ch. 560) · Sliding-scale augmented-estate elective share — grows with marriage length, up to 50% after 15 yrs (not flat 1/3) · Harmless-error doctrine saves defective wills · Holographic wills (material portions in testator's hand) + self-proving affidavits recognized · Two-witness execution (UPC § 2-502) · UPC intestacy scheme (spousal share varies with surviving descendants) · UPC homestead, family, and exempt-property allowances for spouse/minor children · Contrast: non-UPC common-law states use a flat 1/3 elective share, strict compliance, and reject holographic wills.
6. REAL PROPERTY
· Race-notice recording · Land Court Torrens registered titles — certificate conclusive, NO adverse possession against registered land · Adverse possession period = 20 yrs (and barred on large/registered parcels) · Native Hawaiian traditional & customary rights (Const. Art. XII; PASH v. LUC) can burden private title; public-trust doctrine constrains water/shoreline use · Judicial + reformed nonjudicial foreclosure (Act 48 of 2011 added mortgage-dispute-resolution program) — judicial now more common.
7. TORTS
· Modified comparative negligence — 51% bar (HRS § 663-31): barred if plaintiff's fault greater than aggregate defendants' · Noneconomic damages cap $375,000 · Several-only liability for noneconomic damages where a defendant is <25% at fault (HRS § 663-10.9), with exceptions (environmental, intentional torts) · Dram-shop & social-host liability recognized (serving a visibly intoxica