Introduction to law for Paralegals Flashcards

Legal Terms from chapter 1-10

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