Professor Franks
Final Examination, Spring 2006
| 1. | Carefully analyze the facts and grasp the issues in each question before beginning to write. Spend time reading the question slowly and carefully. |
| 2. | State the issues and answers to each question concisely. Lengthy answers are not necessary. |
| 3. | Do not repeat questions in your answers. Write neatly and legibly on only one side of each page. |
| 4. | Number your answers to correspond with the question, e.g., "II-B." |
| 5. | If you feel it necessary to assume additional facts in any of the questions, give the facts that must be added and state why. |
| 6. | Do not write in the margin of the book. |
| 7. | All major questions are equally weighted unless otherwise indicated. Subparts are approximately equal but may be weighted slightly differently according to the number of issues involved in that subpart. |
| 8. | Write your personal identification number and the name and section number of the course on which you are being examined on the cover of each examination book. |
| 9. | If you use more than one book, indicate "Book One," "Book Two" and so forth on the cover of each book and write your PIN and the name and section number of the course on the cover of each examination book. |
| 10. | A GOOD ANSWER IS NOT NECESSARILY A LONG ANSWER. |
Before venturing into the problem, first a little about the backgrounds of the parties:
Billy Bob is 22 years old and owns a used motorcycle shop in Bastrop, Texas. He drinks heavily. He came to Casino Rouge in Baton Rouge, where he chanced to encounter Betsy Sue, also playing at the roulette tables.
Betsy Sue is 19 years old. She was born and raised in the hills of Arkansas. When she was 16, she and her cousin Bubba ran away from home, going to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. When the two rented their apartment in Alabama, they decided it would be best that they represent themselves as a married couple rather than as first cousins. Being hillbillies from the Arkansas Ozarks, the two had no inhibitions against having sex with one another. They were a most active couple.
After two years with Bubba, Betsy Sue grew tired of the relationship and simply left, taking her possessions with her and moving to a rented house trailer in Baton Rouge.
Billy Bob and Betsy Sue first met each other last week at the roulette tables of the casino in Baton Rouge. (Betsy sue got in by using a friend’s ID.) It was one o’clock in the morning. Betsy instantly fell in love, and just twenty minutes after meeting Billy Bob, Betsy Sue suggested they should get married. Billy Bob, feeling the effects of the six pack sloshing around in his distended stomach, grinned toothlessly and eagerly agreed to the proposal.
The twosome left the casino together and drove off into the night, weaving around the streets of Baton Rouge on Billy Bob’s Harley-Davidson chopper. It was two in the morning. They passed a church and saw the lights on inside. Recognizing their golden opportunity for a quick marriage, they went in.
Inside was the elderly Reverend Ben Dover. Unbeknownst to Billy Bob and Betsy Sue, the good reverend was getting ready to pack his belongings, having been defrocked by the bishop the previous afternoon for molesting little boys. Reverend Ben Dover had never registered with the clerk of court as a minister authorized to perform marriages, so he didn’t bother to ask for the marriage license that Billy Bob and Betsy Sue should have obtained but didn’t. Reverend Ben Dover needed the money now that he was jobless, so he agreed to perform the marriage.
The reverend asked Billy Bob, “Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?” Billy Bob slurred a “Yesh.” The reverend then asked Betsy Sue, “Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?” Betsy Sue whined, “Sure enough ah do, yesiree.”
Before the reverend could pronounce the couple man and wife, a police SWAT team busted into the church and said, “Ben Dover, we have a warrant for your arrest on thirty-five counts of child molestation and child pornography.” The elderly Ben Dover immediately had a heart attack and died.
Billy Bob and Betsy Sue left the church and headed directly to the Floppy Mattress Motel, where Billy Bob sobered up. They spent the next three days there.
On the fourth day, Betsy Sue told Billy Bob she no longer loved him and would be returning to live with her cousin in Alabama.
Billy Bob comes to you for advice. “Am I legally married?” he asks. Answer him.
Indicate whether each of the following is characterizes an Article 102 or an Article 103 divorce or both. Simply write the letter of the subpart (e.g., H), followed by the number 102 or 103 or both.
| A. | Adultery is a ground for divorce. |
| B. | Divorce may not be granted until one hundred eighty days after service. |
| C. | Felony conviction with imprisonment at hard labor is a ground. |
| D. | Voluntary and continuous separation for more than six months at time of filing is a ground. |
| E. | A rule to show cause must be served before the divorce may be granted. |
| F. | A citation must be served at the beginning of the case. |
| G. | Reconciliation is a defense. |
| H. | Restraining orders and temporary custody and support are available. |
In one paragraph, explain the rule in Bergeron v. Bergeron.
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