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 delivery of a pleading or other paper in a lawsuit to the opposing party.






2. The standard of proof used in some civil trials. The evidence presented must be greater than a preponderance of the evidence but less than beyond a reasonable doubt.






3. A provision that purports to waive liability.






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






5. The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system.






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






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






8. A form of logical reasoning based on a major premise - a minor premise - and a conclusion.






9. 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.






10. 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.






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






12. The process of properly identifying and authenticating evidence so that it can be introduced.






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






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






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






16. In a case brief - the court's answer to the issue presented to it; the new legal principle established by a court opinion.






17. A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint - the court will dismiss it.






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






19. A court's prior permission for the police to search and seize.






20. Also known as cause in fact - this is measured by the 'but for' standard: But for the defendant's actions - the plaintiff would not have been injured.






21. 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.






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






23. Ownership by two or more people. Ownership shares do not have to be equal - but each has an undivided interest in the property. When a tenant in common dies - that person's share passes either by will or by intestate statute.






24. The process of using Shepard's citations to check a court citation to see whether there has been any subsequent history or treatment by other court decisions.






25. A canon of construction meaning 'of the same class.:






26. The power of a court to force a person to appear before it.






27. When only one court has the power to hear a case.






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






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






30. An error made by the trial judge sufficiently serious to warrant reversing the trial court's decision.






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






32. The judge informs the jurors of the law they need to know to make their decision.






33. An advance or down payment that is given to engage the services of an attorney.






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






35. A defense requiring proof that the defendant would not have committed the crime but for police trickery.






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






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






38. Law that deals with harm to an individual.






39. Evidence that suggests the defendant's innocence.






40. A right to use property owned by another for a limited purpose.






41. The requirement that relief be sought from an administrative agency before proceeding to court.






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






43. 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.






44. The right of the police to detain an individual for a brief period of time and to search the outside of the person's clothing if the police have a reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed or is about to commit crime.






45. 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.






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






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






48. In a lawsuit the person who is sued; in a criminal case the person who is being charged with a crime.






49. A nonbinding process in which attorneys for both sides present synopses of their cases to a jury - which renders an advisory opinion on the basis of these presentations.






50. The power of the federal courts to hear matters of state law if the opposing parties are from different states and the amounts in controversy exceeds $75 -000.00