Deck 6: Civil Procedure and Trial Practice

Question 1

The first pleading filed in a malpractice case is a ___________

A) demurrer
B) bill of particulars
C) counterclaim
D) complaint

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A formal objection by one of the parties of a lawsuit that the evidence presented by the other party is insufficient to support a suit is a ___________.

A) demurrer
B) countersuit
C) dismissal
D) answer

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The legal document that demands more detailed information than is provided in a complaint is a/an ___________.

A) answer
B) demurrer
C) examination before trial
D) bill of particulars

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A motion that asks a court to rule that there are no facts in dispute and that the rights of the parties can be determined as a matter of law, on the basis of submitted documents, without the need for a trial is ___________.

A) examination before trial
B) counterclaim
C) bill of particulars
D) summary judgment

Question 5

Questions of law are decided by the ___________.

A) court
B) plaintiff's attorney
C) defendant's attorney
D) jury

Question 6

In a civil suit, the burden of proving a case lies with the ___________.

A) defendant
B) plaintiff
C) tort-feasor
D) court

Question 7

Juries decide ___________.

A) questions of fact
B) questions of evidence
C) questions of law
D) both questions of law and questions of fact

Question 8

The person who brings a civil suit seeking damages or other legal relief is the ___________.

A) judge
B) court
C) plaintiff
D) defendant

Question 9

The order that calls for a written document to be produced by an organization is a ___________.

A) summons
B) writ
C) deposition
D) subpoena duces tecum

Question 10

The sworn statement made by a witness before a trial that can be used as evidence in court is a ___________.

A) testimony
B) summons
C) subpoena
D) deposition

Question 11

An individual whose testimony is required because he or she is a specialist in a particular field of knowledge is a(n) ___________.

A) hypothetical person
B) average individual
C) expert witness
D) witness

Question 12

If an X-ray machine is entered as evidence, it is a form of ___________.

A) demonstrative evidence
B) hearsay
C) circumstantial evidence
D) hearsay evidence

Question 13

That which is used to prove the facts of a case is ___________.

A) hearsay evidence
B) circumstantial evidence
C) evidence
D) testimony

Question 14

An informal discussion during which the judge and opposing attorneys eliminate matters not in dispute, agree on the issues, and settle procedural matters relating to the trial is a(n) ___________.

A) hearing
B) examination before trial
C) deposition
D) pretrial conference

Question 15

A defense in a negligence suit based on legislatively imposed time constraints is ___________.

A) ignorance
B) statute of limitations
C) unintentional act
D) res judicata

Question 16

Comparative negligence generally requires that damages among multiple defendants be divided ___________.

A) equally
B) 60/40
C) 50/50
D) according to fault (the degree of negligence of each party/defendant to a lawsuit)

Question 17

Knowing that a danger exists and voluntarily accepting the risk by taking a chance and exposing oneself to it is ___________.

A) assumption of a risk
B) intervening cause
C) contributory negligence
D) comparative negligence

Question 18

The common law doctrine that holds a physician, for example, responsible for the acts of a nurse in the operating room when the physician directs the nurse to perform a particular medical act in the operating room and the nurse then performs it negligently and consequently injures the patient is the ___________.

A) borrowed servant doctrine
B) res ipsa loquitur
C) Good Samaritan Act
D) statute of limitations

Question 19

The common law doctrine by which the state and federal governments have been immune from liability for harm suffered by the tortious conduct of its employees is ___________.

A) borrowed servant doctrine
B) respondeat superior
C) sovereign immunity
D) captain of the ship doctrine

Question 20

Damages that are awarded to compensate for gross negligence and to deter wrongdoers (e.g., when there is sufficient evidence of the willful and wanton disregard for the rights of others) is ___________.

A) special damages
B) exorbitant damages
C) general damages
D) punitive damages

Question 21

Evidence of what another person has said is ___________.

A) comparative
B) direct
C) hearsay
D) demonstrative

Question 22

A medical record is an example of ___________.

A) documentary evidence
B) circumstantial evidence
C) hearsay evidence
D) expert testimony

Question 23

Evidence furnished by physical things themselves is ___________ evidence.

A) hearsay
B) documentary
C) testimonial
D) demonstrative

Question 24

Evidence that consists of tangible objects to which testimony refers (such as medical instruments and broken infusion needles) is referred to as ___________.

A) documentary
B) real
C) testimonial
D) demonstration

Question 25

The right to a jury trial is guaranteed by the ___________.

A) President
B) Congress
C) U.S. Constitution
D) U.S. Supreme Court

Question 26

The ___________ rule prescribes that well-known facts (e.g., that fractures need prompt attention and that two X-rays of the same patient might show different results) need not be proven, but, rather, they are recognized by the court as fact.

A) common law doctrine
B) hearsay
C) comparative
D) judicial notice

Question 27

The order that calls for a document to be produced by an organization is called a ___________.

A) summons
B) subpoena duces tecum
C) search warrant
D) court request

Question 28

A sworn statement from a witness that can be used as evidence at a trial is called a ___________.

A) countersuit
B) pleading
C) claim
D) deposition

Question 29

___________ is the process of investigating the facts of a case before trial.

A) Discovery
B) Evidence
C) Expert testimony
D) Bill of particulars