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. Court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction.






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






3. 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.






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






5. 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.






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






7. 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.






8. 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.






9. 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.






10. The heading section of a pleading that contains the names of the parties - the name of the court - the title of the action - the docket or file number - and the name of the pleading.






11. A determination that an attorney may not practice law for a set period of time.






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






13. In deductive reasoning - the second proposition - which along with the major premise leads to the conclusion; in law - the minor premise consists of the client's facts.






14. A trial conducted without a jury.






15. The authority of a court to hear a case when it is initiated - as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.






16. A statute establishing and setting out the powers of an administrative agency.






17. A request that the court release the defendant because of the illegality of the incarceration.






18. When a higher court agrees with what lower court has done.






19. 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






20. Located in most codified statutes - this table lists statutes by their popular names along with their citations.






21. Questions that suggest the answer.






22. Representing someone who is in a position adverse to a prior client.






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






24. An ADR mechanism whereby a neutral third party assists the parties in reaching a mutually agreeable - voluntary compromise.






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






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






27. An ADR mechanism whereby the parties submit their disagreement to a third party - whose decision is binding.






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






29. An act by a landlord that makes the premises unfit or unsuitable for occupancy.






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






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






32. The standard of proof used in criminal trials. The evidence represented must be so conclusive and complete that all reasonable doubts regarding the facts are removed from the jurors' minds.






33. What the prosecution or plaintiff must be able to prove in order for the case to go to the jury-that is - the elements of the prosecution's case or the plaintiff's cause of action.






34. Consists of records - contracts - leases - wills - and other written instruments.






35. 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.






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






37. An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact.






38. Information that tells the reader the name of the case - where it can be located - the court that decided it - and the year it was decided. The Bluebook gives precise rules as to how case citations are to be written.






39. 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.






40. A court's prior permission for the police to search and seize.






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






42. A warrant that allows the police to enter without announcing their presence in advance.






43. Simultaneously representing adverse clients.






44. Liability without a showing of fault.






45. The rule requiring that the original document be produced at trial.






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






47. An attorney's written argument presented to an appeals court - setting forth a statement of the law as it should be applied to the client's facts.






48. 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.






49. 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.






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