NC PARALEGAL CERTIFICATION QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔appropriation - ✔✔In tort law, the use by one person of another person's name,
likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission and or the benefit of the
user.
✔✔arbitration - ✔✔A method of settling disputes in which a dispute is submitted to a
disinterested third party (other than a court), who renders a decision that may or may
not be legally binding.
✔✔arbitration clause - ✔✔A clause in a contract that provides that, in the case of a
dispute, the parties will determine their rights by arbitration rather than through the
judicial system.
✔✔arraignment - ✔✔A court proceeding in which the suspect is formally charged with
the criminal offense stated in the indictment. The suspect then enter a plea (guilty, not
guilty, or nolo contendere) in response.
✔✔arrest - ✔✔To take into custody a person suspected of criminal activity.
✔✔arrest warrant - ✔✔A written order, based on probable cause and issued by a judge
or public official (magistrate), commanding that the person named on the warrant be
arrested by the police.
✔✔arson - ✔✔The willful and malicious burning of a building (and, in some cases in NC:
personal property); the destruction of any building regardless of ownership, by explosion
or fire.
✔✔articles of incorporation - ✔✔The document filed with the appropriate state official,
usually the Secretary of State, when a business is incorporated. State statutes usually
prescribe what kind of information must be contained in these articles.
,✔✔articles of organization - ✔✔A document necessary for setting up an LLC in many
US states. It is similar to articles of incorporation used for setting up corporations.
✔✔assault - ✔✔Any word or action intended to make another person fearful or
apprehensive of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat.
✔✔associate attorney - ✔✔An attorney working for a law firm who is not a partner and
does not have an ownership interest in the firm. less experienced, may be invited to be
partners after years
✔✔assumption of risk - ✔✔Voluntarily taking upon oneself a known risk. Assumption of
risk is a defense against negligence that can be used when the plaintiff has knowledge
of and appreciates a danger and voluntarily exposes himself to the danger.
✔✔attestation clause - ✔✔A provision at the end of an instrument where the witnesses
certify that the instrument has been executed before them, and the manner of the
execution of the same. It states that the instrument has been completed in the manner
required by law in the presence of the witnesses who placed their signatures in the
designated spaces.
✔✔attorney general - ✔✔The chief legal officer of the state who, either personally or
through staff, represents the interests of the state in a variety of areas.
✔✔attorney-client privilege - ✔✔A rule of evidence requiring that confidential
communications between a client and the client's attorney (relating to their professional
relationship) be kept confidential, unless the client consents to disclosure.
✔✔authentication - ✔✔The process of establishing the genuineness of an item that is to
be introduced as evidence in a trial.
✔✔award - ✔✔In the context of ADR, the decision rendered by an arbitrator.
✔✔bail - ✔✔The amount of money or conditions set by the court to assure that an
individual accused of a crime will appear for further criminal proceedings. If the accused
person provides bail, whether in cash or by means of a bail bond, then the person is
released.
✔✔bailiff - ✔✔Someone entrusted with the care and protection, guardianship, or
jurisdiction of a person, land, or personal property pending further court action. It also
refers to a court official of a law enforcement officer, usually a deputy sheriff, marshal,
or constable, who keeps order in the courtroom and handles various tasks for the judge
and clerk as calling cases to approach the bench. The bailiff acts as an intermediary
between the judge and the attorneys.
,✔✔bankruptcy court - ✔✔A federal court of limited jurisdiction that hears only
bankruptcy proceedings.
✔✔bankruptcy law - ✔✔The body of federal law that governs bankruptcy proceedings.
The goals of bankruptcy law are (1) to protect a debtor by giving the debtor a fresh start,
free from creditors' claims; and (2) to ensure that creditors who are competing for a
debtor's assets are treated fairly.
✔✔battery - ✔✔The intentional and offensive touching of another without lawful
justification.
✔✔beneficiary - ✔✔The person named to receive proceeds or benefits.
✔✔bequest - ✔✔To give or leave by will - used especially for personal property.
✔✔beyond a reasonable doubt - ✔✔The standard used to determine the guilt of
innocence of a person charged with a crime. To be guilty of a crime, a suspect must be
proven to be guilty "beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt."
✔✔bigamy - ✔✔The act of entering into marriage with one person while still legally
married to another.
✔✔Bill of Rights - ✔✔The first ten Amendments to the Constitution.
✔✔billable hours - ✔✔Hours of fractions of hours that attorneys and paralegals spend in
work that requires legal expertise and that can be billed directly to clients.
✔✔binding mediation - ✔✔A form of ADR in which a mediator attempts to facilitate
agreement between the parties, but then issues a legally binding decision if no
agreement is reached.
✔✔bonus - ✔✔An end-of-the-year payment to a salaried employee in appreciation for
that employee's overtime work, work quality, diligence, or dedication to the firm.
✔✔booking - ✔✔The process of entering a suspect's name, offense, and arrival time
into the police log (blotter) following arrest.
✔✔breach - ✔✔To violate a legal duty by an act or a failure to act.
✔✔breach of contract - ✔✔The failure, without legal excuse, of a contractual party to
perform the obligations in a contract.
✔✔brief - ✔✔A formal outline that sets forth the main contentions with supporting
statements or evidence.
, ✔✔briefing a case - ✔✔Summarizing a case. A typical case brief will indicate the full
citation ofr the case, the factual background and procedural history of the case, the
issue(s) raised in the case, the court's decision, the court's holding, and the legal
reasoning on which the court based its decision. The brief may also include conclusions
or notes concerning the case made by the one briefing it.
✔✔browse-wrap terms - ✔✔Terms and conditions of use that are presented to an
Internet user at the time the user downloads certain products, such as software, but that
the user need not agree to (by clicking "I agree" for example) before being able to install
or use the products.
✔✔bureaucracy - ✔✔In relation to government, the organizational structure, consisting
of bureaus and agencies, through which the government implements and enforces the
laws.
✔✔burglary - ✔✔Breaking and entering onto the property of another with the intent to
commit a felony.
✔✔business invitee - ✔✔A person, such as a customer or client, who is invited onto
business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes.
✔✔business tort - ✔✔Wrongful interference with another's business rights.
✔✔bylaws - ✔✔A set of governing rules adopted by a corporation or other association.
✔✔calendar call - ✔✔The hearing at which a case is set for trial.
✔✔capacity - ✔✔Legal competency or fitness.
✔✔capital case - ✔✔Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the killing of
a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense.
✔✔caption - ✔✔The part of a legal document that shows where, when, and by what
authority it was taken, found, or executed.
✔✔case law - ✔✔Rules of law announced in court decisions.
✔✔case of first impression - ✔✔A case presenting a legal issue that has not yet been
addressed by a court in a particular jurisdiction.
✔✔case on "all fours" - ✔✔A case in which all four elements of a case (the parties, the
circumstances, the legal issues involved, and the remedies sought by the plaintiff) are
very similar to those in the case being researched.
ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔appropriation - ✔✔In tort law, the use by one person of another person's name,
likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission and or the benefit of the
user.
✔✔arbitration - ✔✔A method of settling disputes in which a dispute is submitted to a
disinterested third party (other than a court), who renders a decision that may or may
not be legally binding.
✔✔arbitration clause - ✔✔A clause in a contract that provides that, in the case of a
dispute, the parties will determine their rights by arbitration rather than through the
judicial system.
✔✔arraignment - ✔✔A court proceeding in which the suspect is formally charged with
the criminal offense stated in the indictment. The suspect then enter a plea (guilty, not
guilty, or nolo contendere) in response.
✔✔arrest - ✔✔To take into custody a person suspected of criminal activity.
✔✔arrest warrant - ✔✔A written order, based on probable cause and issued by a judge
or public official (magistrate), commanding that the person named on the warrant be
arrested by the police.
✔✔arson - ✔✔The willful and malicious burning of a building (and, in some cases in NC:
personal property); the destruction of any building regardless of ownership, by explosion
or fire.
✔✔articles of incorporation - ✔✔The document filed with the appropriate state official,
usually the Secretary of State, when a business is incorporated. State statutes usually
prescribe what kind of information must be contained in these articles.
,✔✔articles of organization - ✔✔A document necessary for setting up an LLC in many
US states. It is similar to articles of incorporation used for setting up corporations.
✔✔assault - ✔✔Any word or action intended to make another person fearful or
apprehensive of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat.
✔✔associate attorney - ✔✔An attorney working for a law firm who is not a partner and
does not have an ownership interest in the firm. less experienced, may be invited to be
partners after years
✔✔assumption of risk - ✔✔Voluntarily taking upon oneself a known risk. Assumption of
risk is a defense against negligence that can be used when the plaintiff has knowledge
of and appreciates a danger and voluntarily exposes himself to the danger.
✔✔attestation clause - ✔✔A provision at the end of an instrument where the witnesses
certify that the instrument has been executed before them, and the manner of the
execution of the same. It states that the instrument has been completed in the manner
required by law in the presence of the witnesses who placed their signatures in the
designated spaces.
✔✔attorney general - ✔✔The chief legal officer of the state who, either personally or
through staff, represents the interests of the state in a variety of areas.
✔✔attorney-client privilege - ✔✔A rule of evidence requiring that confidential
communications between a client and the client's attorney (relating to their professional
relationship) be kept confidential, unless the client consents to disclosure.
✔✔authentication - ✔✔The process of establishing the genuineness of an item that is to
be introduced as evidence in a trial.
✔✔award - ✔✔In the context of ADR, the decision rendered by an arbitrator.
✔✔bail - ✔✔The amount of money or conditions set by the court to assure that an
individual accused of a crime will appear for further criminal proceedings. If the accused
person provides bail, whether in cash or by means of a bail bond, then the person is
released.
✔✔bailiff - ✔✔Someone entrusted with the care and protection, guardianship, or
jurisdiction of a person, land, or personal property pending further court action. It also
refers to a court official of a law enforcement officer, usually a deputy sheriff, marshal,
or constable, who keeps order in the courtroom and handles various tasks for the judge
and clerk as calling cases to approach the bench. The bailiff acts as an intermediary
between the judge and the attorneys.
,✔✔bankruptcy court - ✔✔A federal court of limited jurisdiction that hears only
bankruptcy proceedings.
✔✔bankruptcy law - ✔✔The body of federal law that governs bankruptcy proceedings.
The goals of bankruptcy law are (1) to protect a debtor by giving the debtor a fresh start,
free from creditors' claims; and (2) to ensure that creditors who are competing for a
debtor's assets are treated fairly.
✔✔battery - ✔✔The intentional and offensive touching of another without lawful
justification.
✔✔beneficiary - ✔✔The person named to receive proceeds or benefits.
✔✔bequest - ✔✔To give or leave by will - used especially for personal property.
✔✔beyond a reasonable doubt - ✔✔The standard used to determine the guilt of
innocence of a person charged with a crime. To be guilty of a crime, a suspect must be
proven to be guilty "beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt."
✔✔bigamy - ✔✔The act of entering into marriage with one person while still legally
married to another.
✔✔Bill of Rights - ✔✔The first ten Amendments to the Constitution.
✔✔billable hours - ✔✔Hours of fractions of hours that attorneys and paralegals spend in
work that requires legal expertise and that can be billed directly to clients.
✔✔binding mediation - ✔✔A form of ADR in which a mediator attempts to facilitate
agreement between the parties, but then issues a legally binding decision if no
agreement is reached.
✔✔bonus - ✔✔An end-of-the-year payment to a salaried employee in appreciation for
that employee's overtime work, work quality, diligence, or dedication to the firm.
✔✔booking - ✔✔The process of entering a suspect's name, offense, and arrival time
into the police log (blotter) following arrest.
✔✔breach - ✔✔To violate a legal duty by an act or a failure to act.
✔✔breach of contract - ✔✔The failure, without legal excuse, of a contractual party to
perform the obligations in a contract.
✔✔brief - ✔✔A formal outline that sets forth the main contentions with supporting
statements or evidence.
, ✔✔briefing a case - ✔✔Summarizing a case. A typical case brief will indicate the full
citation ofr the case, the factual background and procedural history of the case, the
issue(s) raised in the case, the court's decision, the court's holding, and the legal
reasoning on which the court based its decision. The brief may also include conclusions
or notes concerning the case made by the one briefing it.
✔✔browse-wrap terms - ✔✔Terms and conditions of use that are presented to an
Internet user at the time the user downloads certain products, such as software, but that
the user need not agree to (by clicking "I agree" for example) before being able to install
or use the products.
✔✔bureaucracy - ✔✔In relation to government, the organizational structure, consisting
of bureaus and agencies, through which the government implements and enforces the
laws.
✔✔burglary - ✔✔Breaking and entering onto the property of another with the intent to
commit a felony.
✔✔business invitee - ✔✔A person, such as a customer or client, who is invited onto
business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes.
✔✔business tort - ✔✔Wrongful interference with another's business rights.
✔✔bylaws - ✔✔A set of governing rules adopted by a corporation or other association.
✔✔calendar call - ✔✔The hearing at which a case is set for trial.
✔✔capacity - ✔✔Legal competency or fitness.
✔✔capital case - ✔✔Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the killing of
a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense.
✔✔caption - ✔✔The part of a legal document that shows where, when, and by what
authority it was taken, found, or executed.
✔✔case law - ✔✔Rules of law announced in court decisions.
✔✔case of first impression - ✔✔A case presenting a legal issue that has not yet been
addressed by a court in a particular jurisdiction.
✔✔case on "all fours" - ✔✔A case in which all four elements of a case (the parties, the
circumstances, the legal issues involved, and the remedies sought by the plaintiff) are
very similar to those in the case being researched.
