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 computer program that allows the user to retrieve web documents that match the key words entered by the searcher.






2. When a person must be brought into a lawsuit as either a plaintiff or a defendant.






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






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






5. A request that the court order that certain information not be mentioned in the presence of the jury.






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






7. A motion brought before the beginning of a trial either to eliminate the necessity for a trial or to limit the information that can be heard at the trial.






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






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






10. Land and objects permanently attached to land.






11. 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.






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






13. An affidavit signed by the client indicating that he or she has read the complaint and that its contents are correct.






14. 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.






15. 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.






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






17. Information about the law - such as that contained in encyclopedias and law review articles.






18. A national association of paralegal managers.






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






20. The power of the federal government to prevent the states from passing conflicting laws - and sometimes even to prohibit states from passing any laws on a particular subject.






21. A law promulgated by an administrative agency.






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






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






24. The final paragraph in a written legal analysis that summarizes the writer's conclusions.






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






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






27. A person who initiates a lawsuit.






28. 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.






29. Cases that involve different facts and/or rules of law.






30. The reference to a particular page within an opinion.






31. A canon of construction meaning 'of the same class.:






32. Affiliated with the federal government's Legal Services Corporation - these offices serve those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal assistance.






33. A set charge for a specific service - such as drafting a simple will.






34. The process of organizing statutes by subject matter.






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






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






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






38. Rules and regulations created by administrative agencies.






39. A provision in a deed that prohibits specified uses of the property.






40. A situation in which a conflict of interest may arise in the future--for example - representing business partners.






41. A requirement that property be fit for the purpose for which it is being rented. Owners are required to repair and maintain the premises at certain minimum levels.






42. 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.






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






44. A process whereby the prosecutor and the defendant's attorney agree for the defendant to plead guilty in exchange for the prosecutor's promise to charge him or her with a lesser offense - drop some additional charges - or request a lesser sentence.






45. 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.






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






47. The pleading that begins a lawsuit.






48. Ownership by two or more people. Ownership shares do not have to be equal - but each has an undivided interest in the property. When a tenant in common dies - that person's share passes either by will or by intestate statute.






49. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






50. A form in which statutes are published; they are printed individually at the time they are first enacted.