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 highest federal appellate court - consisting of nine appointed members.






2. In logic - an argument is considered to be valid or sound if the assumption underlying the argument are true.






3. 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.






4. 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.






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






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






7. Money or something else of value that is held by the government to ensure the defendant's appearance in court.






8. The power of a court to hear a particular type of case.






9. 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.






10. A group of people - usually 23 - whose function is to determine if probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendant committed it.






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






12. Courts that determine whether lower courts have made errors of law.






13. Fairness; a court's power to do justice. Equity powers allow judges to take action when otherwise the law would limit their decisions to monetary awards. Equity powers include a judge's ability to issue an injunction and to order specific performance






14. Court decisions from an equal or a lower court from the same jurisidiction or from a higher court in a different jurisdiction; also includes secondary authority.






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






16. Money is awarded to a plaintiff in payment for his or her actual losses.






17. The power of government to take private property for public purposes.






18. 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






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






20. 'The thing speaks for itself'; the doctrine that suggest negligence can be presumed if an event happens that would not ordinarily happen unless someone was negligent.






21. 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.






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






23. A claim by the defendant against the plaintiff.






24. 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.






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






26. A statute that changes the common law.






27. A law promulgated by an administrative agency.






28. In a case brief - facts that deal with what happened to the parties before the litigation began.






29. An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country - as well as secondary authority; a competitor to Westlaw.






30. The result reached in a particular case.






31. 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.






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






33. Information about what happened procedurally to the litigation after the case cited. Include this information in a citation.






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






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






36. A court's power to review statutes to decide if they conform to the federal or a state constitution.






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






38. 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.






39. A means of gaining appellate review; in the U.S. Supreme Court the writ is discretionary and will be issued to another court to review a federal question if four of the nine justices vote to hear the case.






40. Law that deals with harm to a person or a person's property.






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






42. A grand jury's written accusation that a given individual has committed a crime.






43. The justified use of force to protect oneself or others.






44. A summary of a court opinion that appears at the beginning of the case.






45. Evidence that suggests the defendant's innocence.






46. Examples of legal writing include case briefs - law office memoranda - and documents filed with the court.






47. The new legal principle established by a court opinion.






48. Ownership by two or more persons who have equal rights in the use of the property. When a joint tenant dies - that person's share passes to the other joint tenant(s).






49. A request that the court grant judgment in favor of the moving party because there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. It is similar to a 12(b)(6) motion except that the court a






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