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






2. A person who initiates an appeal.






3. A claim by one defendant against another defendant or by one plaintiff against another plaintiff.






4. A term used to describe two cases that are almost identical - with similar facts and legal issues.






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






6. Courts that determine the facts and apply the law to the facts.






7. An ADR mechanism whereby a neutral third party assists the parties in reaching a mutually agreeable - voluntary compromise.






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






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






10. 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.






11. The authority of a court to hear a case when it is initiated - as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.






12. In a case brief - the general legal principle in existence before the case began.






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






14. Something of value exchanged to form the basis of a contract.






15. Law that deals with harm to a person or a person's property.






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






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






18. A constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same crime.






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






20. An attorney's written argument presented to an appeals court - setting forth a statement of the law as it should be applied to the client's facts.






21. 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.






22. An ADR mechanism whereby the parties submit their disagreement to a third party - whose decision is binding.






23. Summary of one legal point in a court opinion; written by the editors at West.






24. 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.






25. Rules of conduct promulgated and enforced by the government.






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






27. Law that deals with harm to society as a whole.






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






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






30. A contract that outlines the attorney's duties and the client's obligations regarding payment - on either an hourly or a contingency fee basis - as well as the client's responsibility reagarding costs and expenses.






31. Simultaneously representing adverse clients.






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






33. The chronological publication of statutes at the end of a legislative session.






34. Techniques for resolving conflicts that are alternatives to full-scale litigation. The two most common are arbitration and mediation.






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






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






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






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






39. 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.






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






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






42. 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.






43. 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.






44. Establishes a direct link to the event that must be proven.






45. A summary of one legal point in a court opinion; written by the editors at West.






46. A token sum awarded when liability has been found but monetary damages cannot be shown.






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






48. A process whereby the prosecutor and the defendant's attorney agree for the defendant to plead guilty in exchange for the prosecutor's promise to charge him or her with a lesser offense - drop some additional charges - or request a lesser sentence.






49. A judicial philosophy that supports an active role for the judiciary in changing the law.






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