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






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






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






4. The law that sets the length of time from when something happens to when a lawsuit must be filed before the right to bring it is lost.






5. 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.






6. A body of principles and rules that are either explicitly stated in - or inferred from - the constitutions of the United States and those of the individual states.






7. An actual incident or condition; not a legal consequence.






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






9. Also known as real estate; land and items growing on or permanently attached to that land.






10. A process whereby the prosecutor and the defendant's attorney agree for the defendant to plead guilty in exchange for the prosecutor's promise to charge him or her with a lesser offense - drop some additional charges - or request a lesser sentence.






11. An assumption that something that is not real is real-for example - saying that a corporation is a person for purposes of its being able to sue and be sued.






12. A national association of paralegal associations.






13. 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.






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






15. The educated ability to apply law to specific facts.






16. A defense requiring proof that the defendant was not mentally responsible.






17. A person who initiates an appeal.






18. Techniques for resolving conflicts that are alternatives to full-scale litigation. The two most common are arbitration and mediation.






19. 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.






20. The defense's request that the court find the prosecution failed to meet its burden and that it remove the case from the jury by finding the defendant not guilty.






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






22. Computer codes that - when clicked on with a mouse - connect the user to other web pages with related information






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






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






25. A request that the court prohibit the use of certain evidence at the trial.






26. 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.






27. '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.






28. The questioning of an opposing witness.






29. 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.






30. A court order that a person who is not a party to the litigation appear at a trial or deposition and bring requested documents.






31. In a complaint - one cause of action.






32. A fee based on how many hours attorneys or paralegals spend on the case. Different hourly rates are often charged for different attorneys and paralegals within the firm - based on their seniority and experience.






33. A professional entity in which the owners share in the organization's profits but are not liable for the malpractice of their partners.






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






35. A reason for invalidating a statute where it covers both protected and criminal activity.






36. A statute that changes the common law.






37. The highest federal appellate court - consisting of nine appointed members.






38. Monetary compensation - including compensatory - punitive - and nominal damages.






39. A transfer of real property rights that occurs after someone other than the owner has had actual - open - adverse - and exclusive use of the property for a statutorily determined number of years.






40. A statutory citation is a formalized method for referring to a statute's chapter (or title) and section numbers.






41. The questioning of your own witness.






42. 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.






43. A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint - the court will dismiss it.






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






45. Land and objects permanently attached to land.






46. 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.






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






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






49. A book that contains court opinion headnotes arranged by subject matter.






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.