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






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






3. Private publication of court opinions-for example - the regional reporters - such as N.E.2d - published by West.






4. An intentional tort that covers a variety of situations - including disclosure - intrusion - appropriation - and false light.






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. Either a subcategory of relevancy or simply another word for relevancy - the requirement that the evidence be more probative than prejudicial.






7. 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.






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






9. A system developed to shield an attorney or a paralegal from a case that otherwise would create a conflict of interest.






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






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






12. 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.






13. A claim by one defendant against another defendant or by one plaintiff against another plaintiff.






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






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






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






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






18. A court's power to hear only specialized cases.






19. A reason for invalidating a statute where a reasonable person could not determine a statute's meaning.






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






21. A contract that outlines the attorney's duties and the client's obligations regarding payment - on either an hourly or a contingency fee basis - as well as the client's responsibility reagarding costs and expenses.






22. A court order requiring a person to appear to testify at a trial or deposition.






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






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






25. A method for excusing a prospective juror based on the juror's inability to serve in an unbiased manner.






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






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






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






29. Evidence that suggests the defendant's innocence.






30. Powers not stated in the Constitution but that are necessary for Congress to carry out other - expressly granted powers.






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






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






33. Federal and state rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in court.






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






39. A national organization of paralegal programs that promotes high standards for paralegal education.






40. Disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result.






41. Violation of a statute as proof of negligence






42. 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.






43. The process of legislative enactment of areas of the law previously governed solely by the common law.






44. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






45. A judicial philosophy that supports an active role for the judiciary in changing the law.






46. A witness who possesses skill and knowledge beyond that of the average person.






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






48. A method adopted by the federal rules in which the plaintiff simply informs the defendant of the claim and the general basis for it.






49. Evidence that supports previous testimony but that comes in a different form.






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