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. Negligence by the plaintiff that contributed to his or her injury. Normally - any finding of contributory negligence acts as a complete bar to a plaintiff's recovery.






2. The ethical rule prohibiting attorneys and paralegals from disclosing information regarding a client or a client's case.






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






4. A request that the court order that certain information not be mentioned in the presence of the jury.






5. 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.






6. Representing someone who is in a position adverse to a prior client.






7. In a case brief - facts that deal with what happened to the parties before the litigation began.






8. The transfer of a case from one state court to a federal court.






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






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






11. 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.






12. 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.






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






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






15. A court where a permanent record is kept of the testimony - lawyers' remarks - and judges' rulings.






16. 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.






17. The papers that begin a lawsuit-generally - the complaint and the answer.






18. A statute that changes the common law.






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






20. The opinion of a jury on a question of fact.






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






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






23. When nonlawyers do things that only lawyers are allowed to do. In most states this is a crime.






24. The pretrial oral questioning of a witness under oath.






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






26. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






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






28. 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.






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






30. To perform.






31. The process of organizing statutes by subject matter.






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






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






34. A public or private statement that an attorney's conduct violated the code of ethics.






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






36. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






37. The tenant's right to be free from interference from the landlord with respect to how the property is used.






38. A national paralegal association.






39. The justified use of force to protect oneself or others.






40. A method for excusing a prospective juror; no reason need be given.






41. When a person must be brought into a lawsuit as either a plaintiff or a defendant.






42. An issue that the court has never faced before.






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






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






45. The highest federal appellate court - consisting of nine appointed members.






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






47. An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country. While its coverage of other legal mateirals is not as extensive as that of Westlaw and Lexis - it is also less expensive.






48. A reason for invalidating a statute where it covers both protected and criminal activity.






49. The general jurisdiction trial courts in the federal system.






50. Consists of the description of events that a witness testifies to under oath in a legal proceeding.