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. Generally accepted legal principles.






2. A request that the court find the plaintiff has failed to state a valid claim and dismiss the complaint.






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






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






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






6. '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.






7. Federal and state rules that govern the admissibility of evidence in court.






8. A criminal proceeding at which the court informs the defendant of the charges being brought against him or her and the defendant enters a plea.






9. The process of properly identifying and authenticating evidence so that it can be introduced.






10. The requirement that defendants be notified of their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present prior to being questioned by the police.






11. A person who assists an attorney and - working under the attorney's supervision - does tasks that - absent the paralegal - the attorney would do. A paralegal cannot give advice or appear in court.






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






13. When a higher court agrees with what lower court has done.






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






15. Occurs when the police restrain a person's freedom and charge the person with a crime.






16. A request made to the court.






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






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






19. Money awarded to a plaintiff in cases of intentional torts in order to punish the defendant and serve as a warning to others.






20. A court order requiring a party to perform a specific act or to cease doing a specific act.






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






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






23. The authority of a court to hear a case when it is initiated - as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.






24. 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.






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






26. A judgment entered against a party who fails to complete a required step - such as answering the complaint.






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






28. 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.






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






30. A statement of the court's decision in which the facts are either omitted or given in very general terms so that it will apply to a wider range of cases.






31. 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.






32. The law itself - such as statutes and court opinions.






33. A trial conducted without a jury.






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






35. 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.






36. The questioning of your own witness.






37. In writing - a technique used to help your reader move from one thought to the next and to see the connections between them.






38. An assumption that something that is not real is real-for example - saying that a corporation is a person for purposes of its being able to sue and be sued.






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






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






41. In a case brief - the rule of law applied to the case's specific facts.






42. Techniques for resolving conflicts that are alternatives to full-scale litigation. The two most common are arbitration and mediation.






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






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






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






46. Broad questions that put few limits on the freedom of the respondent.






47. The court's power to review statutes to decide whether they conform to the Constitution.






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






49. A summary of one legal point in a court opinion; written by the editors at West.






50. The power of the federal courts to hear matters of state law if the opposing parties are from different states and the amounts in controversy exceeds $75 -000.00