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






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






3. A court order that ends a lawsuit; the suit cannot be refiled by the same parties.






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






5. A court order requiring a person to appear to testify at a trial or deposition.






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






7. A national association of paralegal associations.






8. The failure of an attorney to act reasonably.






9. The opinion of a jury on a question of fact.






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






11. Indirect evidence - used to prove facts by implication.






12. Courts that determine whether lower courts have made errors of law.






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






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






15. The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.






16. A set of standardized jury instructions.






17. The pleading that begins a lawsuit.






18. A national voluntary organization of lawyers.






19. When the product was not being used for its intended purpose or was being used in a dangerous manner; it is a defense to a products liability claim so long as the misuse was not foreseeable.






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






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






22. The number of hours - or parts of an hour - that can be charged to a specific client.






23. Something of value exchanged to form the basis of a contract.






24. 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.






25. A statute establishing and setting out the powers of an administrative agency.






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






27. In a case brief - facts that deal with what happened to the parties before the litigation began.






28. A group of people - usually 23 - whose function is to determine if probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendant committed it.






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






30. 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.






31. Evidence that does not add any new information but that confirms facts that already have been established.






32. A requirement that a party fulfill his or her contractual obligations.






33. Land and objects permanently attached to land.






34. The ethical rule prohibiting attorneys and paralegals from disclosing information regarding a client or a client's case.






35. 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.






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






37. An error made by the trial judge sufficiently serious to warrant reversing the trial court's decision.






38. A privately published statutory code that includes editorial features - such as summaries of court opinions that have interpreted the statutes.






39. 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.






40. A lawsuit brought by a person as a representative for a group of people who have been similarly injured.






41. 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.






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






43. 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.






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






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






46. The revocation of an attorney's license.






47. A decision is affirmed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court agrees with what the lower court has done.






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






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






50. 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