Deck 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities and the Research Process

Question 1

ALR is a series of books that contain the text of selected court opinions, along with scholarly commentaries on the opinions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Mandatory authority is a non-law source that a court may rely on when reaching a decision.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Law reviews are usually published by law schools.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A constitution is not an example of enacted law.

Question 5

The term case law does not encompass a broader range of law than the term common law.

Question 6

Decisions of the highest court in a state are examples of common law.

Question 7

A court of appeals may review new evidence when considering a matter on appeal.

Question 8

Administrative law is usually more specific than statutory law.

Question 9

Not all primary authority is mandatory authority.

Question 10

Personal jurisdiction is the extent of a court's authority to hear and resolve specific disputes.

Question 11

Because of the doctrines of stare decisis and precedent, courts can be relied on to reach the same decision on an issue as earlier courts when the cases are sufficiently similar.

Question 12

A decision of a state court of appeals is an example of primary authority.

Question 13

A Restatement of the Law is valuable as a research tool because it provides a comprehensive treatment of a specific area of the law.

Question 14

For a court opinion to be mandatory authority, it must be on point and it must be written by a higher court in the jurisdiction.

Question 15

The U.S. District Court is the main trial court in the federal system.

Question 16

Legal dictionaries include definitions of legal terms and commentaries on the definitions.

Question 17

The doctrine of stare decisis requires lower courts to follow the decision of a higher court in a jurisdiction in cases involving similar issues and facts.

Question 18

The U.S. Supreme Court may declare laws enacted by state legislatures unconstitutional.

Question 19

Secondary authority cannot be mandatory authority.

Question 20

If times have changed and there is good reason not to follow a prior decision of a higher court, a lower court may choose not to follow the precedent of a higher court in the jurisdiction.

Question 21

The highest legal authority in a jurisdiction is the:

A)decision of the state supreme court.
B)decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.
C)laws of the U.S. Congress.
D)constitution.

Question 22

The best source to obtain a general summary of the law is:

A)a Restatement of the Law .
B)a legal encyclopedia.
C)a law review article.
D)an ALR .

Question 23

The basic principle that requires a court to follow a previous decision of a higher court when the current decision involves issues and facts similar to those involved in the previous decision is the doctrine of:

A)precedent.
B)concurrent jurisdiction.
C)subject matter jurisdiction.
D)stare decisis.
E)none of the above

Question 24

When a court in State A looks to a decision of a court in State B when deciding an issue, the decision in State B is:

A)mandatory authority.
B)concurrent jurisdiction.
C)secondary authority.
D)persuasive authority.
E)none of the above

Question 25

A court of appeals may:

A)hear new testimony.
B)retry the case.
C)take new evidence.
D)review the record of the trial court.
E)all of the above

Question 26

Constitutions:

A)define the powers of the government.
B)establish the structure of the government.
C)define the rights of the people.
D)all of the above
E)a and c

Question 27

The best source to obtain a review of selected court opinions on specific topics and scholarly commentaries on the opinions is:

A)a legal encyclopedia.
B)a Restatement of the Law .
C)a treatise.
D)an ALR .
E)all of the above