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 general jurisdiction trial courts in the federal system.






2. A national association of paralegal managers.






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






4. The power of the federal government to prevent the states from passing conflicting laws - and sometimes even to prohibit states from passing any laws on a particular subject.






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






6. When an appellate court that normally sits in panels sits as a whole.






7. A suspicion based on specific facts; less than probable cause.






8. Also known as real estate; land and items growing on or permanently attached to that land.






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






10. 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.






11. A defense requiring proof that force or a threat of force was used to cause a person to commit a criminal act.






12. A national association of paralegal associations.






13. 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.






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






15. Someone in court testifying to what someone said out of court for the purpose of establishing the truth of what was said.






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






17. Law that creates rights and duties.






18. 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.






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






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






21. A request that the court order a rehearing of a lawsuit because irregularities - such as errors of the court or jury misconduct - make it probable that an impartial trial do not occur.






22. What the prosecution or plaintiff must be able to prove in order for the case to go to the jury-that is - the elements of the prosecution's case or the plaintiff's cause of action.






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






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






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






26. A criminal proceeding at which the court informs the defendant of the charges being brought against him or her and the defendant enters a plea.






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 that contains many of the case's specific facts - thereby limiting its future applicability to a narrow range of cases.






29. 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.






30. A document that lists statements regarding specific items for the other party to admit or deny.






31. A person who assists an attorney and - working under the attorney's supervision - does tasks that - absent the paralegal - the attorney would do. A paralegal cannot give advice or appear in court.






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






33. A special type of joint tenancy applicable only to married couples.






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






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






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






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






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






39. The power of the federal courts to hear matters of federal law.






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






41. A defense whereby the defendant offers new evidence to avoid judgment.






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






43. 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.






44. 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.






45. A court's power to review statutes to decide if they conform to the federal or a state constitution.






46. A decision is overruled when a court in a later case changes the law so that its prior decision is no longer good law.






47. The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system.






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






49. 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.






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