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






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






3. An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country - as well as secondary authority; a competitor to Westlaw.






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






5. The doctrine stating that normally once a court has decided one way on a particular issue - it and other courts in the same jurisdiction will decide the same way on that issue in future cases given similar facts unless they can be convinced of the ne






6. The standard of proof most commonly used in civil trials. The evidence presented must prove that it is more likely than not the defendant committed the wrong.






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






8. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






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






10. A separable part of a statute that must be satisfied for the statute to apply.






11. Monetary compensation - including compensatory - punitive - and nominal damages.






12. A law enacted by a state legislature or by Congress.






13. 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.






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






15. 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.






16. 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.






17. Rules and regulations created by administrative agencies.






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






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






20. A method for excusing a prospective juror based on the juror's inability to serve in an unbiased manner.






21. A determination that an attorney may not practice law for a set period of time.






22. The party in a case against whom an appeal has been filed.






23. 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.






24. Federal and state rules that regulate how criminal proceedings are conducted.






25. The court's power to review statutes to decide whether they conform to the Constitution.






26. Affiliated with the federal government's Legal Services Corporation - these offices serve those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal assistance.






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






34. 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.






35. The process of finding the law.






36. The process of organizing statutes by subject matter.






37. The new legal principle established by a court opinion.






38. A law promulgated by an administrative agency.






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






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






41. A statute enacted to correct a defect in prior law or to provide a remedy where none existed.






42. A case listed in Shepard's that cites your case.






43. The highest federal appellate court - consisting of nine appointed members.






44. Cases that involve different facts and/or rules of law.






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






46. Someone who has the power to act in the place of another.






47. 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.






48. Evidence that suggests the defendant's guilt.






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






50. The process of signaling that you are really listening - accomplished by using verbal and nonverbal clues - paraphrasing - and reflecting the client's feelings.