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 questioning of your own witness.






2. The requirement that defendants be notified of their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present prior to being questioned by the police.






3. Liability without a showing of fault.






4. Occurs whenever one person - through force or the threat of force - unlawfully detains another person against his or her will.






5. 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.






6. Any tangible object - like a bloody glove.






7. The doctrine stating that normally once a court has decided one way on a particular issue - it and other courts in the same jurisdiction will decide the same way on that issue in future cases given similar facts unless they can be convinced of the ne






8. A set of ethical rules developed by the American Bar Association in the 1980s. The Model rules have been adopted by most of the states.






9. A provision that purports to waive liability.






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






11. Someone who has the power to act in the place of another.






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






13. 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.






14. Law that regulates how the legal system operates.






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






16. Law that deals with harm to a person or a person's property.






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






18. The papers that begin a lawsuit-generally - the complaint and the answer.






19. Information about what happened procedurally to the litigation after the case cited. Include this information in a citation.






20. The process after arrest that includes taking the defendant's personal information - giving the defendant an opportunity to read and sign a Miranda card - and allowing the defendant the opportunity to use a telephone.






21. A requirement that property be fit for the purpose for which it is being rented. Owners are required to repair and maintain the premises at certain minimum levels.






22. A judicial philosophy that supports a limited role for the judiciary in changing the law - including deference to the legislative branch.






23. A person who permits or directs another person to act on the principal's behalf.






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






25. Law that deals with harm to society as a whole.






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






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






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






29. The rule that in order to claim self-defense there must have been no possibility of retreat.






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






31. A claim by the defendant against the plaintiff.






32. Rules of conduct promulgated and enforced by the government.






33. A term used to describe two cases that are almost identical - with similar facts and legal issues.






34. Defendant's reply to the complaint. It may contain statements of denial - admission - or lack of knowledge and affirmative defenses.






35. The law itself - such as statutes and court opinions.






36. 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






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






38. In law - a per curium decision (or opinion) is a ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court (or at least a majoirty of the court) acting collectively and anonymously.






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






40. 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.






41. 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.






42. A national association of paralegal managers.






43. 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.






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






45. A request made to the court.






46. Books that contain appellate court decisions. There are both official and unofficial reporters.






47. 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.






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






49. The power of the federal government to prevent the states from passing conflicting laws - and sometimes even to prohibit states from passing any laws on a particular subject.






50. The revocation of an attorney's license.