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






2. A grand jury's written accusation that a given individual has committed a crime.






3. Used to describe legislation that changes the common law.






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






5. 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






6. Once actual cause is found - as a policy matter - the court must also find that the act and the resulting harm were so foreseeably related as to justify a finding of liability.






7. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






8. A tangible object or a right or ownership interest.






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






10. 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.






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






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






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






14. A set charge for a specific service - such as drafting a simple will.






15. Law dealing with ownership.






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






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






18. Courts that determine whether lower courts have made errors of law.






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






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






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






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






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






24. 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.






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






26. The requirement that defendants be notified of their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present prior to being questioned by the police.






27. A court order authorizing a sheriff to take property in order to enforce a judgment.






28. Court decisions from an equal or a lower court from the same jurisidiction or from a higher court in a different jurisdiction; also includes secondary authority.






29. A person who permits or directs another person to act on the principal's behalf.






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






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






32. The tort theory that an employer can be sued for the negligent acts of its employees.






33. A defense requiring proof that the defendant was forced to take an action to avoid a greater harm.






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






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






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






37. A judgment entered against a party who fails to complete a required step - such as answering the complaint.






38. Liability without having to prove fault.






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






40. A reason for invalidating a statute where a reasonable person could not determine a statute's meaning.






41. Questions that suggest the answer.






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






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






44. In a case brief - the rule of law applied to the case's specific facts.






45. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






46. A defense requiring proof that the defendant was not mentally responsible.






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






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






49. The process by which individuals or organizations have their names placed on an official list kept by some private organization or governmental agency.






50. 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.