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. Cases that involve similar facts and rules of law.






2. 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.






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






4. An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact.






5. How subsequent cases have affected the case you are Shepardizing. It is sometimes indicated by a one-letter abbreviation before the Shepard's citation.






6. When the defendant does not have sufficient money or other assets to pay the judgment.






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






8. An approach whereby the courts give a statute a broad interpretation.






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






10. The rules whereby all members of a law firm are treated as though they had represented the former client.






11. The process of organizing statutes by subject matter.






12. A verdict ordered by a trial judge if the plaintiff fails to present a prima facie case or if the defendant fails to present a necessary defense.






13. General principles that guide the courts in their interpretation of statutes.






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






15. The publication of false statements that harm a person's reputation.






16. 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.






17. Without the need for a warrant - the police may seize objects that are openly visible.






18. A paralegal who works as an independent contractor rather than as an employee of a law firm or corporation.






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






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






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






22. 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.






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






24. An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive physical contact.






25. Evidence that supports previous testimony but that comes in a different form.






26. The power of government to take private property for public purposes.






27. 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.






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






29. A set of standardized jury instructions.






30. A rule that states that evidence obtained in violation of an individual's constitutional rights cannot be used against that individual in a criminal trial.






31. In writing - a technique used to help your reader move from one thought to the next and to see the connections between them.






32. A method for interpreting statutes in which the ordinary meaning of the statute's language is examined.






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






34. A constitutional fairness requirement that a defendant have at least a certain minimum level of contact with a state before the state courts can have jurisdiction over the defendant.






35. 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.






36. Part of the Model Penal Code; a test that provides that the defendant is not guilty due to insanity if - at the time of the killing - the defendant lacked either the ability to understand that the act was wrong or the ability to control the behavior.






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






38. Body of law that has evolved from judicial decisions in cases that do not involve constitutional - statutory - or administrative regulation interpretation.






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






40. The revocation of an attorney's license.






41. The heading section of a pleading that contains the names of the parties - the name of the court - the title of the action - the docket or file number - and the name of the pleading.






42. In logic - an argument is considered to be valid or sound if the assumption underlying the argument are true.






43. A temporary transfer of personal property to someone other than the owner for a specified purpose.






44. Evidence that suggests the defendant's guilt.






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






46. A court opinion that establishes new law in an important area.






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






48. A defendant's plea meaning that the defendant neither admits nor denies the charges.






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






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