General Definitions

Question 1

comprised of a body of rules governing action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority with binding legal force

Answer 1

Law

Question 2

the formal, written enactment of a legislative body
which can be either the federal, state or local level of government.

Answer 2

Statute

Question 3

One of the two prominent legal systems in the Western world, originally administered in the Roman Empire based on the Roman Code of Justinian, and still influential in continental Europe, Latin America, Scotland, and Louisiana, among
other parts of the world.

Answer 3

Civil Law

Question 4

a body of principles and rules of action which derive power solely from customary usage through history or from judicial
decisions.

Answer 4

Common Law

Question 5

decisions of the courts, together with their rational; the whole law as declared by the courts through cases decided before them rather than law based on statutes.

Answer 5

Case Law

Question 6

A form of justice administered according to precepts of fairness.

Answer 6

Equity

Question 7

Modernly, federal courts and most state courts have merged the procedural aspects of these two previously separate concepts under the term “civil suit.”

Answer 7

Merger of Law and Equity

Question 8

science of law which functions to ascertain principles on which legal rules are based.

Answer 8

Jurisprudence

Question 9

Citations to constitutions, statutes, precedents, judicial decisions, rules, regulations, textbooks, articles, and the like made to support a legal argument before the court.

Answer 9

Legal Authorities

Question 10

an organization of American legal scholars responsible for developing “Restatements” of the law for numerous legal disciplines.

Answer 10

American Law Institute

Question 11

The American Law Institute has authored a series of legal volumes which explain existing law in a general area, such as torts and contracts, and also explain how the law in this area is changing, as well as scholarly opinions regarding how the law should be developed in the future.

Answer 11

Restatements of Law

Question 12

the fundamental law of the nation which establishes the character, conception, and power of our federal government. The supreme law of the land.

Answer 12

Constitutional Law

Question 13

the court of last resort in the federal system, whose members are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.

Answer 13

Supreme Court of the United States

Question 14

the policymaking body of the California courts, the largest court system in the nation.

Answer 14

Judicial Council of California

Question 15

the regulatory arm of the California Supreme Court responsible for licensing and discipling attorneys. Their mission is “to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.”

Answer 15

State Bar of California

Question 16

A component of the bar examination designed to test an examinee’s ability to understand and apply a select number of legal authorities in the context of a given factual problem involving a client.

Answer 16

Performance Test

Question 17

The root legal authorities for the law itself consisting of statutes, constitutions, cases, digests, annotated law reports, etc.

Answer 17

Primary Source

Question 18

Legal authorities which are not root authorities but serve as a secondary persuasive authority and a case finding tool.

Answer 18

Secondary Source

Question 19

Database search queries using logical connections between terms in fee-based research services such as Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg

Answer 19

Boolean Search

Question 20

The process of determining if a case is “Good Law”, valid and citable. Identifies court decisions that have cited the case to help ascertain the relevancy of the case.

Answer 20

Shepardize

Question 21

includes five components: (1) the name of the case; (2) the published or unpublished source in which the case can be found; (3) a parenthetical including the court and year of decision; (4) other parenthetical information, if any; and (5) the subsequent history of the case, if any.

Answer 21

Case Citation

Question 22

summarizes all key points discussed and issues decided in a case.

Answer 22

Case Headnote

Question 23

a generic term for a short, organized document created and utilized by the student or attorney, which summarizes key aspects of a case.

Answer 23

Case Brief

Question 24

Preceding each published court decision is a heading which
includes: 1) names of the parties to the suit, 2) citation of the case including the volume and page number where the case can be found, 3) name of the court which decided the dispute, and 4) the date the decision was reached.

Answer 24

Case Heading

Question 25

The process of examining the individual parts of a decision to either: 1) render one's own decision or interpretation based on the law and facts presented, or 2) critically review another's decision or interpretation based on then existing law and facts.

Answer 25

Legal Analysis

Question 26

A situation contrived by the law or a circumstance assumed by a court to support the resolution of legal question.

Answer 26

Legal Fiction

Question 27

Latin for “above”. Earlier in this text; used as a citational signal to refer to a previously cited authority.

Answer 27

Supra

Question 28

Latin for “below”. Later in this text; used as a citational signal to refer to a later cited authority.

Answer 28

Infra

Question 29

a method of settling legal disputes other than litigation

Answer 29

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Question 30

a form of alternative dispute resolution which requires that a neutral third party, called an arbitrator, render a decision after hearing both parties to a dispute present their respective sides of the dispute.

Answer 30

Arbitration

Question 31

a form of alternative dispute resolution, which requires that a neutral third party, called a mediator, assist both parties to a dispute agree to a mutually acceptable resolution.

Answer 31

Mediation

Question 32

Someone who has some education in law and assists a lawyer in duties related to the practice of law but who is not a licensed attorney.

Answer 32

Paralegal

Question 33

Someone, other than a lawyer, who draws or frames a legal document, such as a will, contract, or legislative bill.

Answer 33

Legal Document Preparer

Question 34

Article III of the Constitution governs the appointment, tenure, and payment of Supreme Court justices, and federal circuit and district judges.

Answer 34

Article III Judge

Question 35

Judges are appointed under the U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 2 and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 3105

Answer 35

Administrative Law Judge

Question 36

The highest ranking official in a government, such as the king in a monarchy, the president in a republic, or the governor in a state. Also, a local official who possess whatever power is specified in the appointment or statutory grant of authority. Also, a judicial officer with strictly limited jurisdiction and authority, often on the local level and often restricted to criminal cases.

Answer 36

Magistrate

Question 37

the circumstance or state of facts enabling a party to sustain an action and gives the right to seek a judicial remedy.

Answer 37

Cause of Action

Question 38

The initial pleading that starts a civil action and state’s the basis for the court’s jurisdiction, the basis for the plaintiff’s claim, and the demand for relief; sometimes referred to as a petition in certain states.

Answer 38

Complaint

Question 39

A declaration that something is true, especially a statement, not yet proved, that someone has done something wrong or illegal. Also, something declared or asserted as a matter of fact, especially in a legal pleading; a party’s formal statement of a factual matter as being true or provable, without its having yet been proved.

Answer 39

Allegation

Question 40

A request addressed to the court and appearing at the end of a pleading; especially a request for specific relief or damages

Answer 40

Prayer for Relief

Question 41

refers to the means used to enforce a right or redress a legal injury

Answer 41

Remedy

Question 42

A defendant’s assertion of facts and arguments that, if true, will defeat the plaintiff’s or prosecution’s claim, even if all the allegations in the complaint are true. The defendant bears the burden of proving.

Answer 42

Affirmative Defense

Question 43

A formal document in which a party to a legal proceeding (especially a civil lawsuit) sets forth or responds to allegations, claims, denials, or defenses. In federal civil procedure, the main pleadings are the plaintiff’s complaint and the defendant’s answer.

Answer 43

Pleadings

Question 44

A writ or process commencing the plaintiff’s action and requiring the defendant to appear and answer. Also, a notice requiring a person to appear in court as a juror or witness.

Answer 44

Summons

Question 45

A written or oral application requesting a court to make a specified ruling or order.

Answer 45

Motion

Question 46

An accused person’s formal response of “guilty”, “not guilty”, or “no contest” to a criminal charge

Answer 46

Plea

Question 47

An order prepared by an appellate court, when that court may exercise discretion regarding whether or not to hear an appeal from a lower court

Answer 47

Writ of Certiorari

Question 48

A peremptory writ of mandate, or mandamus, is a judicial writ (i.e., order) to any governmental body, government official, or lower court requiring that they perform an act or cease to act where the court finds that an official law, duty or judgment requires them to do so.

Answer 48

Affirmative or Mandatory Writ

Question 49

A writ of prohibition is a judicial order that may be used, at a higher court's discretion, to prevent a lower court from interfering with the higher court's determination of a case pending an appeal.

Answer 49

Negative or Prohibitory Writ

Question 50

A party’s duty to prove a disputed assertion or charge; a proposition regarding which of two contending litigants loses when there is no evidence on a question or when the answer is simply too difficult to find.

Answer 50

Burden of Proof

Question 51

The degree or level of proof demanded in a specific case such as “beyond a reasonable doubt” or “a preponderance of the evidence”; a rule about the quality of the evidence that a party must bring forward to prevail.

Answer 51

Standard of Proof

Question 52

Sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption unless disapproved or rebutted; based on what seems to be true on first examination, even though it may later be proved to be untrue.

Answer 52

Prima Facie

Question 53

Latin for “friend of the court”. Someone who is not a party to a lawsuit but who petitions the court or is requested by the court to file a brief in the action because that person has a strong interest in the subject matter.

Answer 53

Amicus Curiae

Question 54

Latin for “from the part”. One or from one party only, usually without notice to or argument from the adverse party.

Answer 54

Ex Parte

Question 55

Latin for “by the court”. Attributed to the entire panel of judges who have heard an appeal and not signed by any particular judge on the panel.

Answer 55

Per Curiam

Question 56

Latin for “the reason for deciding”. The principle or rule of law on which a court’s decision is founded.

Answer 56

Ratio Decidendi

Question 57

Language or concept in a judge’s opinion which is not necessary to the resolution of the issues in the case or goes beyond the scope of the facts or issues in the case.

Answer 57

Ober Dictum

Question 58

Latin for “of one’s own accord; voluntarily”. Without prompting or suggestion; on its own motion.

Answer 58

Sua Sponte

Question 59

A ruling on a situation in a case which has been decided earlier in time based on a former case. Both situations turn on the same or substantially similar legal issues and/or facts.

Answer 59

Legal Precedent

Question 60

A Latin term which means to adhere to previously decided cases or that precedent cases should be followed. This doctrine is limited to actual determinations by the court regarding litigated matters and necessarily decided questions.

Answer 60

Stare Decisis

Question 61

To approve, authorize, or support. Also, to penalize

Answer 61

Sanction

Question 62

To confirm, ratify, or approve (a lower court’s judgement) on appeal.

Answer 62

Affirm

Question 63

To send a case or claim back to the court or tribunal from which it came for some further action.

Answer 63

Remand

Question 64

To overturn a judgement or ruling, especially on appeal

Answer 64

Reverse

Question 65

To seek review from a lower court’s ruling by a higher court

Answer 65

Appeal