Test your basic knowledge |

Certified Legal Research

Subject : certifications
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. (Dallas - Cranch - Wheaton - Peters - Howard - Black - and Wallace) - which were cited - for example - 1 Dall. 233.






2. Mandatory legal authority that consists of constitutions - statutes - case law - rules of procedure - rules of evidence - administrative rules - court rules - executive orders






3. Sometimes called a hornbook - is a single-volume text written by a legal scholar in a given topic area






4. Fed. R. Crim. P. 42






5. 88 C.J.S. Trial






6. Virginia Koerselman - Comment - Worker's Compensation - 15 Creighton L. Rev. 415 (1981).






7. Year the Court began using official reporters and its current numbering system






8. Devoted to a table of cases and a descriptive word index.






9. Statutes at Large






10. The appellate court reviews the record for prejudicial legal errors committed in the trial court but gives great deference to the findings of fact; factual findings are generally reversed only when they are "arbitrary or capricious"






11. The entire court participates rather than the permissible quorum. This does not mean that the entire court agrees on the outcome - however.






12. The cited authority states a proposition that is different from the proposition stated by the writer - but the proposition stated in the cited authority is sufficiently similar to lend support to the writer's proposition






13. Digests






14. Statutory Supplements






15. Caption - date of decision - parallel citations - headnote or syllabus - statement of facts - opinion - holding - rationale - dicta - decision






16. A very brief opinion; a cursory opinion; an opinion so abbreviated that it is hardly an opinion at all






17. United States Supreme Court Reports - Lawyers' Edition






18. The method used to determine whether a case still is good law is to check the citation in the appropriate set of Shepard's Citations.






19. Only those state appellate court cases which are significant (indicates a change in the law or a new trend in legal thinking).






20. Brief summary of a legal rule discussed in the opinion; headnotes are numbered. key numbers are used in West publications






21. Decennial Digest and uses the key number system.






22. A reference to a legal authority - such as a constitution - statute - case - administrative rule - or other authority.






23. Statutes that are collected into a statutory code that are arranged by topic






24. West publishes separate digests for nearly every state plus the District of Columbia - as well as digests tied to five of its seven regional case reporters.






25. Georgia - North Carolina - South Carolina - Virginia - and West Virginia






26. A proposed legislative measure






27. Is an official publication that includes all laws enacted by Congress.






28. Legal dictionary - treatise - restatement of law - encyclopedia






29. The date upon which the decision was rendered






30. Case law






31. To indicate the full citation for the case follows at a later point in the memorandum or brief.


32. Annotated law reporter and is the secondary legal authority published by Lawyers Co-op.






33. Health Care Act - Pub. L. 92-117 - 83 Stat. 624 (1987).






34. 1. full name of author 2. designation of type of article (required only if written by student); 3. title of article (italicized or underscored) 4. volume number of law review 5. abbreviated name of law review 6. page number where article begins; and






35. The process used to synthesize legal principles from all prior cases with similar facts and similar issues of law to arrive at a decision in a specific case






36. L. Ed or L. Ed. 2d


37. Statutes at Large (Stat.)






38. Statutory law






39. Regardless of how it may have been shown in the lower courts.






40. Arkansas - Kentucky - Missouri - Tennessee - Texas - and Indian Territories






41. Refers to a previously cited authority. May not be used to refer to constitutions - statutes - or cases previously cited in full in legal memoranda and briefs; however - it may be used in genearl text - in books - and in law review articles.






42. Issued by a private - non-government publisher (primary law - secondary law - encyclopedia - or other).






43. The cited authority contradicts the proposition stated in the memorandum






44. Both state and federal.






45. Ratio decidendi- court's reasoning or basis for its holding and decision






46. Anew - from the beginning - the case is tried in the appellate court as if it had not been tried previously - and witness are allowed to testify.






47. An unofficial publication of law that is known for its extensive use of annotations






48. Case reports - published by West - that divides the United States into seven geographical regions and reports the decisions of the highest appellate court of each state within that region.






49. The three branches of government that make up each legal system- legislative - judicial and executive






50. Use digest to find case references; read the case in the reporter; and shepardize to determine status.