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 result reached in a particular case.






2. The revocation of an attorney's license.






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






4. A witness who has not been shown to have any special expertise.






5. A calendering system that records key dates and important deadlines.






6. 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.






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






8. 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.






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






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






11. A case listed in Shepard's that cites your case.






12. 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.






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






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






15. Questions relating to what happened: who - what - when - where - and how.






16. Law that creates rights and duties.






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






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






19. A fee calculated as a percentage of the settlement or award in the case.






20. The general jurisdiction trial courts in the federal system.






21. 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.






22. 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.






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






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






25. The educated ability to apply law to specific facts.






26. A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint - the court will dismiss it.






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






28. 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.






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






30. A method for excusing a prospective juror based on the juror's inability to serve in an unbiased manner.






31. 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






32. The defense's request that the court find the prosecution failed to meet its burden and that it remove the case from the jury by finding the defendant not guilty.






33. 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.






34. The final paragraph in a written legal analysis that summarizes the writer's conclusions.






35. The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.






36. A computerized database that contains key information about the content of documents - such as medical records.






37. A trial ended by the judge because of a major problem - such as a prejudicial statement by one of the attorneys.






38. Cases that involve different facts and/or rules of law.






39. Information about the law - such as that contained in encyclopedias and law review articles.






40. 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






41. A defendant's plea meaning that the defendant neither admits nor denies the charges.






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






43. A warrant that allows the police to enter without announcing their presence in advance.






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






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






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






47. An opinion that agrees with the majority's result but disagrees with its reasoning.






48. A provision in a deed that prohibits specified uses of the property.






49. 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.






50. A decision is overruled when a court in a later case changes the law so that its prior decision is no longer good law.