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. 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.






2. Consists of the description of events that a witness testifies to under oath in a legal proceeding.






3. The person who is being asked questions at a deposition.






4. A criminal proceeding at which the court informs the defendant of the charges being brought against him or her and the defendant enters a plea.






5. A question that suggests the answer; generally - leading questions may not be asked during direct examination of a witness.






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






7. 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.






8. The court's power to review statutes to decide whether they conform to the Constitution.






9. A court order that ends a lawsuit; the suit cannot be refiled by the same parties.






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






11. A court opinion that establishes new law in an important area.






12. A summary of one legal point in a court opinion; written by the editors at West.






13. Information about what happened procedurally to the cited case before it was heard by the cited court. Do not include this information in a citation.






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






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






16. 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.






17. In a complaint - one cause of action.






18. When an appellate court overturns or negates the decision of a lower court.






19. Law that regulates how the legal system operates.






20. A method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant - with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries.






21. A decision is affirmed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court agrees with what the lower court has done.






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






23. 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.






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






25. 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.






26. The background documents created during the process of a bill becoming a statute. These documents can include alternative versions of the legislation - proceedings of committee hearings and reports - and transcripts of floor debates.






27. Intangible assets - such as trade secrets - copyrights - patents - and trade or service marks.






28. Questions relating to the interpretation or application of the law.






29. A method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant - with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries.






30. The status of having received a certificate documenting that the person has successfully completed an educational program.






31. Usually organized as either a partnership or a professional corporation - law clinics provide low-cost legal services on routine matters by stressing low overhead and high volume.






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






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






34. Part of the Model Penal Code; a test that provides that the defendant is not guilty due to insanity if - at the time of the killing - the defendant lacked either the ability to understand that the act was wrong or the ability to control the behavior.






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






36. Generally accepted legal principles.






37. A notice informing the defendant of the lawsuit and requiring the defendant to respond or risk losing the suit.






38. The opinion of a jury on a question of fact.






39. The process by which individuals or organizations have their names placed on an official list kept by some private organization or governmental agency.






40. 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






41. Cases that involve similar facts and rules of law.






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






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






44. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






45. Determined by whether the evidence leads one to logically conclude that an asserted fact is either more or less probable.






46. The pleading that begins a lawsuit.






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






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






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






50. A trial court error that is not sufficient to warrant reversing the decision.