Bar Exam Questions I Have Not Loved

One of the hardest things about the multiple choice questions on the bar exam is that many of them seem to have been purposefully written to remind test takers of the devastating limitations of our legal system.

For example: "An industrial city in the Midwest had approximately 300,000 inhabitants, and about half of them were members of a recognized racial minority. The latest census figures indicated that 33,501 minority residents of the city could be classified as 'poor' under federal poverty guidelines. In contrast, only 7,328 of the approximately 150,000 nonminority residents of the city could be classified as 'poor.' To combat a budget deficit, the city's 10-member city council, including no minority members and no poor members, decided to raise bus fares during rush hour periods from 80 cents to 1 dollar. Because poor people and members of minority groups placed greater reliance on the city's bus lines than did the bulk of the nonpoor and nonminority population (many of whom drove to work), the effect of the transit fare increase was hardest on the poor and minority communities. Several activist groups representing the poor, various minority organizations, and some community action coalitions vowed to fight the fare increase in federal court.

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the constitutional status of the fare increase?"

The correct answer is: "The fare increase is constitutional, because there is no evidence that the city council acted irrationally or was motivated by an intent to discriminate on the basis of race."

This was question number 197 of 200 on a six-hour simulated practice exam. I read it with a sinking feeling of recognition and dejection. This is the world we live in. People of color are disproportionately poor and underrepresented in the political system. Since they are underrepresented, they are often the first to bear the costs of economic downturn. And it is not always obvious what we, as lawyers, can do about it. Just bubble in letter "C" and move on to the next question...