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. Law that regulates how the legal system operates.






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






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






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






5. An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country. While its coverage of other legal mateirals is not as extensive as that of Westlaw and Lexis - it is also less expensive.






6. Not factually true - but accepted by the courts as being legally true.






7. 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.






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






9. Usually organized as either a partnership or a professional corporation - law clinics provide low-cost legal services on routine matters by stressing low overhead and high volume.






10. The process of organizing statutes by subject matter.






11. A privately published statutory code that includes editorial features - such as summaries of court opinions that have interpreted the statutes.






12. When only one court has the power to hear a case.






13. To perform.






14. A constitutional fairness requirement that a defendant have at least a certain minimum level of contact with a state before the state courts can have jurisdiction over the defendant.






15. 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.






16. The person who is being asked questions at a deposition.






17. The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.






18. 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.






19. Fairness; a court's power to do justice. Equity powers allow judges to take action when otherwise the law would limit their decisions to monetary awards. Equity powers include a judge's ability to issue an injunction and to order specific performance






20. Specific questions that usually demand very short or yes-no answers.






21. 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.






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






23. In a case brief - facts that relate to what happened procedurally in the lower courts or administrative agencies before the case reached the court issuing the opinion.






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






25. 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.






26. A provision in a deed that prohibits specified uses of the property.






27. 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.






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






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






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






31. Generally - an emergency situation that allows a search to proceed without a warrant.






32. The rule requiring that the original document be produced at trial.






33. A notice informing the defendant of the lawsuit and requiring the defendant to respond or risk losing the suit.






34. A form of logical reasoning based on a major premise - a minor premise - and a conclusion.






35. The application of legal rules to a client's specific factual situation; also known as legal analysis.






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






37. Broad questions that put few limits on the freedom of the respondent.






38. The status of being formally recognized by a nongovernmental organization for having met special criteria - such as fulfilling educational requirements and passing an exam - established by that organization.






39. An affidavit signed by the client indicating that he or she has read the complaint and that its contents are correct.






40. When a higher court agrees with what lower court has done.






41. The way in which a question of fact is established. Evidence can consist of witness testimony or documents and exhibits. It is the proof presented at a trial.






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






43. A national association of paralegal managers.






44. In a case brief - the rule of law applied to the case's specific facts.






45. Money awarded to a plaintiff in cases of intentional torts in order to punish the defendant and serve as a warning to others.






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






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






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






49. A trial conducted without a jury.






50. A request that the court grant judgment in favor of the moving party because there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. It is similar to a 12(b)(6) motion except that the court a