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






2. Information about the law - such as that contained in encyclopedias and law review articles.






3. 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.






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






5. 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.






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






7. Information about what happened procedurally to the litigation after the case cited. Include this information in a citation. There is no entry for the topic Husband and Wife.






8. A witness who has not been shown to have any special expertise.






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






10. A law promulgated by an administrative agency.






11. A decision is reversed when an appellate court overturns or negates the decision of a lower court.






12. 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.






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






14. 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.






15. 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.






16. The pleading that begins a lawsuit.






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






18. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






19. A form in which statutes are published; they are printed individually at the time they are first enacted.






20. Written questions sent by one side to the opposing side - answered under oath.






21. An opinion that agrees with the majority's result but disagrees with the reasoning.






22. Body of law that has evolved from judicial decisions in cases that do not involve constitutional - statutory - or administrative regulation interpretation.






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






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






25. Proof that the evidence is what it is said to be.






26. Questions that suggest the answer.






27. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






28. An approach whereby the courts give a statute a narrow interpretation.






29. A computerized database that contains the full text of documents - such as court opinions or depositions.






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






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






32. 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.






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






34. A claim by the defendant against the plaintiff.






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






36. A witness who possesses skill and knowledge beyond that of the average person.






37. The purpose of the legislature at the time it enacted the statute.






38. 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.






39. The standard of proof used in criminal trials. The evidence represented must be so conclusive and complete that all reasonable doubts regarding the facts are removed from the jurors' minds.






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






41. 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.






42. 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.






43. The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.






44. 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.






45. A trial conducted without a jury.






46. A decision is reversed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court disagrees with the decision of a lower court.






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






48. A repeat offender; one who continues to commit more crimes.






49. A test that provides that the defendant is not guity due to insanity if - at the time of the killing the defendant could not control his or her actions.






50. 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.