Legal Terms from chapter 1-10
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| 5064653427 | Paralegal | a person with specialized training who assists lawyers | 0 | |
| 5064653428 | Cause of action | 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. | 1 | |
| 5064653429 | legal research | The process of finding the law | 2 | |
| 5064653430 | legal reasoning | The application of legal rules to a client's specific factual situation; also known as legal analysis. | 3 | |
| 5064653431 | stare decisis | The doctrine stating that once a court has decided one way on a past issue other courts will decide the same way. | 4 | |
| 5064653432 | felonies | a serious crime such as murder, rape, kidnapping, or robbery with incarceration for year or more, life sentences or death penalty. 4 categories against person,or against property, against public health or decency, and against government itself. | 5 | |
| 5064653433 | misdemeanors | minor crimes for which the penalty is usually less than one year in jail or a fine | 6 | |
| 5064653434 | defenses | 1. Insanity 2. Intoxication 3. Infancy 4. Self-Defense 5. Duress 6. Entrapement | 7 | |
| 5064653435 | damages | a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury | 8 | |
| 5064653436 | elements | the conditions that make an act unlawful. Actus rea=act or omission & Mens rea=intent | 9 | |
| 5064653437 | criminal law | group of laws that defines and sets punishments for offenses against society | 10 | |
| 5064653438 | Civil law | Judicial law not involving criminal charges. Cases are between 2 parties and involve common law. | 11 | |
| 5064653439 | sources of law | executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch | 12 | |
| 5064653440 | Binding authorities | Any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case. Binding authorities include constitutions, statutes, and regulations that govern the issue being decided, as well as court decisions that are controlling precedents within the jurisdiction. | 13 | |
| 5064653441 | diversity of citizenship | Under Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution, a basis for federal court jurisdiction over a lawsuit between (1) citizens of different states, (2) a foreign country and citizens of a state or of different states, or (3) citizens of a state and citizens or subjects of a foreign country. The amount in controversy must be more than $75,000 before a federal court can take jurisdiction in such cases. | 14 | |
| 5064653442 | federal question | A case arising under the U.S. Constitution, treaties, and federal statutes and regulations., jurisdiction given to federal courts in cases involving the interpretation and application of the U.S. Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties | 15 | |
| 5064653443 | substantive law | law that defines the rights and duties of people | 16 | |
| 5064653444 | procedural law | Law that regulates how the legal system operates. | 17 | |
| 5064653445 | common law | laws created by courts | 18 | |
| 5064653446 | Paralegal's role in analyzing facts | 1-assist in fact gathering 2-conduct interviews 3-summarize interviews 4-read and summarize documents | 19 | |
| 5064653447 | natural law | The belief that government and the legal system should reflect universal moral and ethical principles that are inherent in human nature. The natural law school is the oldest and one of the most significant schools of legal thought. HIGHER STANDARD | 20 | |
| 5064653448 | legal positivism | a legal theory whose proponents believe that the validity of a law is determined by the process through which it was made rather than by the degree to which it reflects natural law principles | 21 | |
| 5064653449 | legal realist | a legal philosophy whose proponents think that judges decide cases based on factors other than logic & prexisting rules such as economic & sociological. | 22 | |
| 5064653450 | freelance paralegal | A paralegal who works as an independent contractor rather than as an employee of a law firm or corporation. | 23 | |
| 5064653451 | legal technician | A nonlawyer who provides legal services directly to the public without being under the supervision of an attorney. Absent a statute allowing this activity, it constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. | 24 | |
| 5064653452 | legal scriveners | prepare documents for those handling their cases & providing typing services | 25 | |
| 5064653453 | lay advocate | Generally someone operating within the law, representing persons before administrative agencies that permit this practice. | 26 | |
| 5064653454 | law clerk | a recent law school graduate or law student who assists a judge by conducting legal research, and summarizing cases | 27 | |
| 5064653455 | document clerk | organizes and files legal documents/legal document filer | 28 | |
| 5064653456 | NALA | National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc. | 29 | |
| 5064653457 | NFPA | National federation of Paralegals Associations | 30 | |
| 5064653458 | IPMA | Inrenational paralegal management association | 31 | |
| 5064653459 | AAFPE | American association for paralegal education | 32 | |
| 5064653460 | ABA | American Bar Association | 33 | |
| 5064653461 | United States Supreme Court | has 9 justices (judges) serving | 34 | |
| 5064653462 | United States Court of Appeals | has only 3 judges reviewing cases | 35 | |
| 5064653463 | Types of Primary Authority | cases,statutes,constitution, executive orders,administrative regulations,& treaties between 2 countries | 36 | |
| 5064653464 | Types of Secondary Authority | Encyclopedias, digests, restatements,treaties and text, dictionaries, legal periodicals & newspapers and american law reports...(persuasive not to be followed) | 37 | |
| 5064653465 | enacted law | Laws which arise from provisions of the U.S. Constitution or state constitutions, statutory law, administrative regulations, municipal ordinances, etc. | 38 | |
| 5064653466 | slip law | what a bill becomes once it is adopted and it is printed by itself rather than as part of a group of laws | 39 | |
| 5064653467 | session law | law passed during a particular session of congress | 40 | |
| 5064653468 | IRAC Method | I- Issue R- Rule of Law A- Analysis of Facts C- Conclusion | 41 | |
| 5064653469 | CRAC Method | conclusion-rule-analysis & conclusion | 42 | |
| 5064653470 | legal memorandum | an informal interoffice document written to communicate the results of legal research and the resulting legal analysis. | 43 | |
| 5064653471 | format of a legal memorandum | 1-heading 2-statement of facts 3-issue's 4-rules 5-analysis/discussion (heart of memo) 6-Conclusion | 44 | |
| 5064653472 | arbitration | The process in which parties involved in a dispute allow an impartial party to settle their differences | 45 | |
| 5064653473 | mediation | the use of a third party, called a mediator, who encourages both sides in a dispute to continue negotiating and often makes suggestions for resolving the dispute | 46 | |
| 5064653474 | med/arb | An abbreviation for an alternative dispute resolution system that involves parties going through mediation and agreeing to resolve as many issues as possible. These parties agree that any matters not resolved in the mediation process will then be arbitrated. | 47 | |
| 5064653475 | summary jury trials | a nonbinding process in which attorneys for both sides present synopses of their cases to a jury, which renders an advisory opinion on the basis of these presentations | 48 | |
| 5064653476 | motions | Oral or written requests made by a party to an action and brought before a judge prior to, during, or after a trial. | 49 | |
| 5064653477 | laws | rules of conduct enforced by government | 50 | |
| 5064653478 | computerized research | West or lexisNexis, fee based, search engine, boolean, freestyle, natural law | 51 | |
| 5064653479 | reversed | judge finds appealed ruling incorrect from original verdict and reverse decision | 52 | |
| 5064653480 | remand | to send a case back to a lower court to be tried again | 53 | |
| 5064653481 | ADR | Alternative Dispute Resolution | 54 | |
| 5064653482 | harmless error | a trial court error that is not sufficient to warrant reversing the decision | 55 | |
| 5064653483 | majority opinion | the opinion joined by a majority of the court (generally known simply as 'the opinion') | 56 | |
| 5064653484 | concurring opinion | An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning. | 57 | |
| 5064653485 | dissenting opinion | written explanation of the views of one or more judges who disagree with a decision reached by a majority of the court | 58 | |
| 5064653486 | jurisdiction | the authority of a court to hear a case | 59 | |
| 5064653487 | original jurisdiction | the authority to hear cases for the first time | 60 | |
| 5064653488 | annotated statutes | A privately published statutory code that includes editorial features, such as summaries of court opinions that have interpreted the statutes. | 61 | |
| 5064653489 | citation | A reference to a publication in which a legal authority—such as a statute or a court decision—or other source can be found. | 62 | |
| 5064653490 | subpoena | a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony | 63 | |
| 5064653491 | writ of certiorari | An order issued by a higher court to a lower court to send up the record of a case for review | 64 | |
| 5064653492 | enabling act | statute in establishing and setting out the powers of administative agency | 65 | |
| 5064653493 | general jurisdiction | a court's power to hear any type of case arising within its geographical area | 66 | |
| 5064653494 | limited jurisdiction | a court's power to hear only specialized cases | 67 | |
| 5064653495 | exclusive jurisdiction | When only one court has the power to hear a case. | 68 | |
| 5064653496 | concurrent jurisdiction | authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decide cases | 69 | |
| 5064653497 | diversity jurisdiction | the power of the federal courts to hear matters of state law if the opposing parties are from different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 | 70 | |
| 5064653498 | appellate brief | Written document containing legal arguments in an appellate case, submitted to a court by attorneys for one party. | 71 | |
| 5064653499 | federal question jurisdiction | the power of the federal courts to hear matters of federal law | 72 | |
| 5064653500 | removal | the transfer of a case from state court to federal court | 73 | |
| 5064653501 | us court of appeals | a court w/in 2nd tier of the 3-tiered federal court system, to which decisions of the district courts and federal agencies may be appealed for review | 74 | |
| 5064653502 | us district court | lower federal courts that have original jurisdiction in most cases involving federal laws | 75 | |
| 5064653503 | discovery | To find or find out something., to make the facts of a case known to all parties involved. Gaining information from adverse party | 76 | |
| 5064653504 | personal jurisdiction | The power of a court to force a person to appear before it. | 77 | |
| 5064653505 | pretrial motion | 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. | 78 | |
| 5064653506 | pleadings | The papers that begin a lawsuit. The complaint and answer together. | 79 | |
| 5064653507 | pretrial steps for attorney | 1-decide if a legal basis exist for suit? 2-decide who should be sued? 3-decide which court the case should be heard? 4-decide if the statute of limitations has expired? 5-Decide if a administrative agency must be consulted before filing a lawsuit? | 80 | |
| 5064653508 | Standing | authority to bring legal action because one is directly affected by the issues at hand | 81 | |
| 5064653509 | respondeat superior | Legal premise in which the employer is held responsible/liable for the wrongful actions of an employee that may cause injury or damage as long as the employee works within the scope of practice; literally, "Let the master answer" | 82 | |
| 5064653510 | judgement proof | when the defendant does not have suffient money or other assets to pay the judgement | 83 | |
| 5064653511 | compulsory joinder | When a person must be brought into a lawsuit as either a plaintiff or a defendant. | 84 | |
| 5064653512 | class action suit | a lawsuit brought by a person as a representative for a group of people who have been similarly injured | 85 | |
| 5064653513 | exhaustion of administrative remedies | A party seeking relief must fully exercise administrative remedies before the courts will intervene. | 86 | |
| 5064653514 | answer | the principle pleading by the defendant in response to plaintiff's complaint | 87 | |
| 5064653515 | counterclaim | a claim that the defendant has against the plaintiff | 88 | |
| 5064653516 | cross-claim | a claim brought by one defendant against another defendant in the same suit | 89 | |
| 5064653517 | caption | that part of a pleading which states the name of the court, the name of the parties, the case number assigned, and the name of the pleading | 90 | |
| 5064653518 | affirmative defense | admitting to the truth of the complaint but raising new facts to show that you are not liable for the damages | 91 | |
| 5064653519 | default judgement | a judgment entered in favor of the plaintiff or defendant when one party fails to complete a step & defaults (fails to appear in court) | 92 | |
| 5064653520 | interrogatories | A series of written questions for which written answers are prepared and then signed under oath by a party to a lawsuit, usually with the assistance of the party's attorney | 93 | |
| 5064653521 | depositions | oral testimony of parties or witnesses that are taken under oath but outside the courtroom and before the trial | 94 | |
| 5064653522 | deponent | the person being questioned at a deposition. | 95 | |
| 5064653523 | Dismissal with prejudice | A court order that ends a lawsuit; the suit cannot be refiled by the same parties. | 96 | |
| 5064653524 | voir dire | Jury selection process of questioning prospective jurors, to ascertain their qualifications and determine any basis for challenge. | 97 | |
| 5064653525 | challenge for cause | Excusing a juror from a trial for a stated, specific reason, such as the juror knows the parties or witnesses in a case. Each side has an unlimited number of challenges for cause. | 98 | |
| 5064653526 | peremptory challenge | removal of a prospective juror without giving any reason. Attorneys are allowed a limited number of such challenges | 99 | |
| 5064653527 | direct examination | An attorneys initial questioning of his or her own witness | 100 | |
| 5064653528 | leading question | a question phrased in such a way as to suggest the desired answer | 101 | |
| 5064653529 | cross examination | The questioning of an opposing witness during trial | 102 | |
| 5064653530 | directed verdict | an order entered by the trial court judge in favor of the party requesting the verdict because the opposing party has failed to establish a prima facie cause of action or an adequate defense to that cause of action | 103 | |
| 5064653531 | writ of execution | order of a court after judgment commanding a court officer to seize property in satisfaction of a judgment | 104 | |
| 5064653532 | reversible error | a mistake committed by a trial court that is serious enough to warrant a new trial because the mistake could have affected the outcome of the original trial | 105 | |
| 5064653533 | case briefing | a method for summarizing court opinions. attorney uses his own words and submit document to appeal court | 106 | |
| 5064653534 | 4 types of court opinion | 1-those interpreting & applying enacted law (statutes) 2-those deciding the constitutionality jof law 3-those applying established common law principles 4-those creating new common law principles | 107 | |
| 5064653535 | judicial review | the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional | 108 | |
| 5064653536 | mandatory authority | Court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction., binding authority or authority that the court is obligated to follow | 109 | |
| 5064653537 | persuasive authority | court decisions from an equal or a lower court from the same jurisdiction or from a higher court in a different jurisdiction, when a case did not come from a higher court, you don't have to follow it. | 110 | |
| 5064653538 | analogous cases | cases that involve similar facts and rules of law | 111 | |
| 5064653539 | distinguishable cases | cases that involve different facts and/or rules of law | 112 | |
| 5064653540 | issue of first impression | an issue that the court has never faced before | 113 | |
| 5064653541 | landmark decision | a court opinion that establishes new law in an important area. | 114 | |
| 5064653542 | overrule | 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. | 115 | |
| 5064653543 | case reporters | books that contain appellate court decisions. There are both official and unofficial reporters. | 116 | |
| 5064653544 | official reporter | Governmental publication of court opinions. | 117 | |
| 5064653545 | unofficial reporters | published by a private company like West | 118 | |
| 5064653546 | case citation | information that tells the reader the name of the case, where it can be located, the court that decided it, and the year it was decided. | 119 | |
| 5064653547 | appellant or petitioner | A person who initiates an appeal. | 120 | |
| 5064653548 | appellee or respondent | the party in a case against whom an appeal has been filed | 121 | |
| 5064653549 | pinpoint cite | The reference to a particular page within an opinion., the specific location of a cited passage | 122 | |
| 5064653550 | subsequent case history | information about what happened procedurally to the litigation after the case cited. | 123 | |
| 5064653551 | headnote | Summary of one legal point in a court opinion; written by the editors at West. | 124 | |
| 5064653552 | syllabus | a summary of a court opinion that appears at the beginning of the case. | 125 | |
| 5064653553 | substantive facts | In a case brief, facts that deal with what happened to the parties before the litigation began. | 126 | |
| 5064653554 | procedural facts | In a case brief, facts that relate to what happened procedurally in the lower courts or administrative agencies before the case reached the court issuing the opinion. | 127 | |
| 5064653555 | disposition | the results reached in a particular case | 128 | |
| 5064653556 | holding | the new legal principle established by a court opinion | 129 | |
| 5064653557 | affirm | When the higher court declare that a court ruling is valid and must stand. | 130 | |
| 5064653558 | reverse | When a higher court overturns the decision of a lower court during appeal process | 131 | |
| 5064653559 | dictum | an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding | 132 | |
| 5064653560 | format of a case brief (elements) | 1-case citation 2-facts both procedural/substantive 3-rule 4-issue 5-holding 6-reasoning 7-criticism | 133 | |
| 5064653561 | Format for a Case citation | 1-Name of the case 2-The court that decided it 3-Where the reader can locate it 4-The year of the decision | 134 | |
| 5064653562 | case brief (RULE) | in a case brief for appeal the general legal principle in existence before the case began. The court might base it either on prior court decisions or a statute | 135 | |
| 5064653563 | 2 components of issue | 1-the rule of law that the court used to resolve the current dispute 2-The specific facts of the case to which the rule of law is being applied | 136 | |
| 5064653564 | narrow holding | A statement of the court's decision that contains many of the case's specific facts, thereby limiting its future applicability to a narrow range of cases. | 137 | |
| 5064653565 | broad holding | 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. | 138 | |
| 5064653566 | reasoning | Explanation of why the court ruled as it did | 139 | |
| 5064653567 | ratio decidendi | The legal reasoning upon which a decision is based. | 140 | |
| 5064653568 | obiter dictum | remarks or words of an opinion that are not necessary to support the judge's decision, "Said in passing". A court judge's statement on a point of law, which is not related to the decision, and therefore not binding. | 141 | |
| 5064653569 | codification | The process of organizing statutes by subject matter. | 142 | |
| 5064653570 | treatment | how subsequent cases have a ffected the case you are shepardizing. It sometimes indicated by 1 letter abbreviation before the shepard's citation | 143 | |
| 5064653571 | shepardizing | the process of determining whether a case still is good law by checking the citation in the appropriate set of Shepard's Citations | 144 | |
| 5064653572 | books containing the law (primary authority) | 1-statutory codes 2-case reporters 3-regulations | 145 | |
| 5064653573 | books about the law (secondary authority) | 1-encyclopedias 2-scholarly publications 3-newspaperas | 146 | |
| 5064653574 | books that index by helping you locate law (secondary authority) | 1-digests 2-american law reports 3-shepard's | 147 | |
| 5064653575 | tort | a private wrong or injury, other than breach of contract, for which the court will provide a remedy, damage, injury, or a wrongful act done willfully, negligently, or in circumstances involving strict liability, but not involving breach. | 148 | |
| 5064653576 | 5 steps of legal research | 1-identify your search terms 2-go to secondary authority (optional) 3-go to primary authority 4-update your research 5-decide when to stop researching | 149 | |
| 5064653577 | 3 (main) Computer-Assisted research databases | 1- Lexis 2-Westlaw 3-LoisLaw | 150 | |
| 5064653578 | Lexis database | An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country, as well as secondary authority; such as Shepard's citations which makes this database very useful. | 151 | |
| 5064653579 | Westlaw | a computer-assisted legal research service provided by West Publishing Company., a legal databease containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country, as well as secondary authority; but it stands apart because it contains the headnotes and key numbers that appear in West's national reporter system. Which can simplify the research process | 152 | |
| 5064653580 | LoisLaw | An online legal database containing court decisions and statutes from the entire country. While its coverage of other legal mateirals is not as extensive as that of Westlaw and Lexis, it is also less expensive. | 153 | |
| 5064653581 | on point | a term used to describe a case that is similar to another case | 154 | |
| 5064653582 | on all fours | a term used to describe 2 cases that are almost identical, with similar facts and legal issues | 155 | |
| 5064653583 | evidence | anything that provides information used to prove or disprove alleged facts at a trial. example..witness testimony,documents, and exhibits | 156 | |
| 5064653584 | assumption | a belief that justifies 1 in arguing a conclusion | 157 | |
| 5064653585 | valid | an argument based on truth or reason; the assumption is able to be accepted as true | 158 | |
| 5064653586 | deductive reasoning | reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.) | 159 | |
| 5064653587 | major premise | In deductive reasoning, the statement of a broad proposition that forms the starting point; in law, the statement of a legal rule that you can find in a statute or court opinion. | 160 | |
| 5064653588 | minor premise | In deductive reasoning, the second proposition, which along with the major premise leads to the conclusion; in law, the minor premise consists of the client's facts. | 161 |
