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 provision in a deed that prohibits specified uses of the property.






2. Monetary compensation - including compensatory - punitive - and nominal damages.






3. The questioning of an opposing witness.






4. The ethical rule prohibiting attorneys and paralegals from working for opposing sides in a case.






5. A decision is overruled when a court in a later case changes the law so that its prior decision is no longer good law.






6. A statute that changes the common law.






7. When an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court for a new trial or other action.






8. A request that the court release the defendant because of the illegality of the incarceration.






9. The process of properly identifying and authenticating evidence so that it can be introduced.






10. Generally accepted legal principles.






11. A judicial philosophy that supports a limited role for the judiciary in changing the law - including deference to the legislative branch.






12. The educated ability to apply law to specific facts.






13. 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.






14. A requirement that property be fit for the purpose for which it is being rented. Owners are required to repair and maintain the premises at certain minimum levels.






15. Law dealing with ownership.






16. The power of a court to hear a case.






17. Books that contain appellate court decisions. There are both official and unofficial reporters.






18. Liability without having to prove fault.






19. A form in which statutes are published; they are printed individually at the time they are first enacted.






20. The power of a court to hear a particular type of case.






21. Information about what happened procedurally to the cited case before it was heard by the cited court. Do not include this information in a citation.






22. A person who initiates an appeal.






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






24. A lawsuit brought by a person as a representative for a group of people who have been similarly injured.






25. In law - a per curium decision (or opinion) is a ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court (or at least a majoirty of the court) acting collectively and anonymously.






26. A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint - the court will dismiss it.






27. A transfer of real property rights that occurs after someone other than the owner has had actual - open - adverse - and exclusive use of the property for a statutorily determined number of years.






28. Broad questions that put few limits on the freedom of the respondent.






29. An error made by the trial judge sufficiently serious to warrant reversing the trial court's decision.






30. When more than one court has jurisdiction to hear a case.






31. A defense requiring proof that the defendant would not have committed the crime but for police trickery.






32. Affiliated with the federal government's Legal Services Corporation - these offices serve those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal assistance.






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






34. In a case brief - the court's answer to the issue presented to it; the new legal principle established by a court opinion.






35. A group of people - usually 23 - whose function is to determine if probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendant committed it.






36. A right to use property owned by another for a limited purpose.






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






38. When an appellate court that normally sits in panels sits as a whole.






39. The background documents created during the process of a bill becoming a statute. These documents can include alternative versions of the legislation - proceedings of committee hearings and reports - and transcripts of floor debates.






40. A business run by two or more persons as co-owners.






41. A defendant's personal promise to appear in court.






42. Money awarded to a plaintiff in cases of intentional torts in order to punish the defendant and serve as a warning to others.






43. A trial ended by the judge because of a major problem - such as a prejudicial statement by one of the attorneys.






44. Fairness; a court's power to do justice. Equity powers allow judges to take action when otherwise the law would limit their decisions to monetary awards. Equity powers include a judge's ability to issue an injunction and to order specific performance






45. Not factually true - but accepted by the courts as being legally true.






46. A national association of paralegal managers.






47. A statute enacted to correct a defect in prior law or to provide a remedy where none existed.






48. Federal and state rules that regulate how criminal proceedings are conducted.






49. An online legal databease containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country - as well as secondary authority; a competitor to Lexis.






50. Evidence that does not add any new information but that confirms facts that already have been established.