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 bank account used to hold money belonging to the client or to a third party.






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






3. 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.






4. A calendering system that records key dates and important deadlines.






5. A separable part of a statute that must be satisfied for the statute to apply.






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






7. Indirect evidence - used to prove facts by implication.






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






9. A request that the court find the plaintiff has failed to state a valid claim and dismiss the complaint.






10. A trial conducted without a jury.






11. 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.






12. A person who initiates an appeal.






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






14. A court's power to hear any type of case arising within its geographical area.






15. Liability without a showing of fault.






16. The power of a court to hear a case.






17. In logic - a belief that justifies one in arguing a conclusion.






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






19. A judgment entered against a party who fails to complete a required step - such as answering the complaint.






20. The judge informs the jurors of the law they need to know to make their decision.






21. When more than one court has jurisdiction to hear a case.






22. Also known as cause in fact - this is measured by the 'but for' standard: But for the defendant's actions - the plaintiff would not have been injured.






23. Establishes a direct link to the event that must be proven.






24. An online legal databease containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country - as well as secondary authority; a competitor to Lexis.






25. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






26. 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.






27. The pretrial oral questioning of a witness under oath.






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






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






30. The rules whereby all members of a law firm are treated as though they had represented the former client.






31. 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.






32. The standard of proof most commonly used in civil trials. The evidence presented must prove that it is more likely than not the defendant committed the wrong.






33. An opinion that agrees with the majority's result but disagrees with the reasoning.






34. A set of standardized jury instructions.






35. A defendant's personal promise to appear in court.






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






37. Bad act.






38. Used to describe legislation that changes the common law.






39. The process of finding the law.






40. A compilation of federal administrative regulations arranged by agency.






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






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






43. Land and objects permanently attached to land.






44. 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.






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






46. 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.






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






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






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






50. In a lawsuit the person who is sued; in a criminal case the person who is being charged with a crime.