Deck 7: Language and Legal Research

Question 1

Which of the following is correct?

A)Opposing counsel cited Brown v. Board of Education
B)Opposing counsel sited Brown v. Board of Education
C)The burglar accessed the building through an unlocked window
D)The access work was reassigned to another paralegal

Answer 1

Opposing counsel cited Brown v. Board of Education

Question 2

The following is an Internet citation that provides a URL for the homepage of the NTIA's "A Nation Online" reporting project. Which of the following answer choices provides an acceptable parenthetical explanation of how to navigate to the cited report from the provided URL?
(We recommend following the link to find the cited report before choosing an answer.)
Larry Irving, Nat'l Telecomm. & Info. Admin., Dep't of Commerce, Falling Through the Net: A Survey of "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America (Jul. 1995), http://www.ntia.doc.gov/reports/anol/index.html.

A)Follow "July 1995" hyperlink under "Previous Reports" heading
B)Use link for "July 1995" under "Previous Reports"
C)Go to "Previous Reports" page, then to "July 1995"
D)None of the above

Answer 2

Follow "July 1995" hyperlink under "Previous Reports" heading

Question 3

Which of the following is correct?

A)Jerry let George into the building, and later Kramer came over to the apartment.
B)Jerry let Elaine into the building and later Newman delivered Jerry's mail.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Answer 3

Jerry let George into the building, and later Kramer came over to the apartment.

Question 4

Which of the following sentences does NOT use correct subject-verb agreement?

A)Each one of the defendants, who were all present in the courtroom, entered a plea of "not guilty."
B)None of the plaintiffs who were still recovering from their injuries was present in the courtroom.
C)Under the Rules of Evidence, all offers to settle a civil dispute is inadmissible to prove liability.
D)All of the plaintiffs who consumed the town's well water developed leukemia.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about grammar is NOT correct?

A)Conjunctions link prepositions and clauses.
B)A pronoun is a substitute word for a noun.
C)Articles precede words used as nouns.
D)Adjectives modify nouns, and adverbs modify verbs.

Question 6

Which of the following is correct?

A)To complete the work, Sally stayed all night.
B)As part of due diligence, we reviewed the UCC records at the secretary of state's office.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 7

Which of the following is correct?

A)The chairman moved to have the issue considered at a later time.
B)The chairman moved to have the issue considered at a latter time.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 8

Which of the following sentences does NOT use correct subject-verb agreement?

A)The Millers are not attending the wedding.
B)Jackson wore a dark blue suit.
C)Darrel are expecting us at the restaurant.
D)The Ericsons buy only the best.

Question 9

Which of the following sentences uses the passive voice?

A)The court issued a preliminary injunction order.
B)The hunters pursued gazelles on the savannah.
C)It saw the lion and ran in the other direction.
D)The fox was outwitted by the rabbit.

Question 10

Which of the following, generally, is NOT a step in the legal research process?

A)Obtain background information and identify relevant facts.
B)Post a request on a paralegal discussion board about the topic.
C)Brief statutes and cases that are on point.
D)Frame the legal issues.

Question 11

Which of the following sentences is NOT grammatically correct?

A)"Out of toner, again?"
B)The repair cannot be here until tomorrow.
C)The paper jam has been cleared.
D)The copier doubles as a scanner.

Question 12

Which of the following hyphenations is NOT correct?

A)Crossclaim.
B)Counter-petition
C)Cross-examine.
D)None of the above.

Question 13

Which of the following sentences does NOT use correct capitalization of the reference to a court?

A)In the Miranda decision, the Supreme Court did not overturn the Massiah decision.
B)In most states, the Superior Court is a court of general jurisdiction.
C)The Wisconsin Supreme Court granted our petition for review.
D)The Court has the final word on issues involving the U.S. Constitution.

Question 14

Which of the following sentence does NOT use correct capitalization?

A)Mr. Armendariz is Jose's father.
B)My uncle Bill owns an auto repair shop.
C)I think Mother is driving the SUV today.
D)Does Alex have a sister?

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT correctly capitalized?

A)The Far East.
B)The Indian Subcontinent.
C)The Hawaiian Chain of Islands.
D)The Sonoran Desert.

Question 16

Which of the following sentences uses correct pronoun case?

A)Judge Williams and me disagree with the appellate court's decision.
B)Among those who disagree with the appellate court's decision are Judge Williams and I.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 17

Which of the following hyphenations is correct?

A)She is a well-respected-attorney.
B)He is all-knowing.
C)It was a quasi-judicial proceeding.
D)None of the above.

Question 18

Which of the following modifiers is NOT correct?

A)Remembering to call George, Jerry was about to leave the apartment.
B)As the guests began arriving, Alex was not ready for the party.
C)While driving around the block, my employer made a court appearance.
D)All of the above.

Question 19

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the present tense?

A)Carter will owe a duty of care to Peter because Carter will be driving on Highway 5 and Peter will be riding his bicycle on Highway 5.
B)Amber owed a duty of care to Phil because Amber invited Phil onto her property for the birthday party.
C)Miguel owes a duty of care to Anna because Miguel drives his car on the road and Anna walks on the side the road.
D)George has owed a duty of care to Jerry because George has driven on a road when Jerry was a pedestrian on the road.

Question 20

Which of the following correctly uses parentheses?

A)We saw Reggie's hot air balloon (which was shaped like a hamburger).
B)Reggie's hot air balloon was voted "best in show" (Reggie was given a trophy).
C)Reggie's hot air balloon was shaped like a hamburger (and advertised his restaurant.)
D)The hot air balloon (Reggie used it to advertise his restaurant) was shaped like a hamburger.

Question 21

Which of the following would NOT be appropriate in a business e-mail or letter?

A)Barbara claimed the event was staged.
B)Barbara stated she saw the movie.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 22

Which of the following sentences does NOT correctly capitalize the reference to a governmental body?

A)The federal government regulates interstate transportation.
B)The state government regulates workers' compensation matters.
C)The state was liable for the plaintiff's injury sustained while in Black Hawk State Park.
D)None of the above.

Question 23

Which of the following is correctly phrased?

A)"The defendant was libel for actual and punitive damages"
B)"The defendant was liable for actual and punitive damages"
C)Both of the above
D)None of the above

Question 24

Which of the following would NOT be appropriate in a business e-mail or letter?

A)She was uncertain as to whether she would attend the meeting.
B)She was uncertain whether she would attend the meeting.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 25

A paralegal works for a senior partner in a mid-sized law firm in Portland, Oregon. The attorney represents a company based in Portland that does business in several western states, including California. One of the company's suppliers, which is based in Los Angeles, sued the company for breach of contract. Under the contract, the parties had agreed to arbitrate any dispute before the American Arbitration Association, with the arbitration to take place in Los Angeles. If the senior partner is licensed in Oregon, but not in California, can the senior partner represent the company at the arbitration in Los Angeles?

A)Yes, because the representation involves an that is reasonably related to the senior partner's representation of the Oregon-based company.
B)Yes, if the senior partner is admitted pro hac vice before the American Arbitration Association in Los Angeles.
C)No, unless the senior partner associates with an attorney in California.
D)No, because the senior partner is not admitted in California and appearing for the arbitration would be unauthorized practice of law in California.

Question 26

Which of the following is correct?

A)Lana Lawyer walked to the podium, opened her notebook and began her closing argument.
B)Lana Lawyer walked to the podium, opened her notebook, and began her closing argument.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 27

Which of the following sentences does NOT use correct capitalization?

A)This Court does not have jurisdiction over the defendant because the claim does not exceed $75,000.
B)The Appellee filed its responding brief yesterday.
C)The petitioner and the respondent agreed to settle the dispute.
D)The Court adopted the appellant's argument and reversed the lower court.

Question 28

Which of the following is correct?

A)Pam gained on the slower vehicle, and she changed lanes to pass it.
B)Pam gained on the shower vehicle and she changed lanes to pass it.
C)Both of the above.
D)Neither of the above.

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT correctly capitalized?

A)President Barack Obama.
B)thomas edison
C)Alexander Graham Bell
D)Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Question 30

The elements or parts of a reported case include, among other things, ______________________________.

A)The caption, the citation, and the opening brief.
B)The discussion, the opinion, and the holding.
C)The holding, the responding brief, and the caption.
D)The caption, the headnotes, and the holding.

Question 31

Which of the following possessives is NOT correct?

A)The rule in Shelley's case.
B)He reviewed the ACP's resume.
C)He repaired his mother's-in-law car.
D)None of the above.

Question 32

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the past tense?

A)The governor will veto the bill.
B)The governor reads all bills passed by the legislature.
C)The state legislature overrode the governor's veto.
D)The governor had expressed her opposition to the bill and has now vetoed it.