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






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






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






6. A court where a permanent record is kept of the testimony - lawyers' remarks - and judges' rulings.






7. 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.






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






9. A compilation of federal or state statutes in which the statutes are organized by subject matter rather than by year of enactment.






10. 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.






11. 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.






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






13. When a judge formally recognizes something as being a fact without requiring the attorneys prove it through the introduction of other evidence.






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






15. A person appointed by the court to manage the affairs or property of a person who is incompetent due to age or some other reason.






16. A person who initiates a lawsuit.






17. A test that provides that the defendant is not guilty due to insanity if - at the time of the killing - the defendant suffered from a defect or disease of the mind and could not understand whether the act was right or wrong.


18. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






19. A defense requiring proof that the defendant was forced to take an action to avoid a greater harm.






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






21. Summary of one legal point in a court opinion; written by the editors at West.






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






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






24. A right to use property owned by another for a limited purpose.






25. Law dealing with ownership.






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






28. A request that the court order a rehearing of a lawsuit because irregularities - such as errors of the court or jury misconduct - make it probable that an impartial trial do not occur.






29. Standard used by appellate courts when reviewing a trial court's findings of fact.






30. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






31. The general jurisdiction trial courts in the federal system.






32. Evidence that does not add any new information but that confirms facts that already have been established.






33. 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.






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






35. 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.






36. A statement of the court's decision that contains many of the case's specific facts - thereby limiting its future applicability to a narrow range of cases.






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






38. The process of finding the law.






39. The decision of the court regarding the claims of each side. It may be based on a jury's verdict.






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






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






42. A case listed in Shepard's that cites your case.






43. 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






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






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






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






47. A national association of paralegal managers.






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






49. General principles that guide the courts in their interpretation of statutes.






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