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






2. In deductive reasoning - the statement of a broad proposition that forms the starting point; in law - the statement of a legal rule that you can find in a statute or court opinion.






3. A system of government in which the authority to govern is split between a single - nationwide central government and several regional governments that control specific geographical areas.






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






5. In a complaint - one cause of action.






6. A requirement that a party fulfill his or her contractual obligations.






7. 'The thing speaks for itself'; the doctrine that suggest negligence can be presumed if an event happens that would not ordinarily happen unless someone was negligent.






8. A lawsuit brought by a person as a representative for a group of people who have been similarly injured.






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






10. The party in a lawsuit against whom an appeal has been filed.






11. The power of a court to hear a particular type of case.






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






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






14. Courts that determine the facts and apply the law to the facts.






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






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






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






18. A defense requiring proof that the defendant was forced to take an action to avoid a greater harm.






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






20. 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.






21. An error made by the trial judge sufficiently serious to warrant reversing the trial court's decision.






22. In a case brief - the court's answer to the issue presented to it; the new legal principle established by a court opinion.






23. 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.






24. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






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






26. A trial conducted without a jury.






27. 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.






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






29. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






30. The status of having received a certificate documenting that the person has successfully completed an educational program.






31. An issue that the court has never faced before.






32. The final paragraph in a written legal analysis that summarizes the writer's conclusions.






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






34. Evidence that does not add any new information but that confirms facts that already have been established.






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






36. When an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court for a new trial or other action.






37. 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.






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






39. 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.






40. 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.






41. The process of properly identifying and authenticating evidence so that it can be introduced.






42. Questions relating to the interpretation or application of the law.






43. In a case brief - facts that deal with what happened to the parties before the litigation began.






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






45. Rules and regulations created by administrative agencies.






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






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






48. The result reached in a particular case.






49. Including more than one count in a complaint; the counts do not need to be consistent.






50. An introductory paragraph listing issues to be discussed in the order they are to be discussed.