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






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






4. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.






5. A situation in which a conflict of interest may arise in the future--for example - representing business partners.






6. 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.






7. Information about what happened procedurally to the cited case before it was heard by the cited court. Do not include this information in a citation.






8. A compilation of federal administrative regulations arranged by agency.






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






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






11. A computer search that identifies every place in which the search term appears in the actual text of the document being searched.






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






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






14. 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.






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






16. 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.






17. A business run by two or more persons as co-owners.






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






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






20. 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.






21. A public or private statement that an attorney's conduct violated the code of ethics.






22. When an appellate court overturns or negates the decision of a lower court.






23. Any tangible object - like a bloody glove.






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






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






26. Court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction.






27. A statute that changes the common law.






28. Techniques for resolving conflicts that are alternatives to full-scale litigation. The two most common are arbitration and mediation.






29. Being the victem of repeated attacks - self-defense is sometimes allowed to the victim - even when the victim is not in immediate danger.

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30. 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.






31. A process whereby the prosecutor and the defendant's attorney agree for the defendant to plead guilty in exchange for the prosecutor's promise to charge him or her with a lesser offense - drop some additional charges - or request a lesser sentence.






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






33. The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.






34. The ethical rule prohibiting attorneys and paralegals from working for opposing sides in a case.






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






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






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






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






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






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






41. A method adopted by the federal rules in which the plaintiff simply informs the defendant of the claim and the general basis for it.






42. A pamphlet inserted into the back of a book containing information new since the volume was published.






43. 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.






44. A group of people - usually 23 - whose function is to determine if probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendant committed it.






45. The modern pretrial procedure by which one party gains information from the adverse party.






46. A nonlawyer who provides legal services directly to the public without being under the supervision of an attorney. Absent a statute allowing this activity - it constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.






47. An authoritative secondary source - written by a group of legal scholars - summarizing the existing common law - as well as suggesting what the law should be.






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






49. A trial ended by the judge because of a major problem - such as a prejudicial statement by one of the attorneys.






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