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 process after arrest that includes taking the defendant's personal information - giving the defendant an opportunity to read and sign a Miranda card - and allowing the defendant the opportunity to use a telephone.






2. The law that sets the length of time from when something happens to when a lawsuit must be filed before the right to bring it is lost.






3. Violation of a statute as proof of negligence






4. Cases that involve similar facts and rules of law.






5. Specific questions that usually demand very short or yes-no answers.






6. A computer program that allows the user to retrieve web documents that match the key words entered by the searcher.






7. A system of government in which the authority to govern is split between a single - nationwide central government and several regional governments that control specific geographical areas.






8. An activity that requires professional judgment - or the educational ability to relate law to a specific legal problem.






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






10. A case listed in Shepard's that cites your case.






11. A document that lists statements regarding specific items for the other party to admit or deny.






12. A claim by a defendant against someone in addition to the persons the plaintiff has already sued.






13. The rule requiring that the original document be produced at trial.






14. A summary of a court opinion that appears at the beginning of the case.






15. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






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






17. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






18. Proof that the evidence is what it is said to be.






19. A professional entity in which the stockholders share in the organization's profits but have their liabilities limited to the amount of their investment.






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






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






22. A defense whereby the defendant offers new evidence to avoid judgment.






23. Occurs when the police restrain a person's freedom and charge the person with a crime.






24. Questions that suggest the answer.






25. Evidence that is derived from an illegal search or interrogation is inadmissible.






26. The law that sets the length of time from when something happens to when a lawsuit must be filed before the right to bring it is lost.






27. 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.






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






29. 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.






30. An affidavit signed by the client indicating that he or she has read the complaint and that its contents are correct.






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






32. An examination of a prospective juror to see if he or she is fit to serve as a juror on a specific case.






33. The doctrine stating that normally once a court has decided one way on a particular issue - it and other courts in the same jurisdiction will decide the same way on that issue in future cases given similar facts unless they can be convinced of the ne






34. Any tangible object - like a bloody glove.






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






36. A law promulgated by an administrative agency.






37. A court order that ends a lawsuit; the suit cannot be refiled by the same parties.






38. A rule of evidence that prevents an attorney or a paralegal from being compelled to testify about confidential client information.






39. 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






40. The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system.






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






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






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






44. 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.






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






46. Liability without a showing of fault.






47. In deductive reasoning - the second proposition - which along with the major premise leads to the conclusion; in law - the minor premise consists of the client's facts.






48. The result reached in a particular case.






49. A compilation of federal or state statutes in which the statutes are organized by subject matter rather than by year of enactment.






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