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 decision is reversed when an appellate court overturns or negates the decision of a lower court.






2. 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.






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






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






5. An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive physical contact.






6. The papers that begin a lawsuit-generally - the complaint and the answer.






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






8. A defense whereby the defendant offers new evidence to avoid judgment.






9. 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.






10. Law that deals with harm to an individual.






11. An opinion in which a majority of the court joins.






12. 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.






13. An actual incident or condition; not a legal consequence.






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






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






16. A method for excusing a prospective juror; no reason need be given.






17. A judgment that reverses the verdict of the jury when the verdict had no reasonable factual support or was contrary to law.






18. A token sum awarded when liability has been found but monetary damages cannot be shown.






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






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






21. In a case brief - the court's answer to the issue presented to it; the new legal principle established by a court opinion.






22. A method for interpreting statutes in which the ordinary meaning of the statute's language is examined.






23. A computerized database that contains the full text of documents - such as court opinions or depositions.






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






25. An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact.






26. An activity that requires professional judgment - or the educational ability to relate law to a specific legal problem.






27. 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.






28. A compilation of federal administrative regulations arranged by agency.






29. A claim by the defendant against the plaintiff.






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






31. 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.






32. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






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






34. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.






35. When more than one court has jurisdiction to hear a case.






36. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






37. 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.






38. Law dealing with ownership.






39. A verdict ordered by a trial judge if the plaintiff fails to present a prima facie case or if the defendant fails to present a necessary defense.






40. A determination that an attorney may not practice law for a set period of time.






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






42. A tort committed by one who intends to do the act that creates the harm.






43. A professional entity in which the stockholders share in the organization's profits but have their liabilities limited to the amount of their investment.






44. The questioning of an opposing witness.






45. The questioning of your own witness.






46. 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.






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






48. A defense requiring proof that force or a threat of force was used to cause a person to commit a criminal act.






49. 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






50. Information that can be presented in a court of law as proof of some fact.