Deck 1: Critical Thinking and Legal Reasoning

Question 1

Mike's organization manages the logistics for a petroleum company. Last month, one of its tankers spilled about one hundred tons of oil in the ocean while transporting it. Mike meets with a lawyer to understand his organization's liability in the accident, and he is relieved to hear that all the damages have to be paid by the petroleum company. Which of the following statements best describes the conclusion in this scenario?

A)Mike's firm is liable for the damages and must pay the company.
B)Mike's firm is partially responsible for the damages.
C)Mike's firm is not responsible for the damages.
D)Mike's firm is solely responsible for the damages.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Martin, an entrepreneur, has been facing an employee union strike at his factory for the past four weeks. Last week, the laborers from his factory entered his home without his consent to list out their demands to him while insisting on better working conditions for the employees. Martin consulted his lawyer who was of the opinion that the committed offense was criminal in nature. Which among the following statements best describes the issue in this scenario?

A)the employee union striking at Martin's factory
B)What is the reason for the employee union strike?
C)the employees asking for better working conditions
D)Are union organizers permitted to enter an employer's property?

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following questions is a critical thinking step to legal reasoning?

A)analyzing the legal analogies
B)stating the facts of the case
C)determining the issue
D)stating the relevant rules of law

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which among the following is a foundational step to legal reasoning?

A)looking for evidence of relevant missing information
B)determining the reasons and conclusion to an issue
C)analyzing the legal analogies
D)verifying if the legal argument contains significant ambiguity

Question 5

Which of the following is the last step to legal reasoning in the critical thinking model?

A)stating the relevant rules of law
B)looking for evidence of relevant missing information
C)stating the reasons and conclusion of the issue
D)evaluating the facts of the case

Question 6

Which of the following is the first step to legal reasoning in the critical thinking model?

A)stating the relevant rules of law
B)looking for evidence of relevant missing information
C)analyzing the legal analogies
D)stating the facts of the case

Question 7

Which of the following is true of the eight steps to legal reasoning?

A)All the eight steps are foundational steps.
B)The first four steps are the critical thinking steps and the final four steps are the foundational steps.
C)The first four steps are the foundational steps and the final four steps are the critical thinking steps.
D)All the eight steps are critical thinking steps.

Question 8

The one characteristic shared by many forms of critical thinking is the focus on the quality of an individual's ________.

A)reasoning
B)past conclusions
C)stand on the issue
D)ethical values

Question 9

The stimulus that initiates legal reasoning is known as the ________.

A)conclusion
B)reason
C)norm
D)issue

Question 10

Issues are stated as questions because they ________.

A)reduce the complexity of the situation
B)are a call for action
C)are clearly defined and not open to interpretations
D)speed up the legal process

Question 11

Which of the following statements best describes facts in legal reasoning?

A)Facts are the most basic building blocks in a legal decision or argument.
B)Facts are words used to describe the reasons for reaching conclusions in a complex legal dispute.
C)Facts are the issues in a dispute, which is the bone of contention between two opposing litigants.
D)Facts are the position or stance on an issue.

Question 12

Which of the following statements best defines "conclusion"?

A)It is the answer to a legal issue.
B)It is the most basic component of a legal decision.
C)It is the stimulus that initiates legal reasoning.
D)It is the main issue presented in a legal argument.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes a legal issue?

A)A legal issue is the ultimate reasoning behind a judge's final decision.
B)A legal issue is the set of facts by which the lawyers and their clients assist the judge in reaching a final decision.
C)A legal issue is the question that caused the lawyers and their clients to enter the legal system.
D)A legal issue is an ethical norm fundamental to the court's decision.

Question 14

Janet, a lawyer, has been assigned to work on a money laundering case. She has collected the facts and understood the issue. According to the eight steps to legal reasoning, which of the following will be her next step?

A)verifying if the legal argument contains significant ambiguity
B)looking for evidence of relevant missing information
C)stating the reasons and conclusion of the issue
D)analyzing the ethical norms fundamental to the court's reasoning

Question 15

Which of the following statements best illustrates the use of critical thinking skills by a lawyer?

A)A lawyer raises a courtroom objection when her opponent engages in critical commentary about an opponent without prior permission of the judge.
B)A lawyer develops a closing argument using visual aids that is likely to impress a jury comprised of ordinary citizens.
C)A lawyer approaches a difficult problem by gathering all relevant facts, determining the real issue in dispute, and applying reason to reach a conclusion.
D)A lawyer scientifically analyzes the handwriting of a defense witness to determine the potential for bias.

Question 16

Critical thinking ________.

A)is the ability to understand the structure of an argument and apply a set of evaluative criteria to assess its merits
B)is the goal toward which reasoning pushes an individual
C)refers to the standards of conduct that an individual considers virtuous
D)is the comparison based on the assumption that if two things are alike in some respect, they must be alike in other respects

Question 17

Which of the following is typically the step after identifying the issue in legal reasoning?

A)looking for evidence of relevant missing information
B)analyzing the legal analogies
C)stating the reasons and conclusion of the issue
D)stating the relevant rules of law

Question 18

Which of the following statements best summarizes the first four steps to legal reasoning?

A)understanding the client, preparing the legal paperwork, appearing in court, and arguing the case
B)drafting the summons, drafting the complaint, preparing the answer, and filing documents in court
C)finding the facts, determining the issue, reasoning to a conclusion, and applying the relevant rules of law
D)raising an objection, explaining the reasons for the objection, waiting for the judge's ruling, and proceeding with the testimony

Question 19

Which of the following statements best illustrates a conclusion?

A)the opening argument delivered by the defendant's lawyer to the jury
B)the most important evidence offered by an eyewitness
C)the action of a lawyer in objecting to unconvincing testimony
D)the judge's written decision in favor of the plaintiff or defendant at the end of a trial

Question 20

________ refers to a position or stance on an issue.

A)Reason
B)Conclusion
C)Analogy
D)Logic

Question 21

Which of the following is important in order to be comfortable with a particular analogy?

A)The independent evidence in the current case should be different from the independent evidence in the precedent.
B)The independent evidences of different cases should not be compared.
C)The independent evidence in the current case should be similar to the independent evidence in the precedent.
D)The independent evidence in the precedent should be discarded.

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true about rules of law?

A)Legal reasoning is complex because statutes and findings are never crystal clear.
B)Judges and businesspeople do not have room for interpretive flexibility in their reasoning.
C)Judges can offer any reasoning they please.
D)They tend to cloud a judge's reasoning, and should be avoided when reaching a decision.

Question 23

A court ruled that a town government can condemn private homes so that the homes can be torn down and the land can be used by local developers to build offices, restaurants and stores, which will increase the tax revenues of the town. Which of the following ethical norms is illustrated in this scenario?

A)freedom
B)security
C)justice
D)efficiency

Question 24

With reference to ethical norms, to minimize costs is a form of ________.

A)freedom
B)efficiency
C)security
D)justice

Question 25

With reference to ethical norms, to get the most from a particular input is a form of ________.

A)freedom
B)security
C)efficiency
D)justice

Question 26

A(n) ________ is an explanation or justification provided as support for conclusion.

A)issue
B)fact
C)analogy
D)reason

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true of a legal issue?

A)The legal issue is determined by the judge based on the conclusion the judge hopes to reach.
B)Forming an issue in a very broad or an extremely narrow manner has implications for the scope of the effect stemming from the eventual decision.
C)Forming the legal issue is a minor feature of critical legal reasoning and takes its place of importance behind the formation of ethical norms and rules of law.
D)The legal issue should be based on relevant missing information.

Question 28

Which of the following statements is true about finding a legal conclusion?

A)Legal conclusions should generally be found before relevant information is determined.
B)Legal conclusions should be based on analogies and ethical norms rather than statutes, whenever possible.
C)The issue can be used as a helper in order to find a legal conclusion.
D)One should begin with an analogy to justice and freedom in order to find a legal conclusion.

Question 29

The relevant rules of law are obtained from ________.

A)legal dictionaries
B)case manifests
C)legal precedents
D)the values of the judge

Question 30

With reference to ethical norms, to provide the order in business relationships that permits predictable plans to be effective is a form of ________.

A)security
B)justice
C)freedom
D)efficiency

Question 31

Johnson, a lawyer, is representing a male homosexual worker who was sexually harassed by a male heterosexual worker at his workplace. Which of the following statements is the best example of an appropriate legal analogy?

A)a case precedent that finds the law protects heterosexuals from gender discrimination in the workplace
B)a case precedent that finds the law protects heterosexual males from being harassed by heterosexual males in the workplace
C)a case precedent that finds the law protects homosexuals of either gender from being harassed by heterosexual supervisors of either gender
D)a case precedent that finds the law does not protect homosexuals from harassment during off duty hours

Question 32

Which of the following is the best example of a conclusion in an employment discrimination case?

A)The employee was terminated.
B)The employee worked for the company for 2 years.
C)The employee did an interview for a local newspaper supporting a political candidate.
D)The employee is entitled to $50,000 for damages.

Question 33

An attorney hires a private investigator to question all eyewitnesses to a traffic accident. She decides not to engage in legal research until she sees the private investigator's report. Based on this scenario, the attorney is ________.

A)gathering facts
B)researching the relevant rules of law
C)crafting a legal analogy
D)reasoning to the final conclusion

Question 34

Lawyers and judges typically use analogies ________.

A)to maximize costs for trials
B)for critical legal reasoning
C)as substitutes for the facts of the case
D)to compare the facts of legal precedents to the facts of the case at hand

Question 35

Which of the following statements best describes the risk associated with ambiguity in legal reasoning?

A)Ambiguity adds flexibility to the court's decisions.
B)Ambiguity frustrates those who have to read the reasoning.
C)The precedent is ignored because nobody wants to deal with the ambiguity.
D)The meaning of the precedent can change depending on the interpretation given to the court's decision by other courts and attorneys.

Question 36

A judge wants to encourage people to act without restriction from rules imposed by others. Which of the following ethical norms is the judge emphasizing?

A)security
B)freedom
C)justice
D)efficiency

Question 37

Which of the following statements best explains why legal arguments often contain significant ambiguity?

A)Legal arguments are expressed in words, and words rarely have the clarity one presumes.
B)Lawyers purposely distort the facts of each case in order to assist their clients in appearing favorable before a jury.
C)Ambiguity is an important goal of critical thinking.
D)Judges choose ambiguous statutes and precedents in order to reach proper and flexible rules of law.

Question 38

Which of the following illustrates Emerson's observation that "to be understood is a rare luxury"?

A)The phrase "public safety" is clearly understood, because everyone knows the meaning of both words.
B)The phrase "public safety" is rarely used, because the concept of security is an ethical norm.
C)The phrase "public safety" represents an ethical norm that is a rare luxury, because the public rarely feels safe.
D)The phrase "public safety" seems clear at first glance, but on pondering its various interpretations, one realizes that it is not so clear.

Question 39

Which of the following statements best explains why it is important to search for relevant missing information?

A)All information is relevant, even if the information is not discussed in the judge's final decision.
B)Missing information generally proves that one of the parties is trying to hide something.
C)If relevant information is missing, the subsequent reasoning may be faulty because it will not rest squarely on all relevant facts.
D)Ethical norms are generally based on relevant missing information.

Question 40

With reference to ethical norms, to receive the product of your labor is a form of ________.

A)freedom
B)efficiency
C)security
D)justice

Question 41

Which of the following is a true statement about the current legal system?

A)It is based on certain unchanging laws, which have been handed down from Great Britain and carefully guarded.
B)It is based solely on the primary ethical norm of freedom, which cannot be subordinated to other norms.
C)It is based on statutes, which must be interpreted by legal scholars, who then impart their wisdom to judges and lawyers.
D)It has evolved over the centuries through previous case decisions.

Question 42

A labor union negotiator insists that all union members be paid according to a standard schedule to ensure fairness. However, the management negotiator argues that a standard schedule would tie the hands of management and reduce operating profits. Which of the following best characterizes this dispute?

A)The two negotiators disagree about the validity of the relevant facts.
B)The two negotiators do not understand the issue of the case.
C)The two negotiators disagree about the relative priority of ethical norms.
D)The two negotiators are attempting to determine the relevant rules of law.

Question 43

"What are the facts?" is typically the first step in the legal reasoning model.

Question 44

A lobbyist attempts to persuade a member of Congress that the federal minimum wage laws need to be amended. The member of Congress asks the Congressional Budget Office to estimate the impact of the amendment on the nation's economy. Which of the following best characterizes what the member of Congress does?

A)The member of Congress is gathering facts.
B)The member of Congress is determining the relevant rules of law.
C)The member of Congress is weighing two conflicting ethical norms.
D)The member of Congress is defining the issue.

Question 45

The reason is a position or stance on an issue, the take-away that the person giving the advice wants the other person to believe.

Question 46

Critical thinking is inactive because it discourages people from forming judgments about the quality of the link between someone's reasons and conclusions.

Question 47

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between an analogy and the use of a legal precedent by a lawyer?

A)The lawyer uses an analogy to persuade the court that the facts in a case are similar to the facts given in a favorable precedent.
B)The lawyer attempts to convince the court that justice is a more important ethical norm than the analogous ethical norm of freedom.
C)The lawyer is attempting to convince the court to establish a legal precedent in a case by rephrasing the legal issue.
D)The lawyer draws an analogy between an ethical norm and an ambiguous statement.

Question 48

"What are the reasons and conclusion?" is typically the final step in the legal reasoning model.

Question 49

Standards of conduct that are considered good or virtuous are called ________.

A)issues
B)conclusions
C)analogies
D)ethical norms

Question 50

A(n) ________ is a verbal device for transferring meaning from something that can be understood quite well to something that has just been discovered and has, as yet, not been understood satisfactorily.

A)analogy
B)conclusion
C)norm
D)reason

Question 51

Which of the following is a primary ethical norm?

A)complexity
B)stability
C)flexibility
D)animosity

Question 52

The first four steps in the legal reasoning model are referred to as the critical thinking components.

Question 53

The purpose of the last four steps in the legal reasoning model is to discover the vital elements in the case and the reasoning behind the decision.

Question 54

When people engage in legal reasoning, the stimulus that gets them thinking is called the conclusion.

Question 55

John and Sandra signed a contract on the 1st of January. The contract required Sandra to deliver goods to John on the 20th of January. Sandra failed to deliver the goods. John sued Sandra and the judge held that she had breached the contract. As a result, John was entitled to damages. Which of the following is considered the conclusion of the case?

A)John and Sandra signed a contract on the 1st of January.
B)The contract required Sandra to deliver goods to John on the 20th of January.
C)Sandra failed to deliver the goods.
D)Sandra breached the contract and as a result John was entitled to damages.

Question 56

The ethical norms that influence a judge's decision can be determined by ________.

A)stating the conclusion
B)inferring from the court's reasoning
C)stating the facts of the case
D)changing the analogy

Question 57

A standard of conduct is called a(n) ________.

A)issue
B)conclusion
C)reason
D)norm

Question 58

Facts provide the context in which the legal issue is to be resolved.

Question 59

Reasons are the explanations or justifications provided as support for a conclusion.

Question 60

The fact is the question that caused the lawyers and the clients to enter the legal system.

Question 61

If judges are supposed to make decisions on an issue based solely on the facts and applicable law, what is the role of ethical norms in influencing a judge's decision?

Question 62

Efficiency norms aid in maximizing the amount of wealth in our society.

Question 63

An analogy is a verbal device for transferring meaning from something that is understood quite well to something that has just been discovered and has, as yet, not been understood satisfactorily.

Question 64

Judges can offer any reasoning they please.

Question 65

Why is it important to consider the missing information when evaluating a particular case?

Question 66

Why is it important to identify any significantly ambiguous words when reading a legal case?

Question 67

Freedom norms provide the order in business relationships that permits predictable plans to be effective.

Question 68

State reasonable perspectives concerning the correct way to word the issue in dispute.

Question 69

Why is it especially important to be able to identify and evaluate analogies?

Question 70

What a person already understands in the case of legal reasoning is the precedent; what the person hopes to understand better is the current legal dispute.

Question 71

Describe primary ethical norms.

Question 72

Security norms aid in receiving the product of your labor.

Question 73

The typical response to an issue is a conclusion.

Question 74

List the eight steps in the critical thinking model.

Question 75

An ethical norm is a standard or conduct that is considered good or virtuous.

Question 76

Freedom, stability, justice, and efficiency are the four primary ethical norms.

Question 77

An ambiguous word is one capable of having more than one meaning in the context of the facts.