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. The number of hours - or parts of an hour - that can be charged to a specific client.






2. A court order requiring a party to perform a specific act or to cease doing a specific act.






3. A set of ethical rules developed by the American Bar Association in the 1980s. The Model rules have been adopted by most of the states.






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






5. Intangible assets - such as trade secrets - copyrights - patents - and trade or service marks.






6. The purpose of the legislature at the time it enacted the statute.






7. A request made to the court.






8. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.






9. Law dealing with ownership.






10. Indirect evidence - used to prove facts by implication.






11. 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.






12. A separable part of a statute that must be satisfied for the statute to apply.






13. The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system.






14. A witness who has not been shown to have any special expertise.






15. All property that is not real property.






16. Either a subcategory of relevancy or simply another word for relevancy - the requirement that the evidence be more probative than prejudicial.






17. A trial court error that is not sufficient to warrant reversing the decision.






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






19. The application of legal rules to a client's specific factual situation; also known as legal analysis.






20. The party in a case who has initiated an appeal.






21. An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country - as well as secondary authority; a competitor to Westlaw.






22. The standard of proof used in some civil trials. The evidence presented must be greater than a preponderance of the evidence but less than beyond a reasonable doubt.






23. A national association of paralegal associations.






24. A witness who has not been shown to have any special expertise.






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






26. A person who initiates a lawsuit.






27. Computer codes that - when clicked on with a mouse - connect the user to other web pages with related information






28. A national paralegal association.






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






30. A national organization of paralegal programs that promotes high standards for paralegal education.






31. Ownership by two or more persons who have equal rights in the use of the property. When a joint tenant dies - that person's share passes to the other joint tenant(s).






32. A person who initiates an appeal.






33. The way in which a question of fact is established. Evidence can consist of witness testimony or documents and exhibits. It is the proof presented at a trial.






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






35. 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.






36. A fee based on how many hours attorneys or paralegals spend on the case. Different hourly rates are often charged for different attorneys and paralegals within the firm - based on their seniority and experience.






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






38. 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.






39. An opinion that agrees with the majority's result but disagrees with its reasoning.






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






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






42. The power of the federal government to prevent the states from passing conflicting laws - and sometimes even to prohibit states from passing any laws on a particular subject.






43. A means of gaining appellate review; in the U.S. Supreme Court the writ is discretionary and will be issued to another court to review a federal question if four of the nine justices vote to hear the case.






44. Someone in court testifying to what someone said out of court for the purpose of establishing the truth of what was said.






45. When only one court has the power to hear a case.






46. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






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






48. A decision is overruled when a court in a later case changes the law that the decision in the earlier case is no longer good law.






49. Money is awarded to a plaintiff in payment for his or her actual losses.






50. Private publication of court opinions-for example - the regional reporters - such as N.E.2d - published by West.