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. Establishes a direct link to the event that must be proven.






2. A decision is reversed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court disagrees with the decision of a lower court.






3. An advance or down payment that is given to engage the services of an attorney.






4. A fee based on how many hours attorneys or paralegals spend on the case. Different hourly rates are often charged for different attorneys and paralegals within the firm - based on their seniority and experience.






5. Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.






6. How subsequent cases have affected the case you are Shepardizing. It is sometimes indicated by a one-letter abbreviation before the Shepard's citation.






7. The purpose of the legislature at the time it enacted the statute.






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






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






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






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






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






13. The process of organizing statutes by subject matter.






14. Court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction.






15. The power of the federal courts to hear matters of federal law.






16. A term used to describe two cases that are almost identical - with similar facts and legal issues.






17. Liability without having to prove fault.






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






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






20. The modern pretrial procedure by which one party gains information from the adverse party.






21. A method adopted by the federal rules in which the plaintiff simply informs the defendant of the claim and the general basis for it.






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






23. 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.






24. A defense requiring proof that the defendant would not have committed the crime but for police trickery.






25. A statute enacted to correct a defect in prior law or to provide a remedy where none existed.






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






27. In a case brief - the general legal principle in existence before the case began.






28. 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.






29. A national association of paralegal managers.






30. An act by a landlord that makes the premises unfit or unsuitable for occupancy.






31. A decision is overruled when a court in a later case changes the law that the decision in the earlier case is no longer good law.






32. 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.






33. To perform.






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






35. An authoritative secondary source - written by a group of legal scholars - summarizing the existing common law - as well as suggesting what the law should be.






36. Evidence that supports previous testimony but that comes in a different form.






37. Someone in court testifying to what someone said out of court for the purpose of establishing the truth of what was said.






38. 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.






39. Standard used by appellate courts when reviewing a trial court's findings of fact.






40. In a lawsuit the person who is sued; in a criminal case the person who is being charged with a crime.






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






42. A system of government in which the authority to govern is split between a single - nationwide central government and several regional governments that control specific geographical areas.






43. The power of a court to force a person to appear before it.






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






45. A term used to describe a case that is similar to another case.






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






47. 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.






48. A paralegal who works as an independent contractor rather than as an employee of a law firm or corporation.






49. The questioning of your own witness.






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