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






2. Not factually true - but accepted by the courts as being legally true.






3. 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.






4. An approach whereby the courts give a statute a broad interpretation.






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






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






7. Bad act.






8. Law that deals with harm to an individual.






9. Negligence by the plaintiff that contributed to his or her injury. Normally - it is a complete bar to the plaintiff's recovery.






10. A reason for invalidating a statute where a reasonable person could not determine a statute's meaning.






11. 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.






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






13. An approach whereby the courts give a statute a narrow interpretation.






14. Without the need for a warrant - the police may seize objects that are openly visible.






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






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






17. A claim by the defendant against the plaintiff.






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






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






20. Written questions sent by one side to the opposing side - answered under oath.






21. A rule that states that evidence obtained in violation of an individual's constitutional rights cannot be used against that individual in a criminal trial.






22. A set of ethical rules developed by the American Bar Association in the 1980s. The Model rules have been adopted by most of the states.






23. Generally accepted legal principles.






24. A request made to the court.






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






26. The rules whereby all members of a law firm are treated as though they had represented the former client.






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






28. Rules and regulations created by administrative agencies.






29. Evidence that suggests the defendant's innocence.






30. An agreement supported by consideration.






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






32. 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.






33. The tort theory that an employer can be sued for the negligent acts of its employees.






34. A body of principles and rules that are either explicitly stated in - or inferred from - the constitutions of the United States and those of the individual states.






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






36. The requirement that relief be sought from an administrative agency before proceeding to court.






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






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






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






40. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






41. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






42. A judicial philosophy that supports a limited role for the judiciary in changing the law - including deference to the legislative branch.






43. A system developed to shield an attorney or a paralegal from a case that otherwise would create a conflict of interest.






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






45. A reason for invalidating a statute where it covers both protected and criminal activity.






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






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






48. The right of the police to detain an individual for a brief period of time and to search the outside of the person's clothing if the police have a reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed or is about to commit crime.






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






50. Once actual cause is found - as a policy matter - the court must also find that the act and the resulting harm were so foreseeably related as to justify a finding of liability.