Test your basic knowledge |

Paralegal 101

Subject : law
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A statute establishing and setting out the powers of an administrative agency.






2. A judgment entered against a party who fails to complete a required step - such as answering the complaint.






3. A request that the court order a rehearing of a lawsuit because irregularities - such as errors of the court or jury misconduct - make it probable that an impartial trial do not occur.






4. The power of the federal courts to hear matters of federal law.






5. Information that tells the reader the name of the case - where it can be located - the court that decided it - and the year it was decided. The Bluebook gives precise rules as to how case citations are to be written.






6. An opinion that disagrees with the majority's decision and its reasoning.






7. A body of principles and rules that are either explicitly stated in - or inferred from - the constitutions of the United States and those of the individual states.






8. The final paragraph in a written legal analysis that summarizes the writer's conclusions.






9. The principle that courts cannot decide abstract issues or render advisory opinions; rather - they are limited to deciding cases that involve litigants who are personally affected by the court's decision.






10. Information about what happened procedurally to the litigation after the case cited. Include this information in a citation.






11. An opinion in which a majority of the court joins.






12. In deductive reasoning - the statement of a broad proposition that forms the starting point; in law - the statement of a legal rule that you can find in a statute or court opinion.






13. Including more than one count in a complaint; the counts do not need to be consistent.






14. A statement of the court's decision in which the facts are either omitted or given in very general terms so that it will apply to a wider range of cases.






15. A notice informing the defendant of the lawsuit and requiring the defendant to respond or risk losing the suit.






16. In a case brief - facts that relate to what happened procedurally in the lower courts or administrative agencies before the case reached the court issuing the opinion.






17. A computer search that identifies every place in which the search term appears in the actual text of the document being searched.






18. The revocation of an attorney's license.






19. The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system.






20. Court decisions from an equal or a lower court from the same jurisidiction or from a higher court in a different jurisdiction; also includes secondary authority.






21. A defendant's plea meaning that the defendant neither admits nor denies the charges.






22. A method adopted by the federal rules in which the plaintiff simply informs the defendant of the claim and the general basis for it.






23. Information that can be presented in a court of law as proof of some fact.






24. A judgment that reverses the verdict of the jury when the verdict had no reasonable factual support or was contrary to law.






25. A professional entity in which the owners share in the organization's profits but are not liable for the malpractice of their partners.






26. The power of a court to force a person to appear before it.






27. An actual incident or condition; not a legal consequence.






28. A privately published statutory code that includes editorial features - such as summaries of court opinions that have interpreted the statutes.






29. The new legal principle established by a court opinion.






30. The process of signaling that you are really listening - accomplished by using verbal and nonverbal clues - paraphrasing - and reflecting the client's feelings.






31. A suspicion based on specific facts; less than probable cause.






32. A decision is affirmed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court agrees with what the lower court has done.






33. Questions that suggest the answer.






34. A special type of joint tenancy applicable only to married couples.






35. Without the need for a warrant - the police may seize objects that are openly visible.






36. Federal and state rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in court.






37. Someone who has the power to act in the place of another.






38. The process of finding the law.






39. Relates to the ability of a witness to testify; generally - the witness must be capable of being understood by the jury; must understand the duty to tell the truth; and if a lay witness - must give testimony based on personal knowledge.






40. A statute that changes the common law.






41. A request that the court find the plaintiff has failed to state a valid claim and dismiss the complaint.






42. A method for excusing a prospective juror based on the juror's inability to serve in an unbiased manner.






43. A test that provides that the defendant is not guity due to insanity if - at the time of the killing the defendant could not control his or her actions.






44. An approach whereby the courts give a statute a narrow interpretation.






45. A person who initiates an appeal.






46. A set charge for a specific service - such as drafting a simple will.






47. A statement of the court's decision that contains many of the case's specific facts - thereby limiting its future applicability to a narrow range of cases.






48. Also known as cause in fact - this is measured by the 'but for' standard: But for the defendant's actions - the plaintiff would not have been injured.






49. Consists of records - contracts - leases - wills - and other written instruments.






50. Questions relating to what happened: who - what - when - where - and how.