NC PARALEGAL CERTIFICATION CORRECT FINALS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔default judgment - ✔✔A judgment entered by a clerk or court against a defendant
who has failed to appear in court to answer or defend against a
claim that has been brought against the defendant by another
party.
✔✔defendant - ✔✔The party against whom a lawsuit is brought.
✔✔defense - ✔✔The reasons that a defendant offers and alleges why the plaintiff
should not recover or establish what the plaintiff seeks in a lawsuit.
✔✔defense of others - ✔✔The use of reasonable force to protect others from harm.
✔✔defense of property - ✔✔The use of reasonable force to protect one's property from
the harm threatened by another. The use of deadly force in defending one's property is
seldom justified.
✔✔delegation doctrine - ✔✔A doctrine that authorizes Congress to delegate some of its
lawmaking authority to administrative agencies. The doctrine
is implied by Article I of the U.S. Constitution, which grants
specific powers to Congress to enact and oversee the
implementation of law.
✔✔demand letter - ✔✔A letter in which one party explains its legal position in a dispute
and requests that the recipient take some action (such as paying money owed).
✔✔demonstrative evidence - ✔✔Evidence in the form of a representation of an object
as opposed to testimony or other forms of evidence used at trial.
,✔✔demonstrative legacy - ✔✔A gift by will of money or other personal property that is
to be
paid to an heir from a fund designated in the provisions of the
will but, in any event, is to be paid if there are sufficient
available assets in the estate.
✔✔deponent - ✔✔A party or witness who testifies under oath during a deposition.
✔✔deposition - ✔✔A pretrial question-and-answer proceeding, usually conducted
orally, in which a party or witness answers an attorney's
questions. The answers are given under oath and the session
is recorded.
✔✔deposition summary - ✔✔A condensed version of a deposition, usually organized by
a
chronological, narrative, or topical method.
✔✔deposition transcript - ✔✔The official transcription of the recording taken during a
deposition.
✔✔devise - ✔✔To give real estate by will.
✔✔dicta - ✔✔A Latin term referring to nonbinding (nonprecedential) judicial
statements that are not directly related to the facts or issues
presented in the case and thus not essential to the holding.
✔✔digest - ✔✔A compilation in which brief summaries of court cases are
arranged by subject and subdivided by jurisdiction and court.
✔✔direct evidence - ✔✔Evidence establishing the existence of a fact that is in question
without relying on inferences. I saw x shoot y.
✔✔director - ✔✔A person elected by the shareholders to direct corporate affairs.
✔✔disbarment - ✔✔A severe disciplinary sanction in which an attorney's license to
practice law in the state is revoked because of unethical or illegal conduct.
✔✔discovery - ✔✔Formal investigation prior to trial. During discovery, opposing
parties use various methods, such as interrogatories and
depositions, to obtain information from each other and from
witnesses to prepare for trial.
✔✔discovery plan - ✔✔A plan formed by the attorneys litigating a lawsuit, on behalf of
their clients, that indicates the types of information that will be
,disclosed by each party to the other prior to trial, the testimony
and evidence that each party will or may introduce at trial, and
the general schedule for pretrial disclosures and events.
✔✔dissolution - ✔✔The formal disbanding of a partnership or a corporation.
✔✔district attorney - ✔✔An elected official of a county or a designated district with the
responsibility for prosecuting crimes.
✔✔diversion program - ✔✔In some jurisdictions an alternative to prosecution that is
offered to certain felony suspects to deter them from future
unlawful acts.
✔✔diversity of citizenship - ✔✔Under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, a basis for
federal district court jurisdiction over a lawsuit between
(1) citizens of different states, (2) a foreign country and citizens
of a state or different states, or (3) citizens of a state and
citizens or subjects of a foreign country. The amount in
controversy must be more than $75,000 before a federal court
can take jurisdiction in such cases.
✔✔dividend - ✔✔A distribution of profits to corporate shareholders, disbursed in
proportion to the number of shares held.
✔✔divorce - ✔✔A formal court proceeding that legally dissolves a marriage.
✔✔docket - ✔✔The list of cases entered on a court's calendar and thus scheduled to be
heard by the court.
✔✔double billing - ✔✔Billing more than one client for the same billable time period.
✔✔double jeopardy - ✔✔To place at risk (jeopardize) a person's life or liberty twice. The
Fifth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits a second prosecution for the same
criminal offense in all but a few circumstances.
✔✔dram shop act - ✔✔A state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and
taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting
from accidents caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers or servers of alcoholic
drinks contributed to the intoxication. Don't over-serve people!
✔✔due process of law - ✔✔Fair, reasonable, and standard procedures that must be
used by the government in any legal action against a citizen. The Fifth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution prohibits the deprivation of "life, liberty, or property without due
process of law."
, ✔✔duty of care - ✔✔The duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise
a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others.
Failure to exercise due care, which is normally determined by
the reasonable person standard, constitutes the tort of
negligence.
✔✔early neutral case evaluation - ✔✔A form of ADR in which a neutral third party
evaluates the
strengths and weaknesses of the disputing parties' positions;
the evaluator's opinion forms the basis for negotiating a
settlement.
✔✔easement - ✔✔The right of a person (or utility company) to make limited use of
another person's real property without taking anything from the property.
✔✔elder law - ✔✔A relatively new legal specialty that involves servicing the needs of
older clients, such as estate planning and making arrangements for long-term care.
✔✔emancipation - ✔✔The legal relinquishment by a child's parents or guardian of the
legal right to exercise control over the child. Usually, a child who moves out of the
parents' home and supports himself or herself is considered emancipated.
✔✔embezzlement - ✔✔The fraudulent appropriation of the property or money of
another by a person entrusted with the property or money.
✔✔eminent domain - ✔✔The power of a government to take land for public use from
private citizens for just compensation.
✔✔employment at will - ✔✔A common law doctrine under which employment is
considered to be "at will"; either party may terminate the employment relationship at any
time and for any reason, unless a contract specifies otherwise.
✔✔employment manual - ✔✔A firm's handbook or written statement that specifies the
policies and procedures that govern the firm's employees and employer-employee
relationships.
✔✔enabling legislation - ✔✔A statute enacted by a legislature that authorizes the
creation of an administrative agency and specifies the name, purpose, composition, and
powers of the agency being created.
✔✔environmental law - ✔✔All state and federal laws or regulations enacted or issued to
protect the environment and preserve environmental resources.
✔✔equitable principles and maxims - ✔✔Propositions or general statements of rules of
law that are frequently involved in equity jurisdiction.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔default judgment - ✔✔A judgment entered by a clerk or court against a defendant
who has failed to appear in court to answer or defend against a
claim that has been brought against the defendant by another
party.
✔✔defendant - ✔✔The party against whom a lawsuit is brought.
✔✔defense - ✔✔The reasons that a defendant offers and alleges why the plaintiff
should not recover or establish what the plaintiff seeks in a lawsuit.
✔✔defense of others - ✔✔The use of reasonable force to protect others from harm.
✔✔defense of property - ✔✔The use of reasonable force to protect one's property from
the harm threatened by another. The use of deadly force in defending one's property is
seldom justified.
✔✔delegation doctrine - ✔✔A doctrine that authorizes Congress to delegate some of its
lawmaking authority to administrative agencies. The doctrine
is implied by Article I of the U.S. Constitution, which grants
specific powers to Congress to enact and oversee the
implementation of law.
✔✔demand letter - ✔✔A letter in which one party explains its legal position in a dispute
and requests that the recipient take some action (such as paying money owed).
✔✔demonstrative evidence - ✔✔Evidence in the form of a representation of an object
as opposed to testimony or other forms of evidence used at trial.
,✔✔demonstrative legacy - ✔✔A gift by will of money or other personal property that is
to be
paid to an heir from a fund designated in the provisions of the
will but, in any event, is to be paid if there are sufficient
available assets in the estate.
✔✔deponent - ✔✔A party or witness who testifies under oath during a deposition.
✔✔deposition - ✔✔A pretrial question-and-answer proceeding, usually conducted
orally, in which a party or witness answers an attorney's
questions. The answers are given under oath and the session
is recorded.
✔✔deposition summary - ✔✔A condensed version of a deposition, usually organized by
a
chronological, narrative, or topical method.
✔✔deposition transcript - ✔✔The official transcription of the recording taken during a
deposition.
✔✔devise - ✔✔To give real estate by will.
✔✔dicta - ✔✔A Latin term referring to nonbinding (nonprecedential) judicial
statements that are not directly related to the facts or issues
presented in the case and thus not essential to the holding.
✔✔digest - ✔✔A compilation in which brief summaries of court cases are
arranged by subject and subdivided by jurisdiction and court.
✔✔direct evidence - ✔✔Evidence establishing the existence of a fact that is in question
without relying on inferences. I saw x shoot y.
✔✔director - ✔✔A person elected by the shareholders to direct corporate affairs.
✔✔disbarment - ✔✔A severe disciplinary sanction in which an attorney's license to
practice law in the state is revoked because of unethical or illegal conduct.
✔✔discovery - ✔✔Formal investigation prior to trial. During discovery, opposing
parties use various methods, such as interrogatories and
depositions, to obtain information from each other and from
witnesses to prepare for trial.
✔✔discovery plan - ✔✔A plan formed by the attorneys litigating a lawsuit, on behalf of
their clients, that indicates the types of information that will be
,disclosed by each party to the other prior to trial, the testimony
and evidence that each party will or may introduce at trial, and
the general schedule for pretrial disclosures and events.
✔✔dissolution - ✔✔The formal disbanding of a partnership or a corporation.
✔✔district attorney - ✔✔An elected official of a county or a designated district with the
responsibility for prosecuting crimes.
✔✔diversion program - ✔✔In some jurisdictions an alternative to prosecution that is
offered to certain felony suspects to deter them from future
unlawful acts.
✔✔diversity of citizenship - ✔✔Under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, a basis for
federal district court jurisdiction over a lawsuit between
(1) citizens of different states, (2) a foreign country and citizens
of a state or different states, or (3) citizens of a state and
citizens or subjects of a foreign country. The amount in
controversy must be more than $75,000 before a federal court
can take jurisdiction in such cases.
✔✔dividend - ✔✔A distribution of profits to corporate shareholders, disbursed in
proportion to the number of shares held.
✔✔divorce - ✔✔A formal court proceeding that legally dissolves a marriage.
✔✔docket - ✔✔The list of cases entered on a court's calendar and thus scheduled to be
heard by the court.
✔✔double billing - ✔✔Billing more than one client for the same billable time period.
✔✔double jeopardy - ✔✔To place at risk (jeopardize) a person's life or liberty twice. The
Fifth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits a second prosecution for the same
criminal offense in all but a few circumstances.
✔✔dram shop act - ✔✔A state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and
taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting
from accidents caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers or servers of alcoholic
drinks contributed to the intoxication. Don't over-serve people!
✔✔due process of law - ✔✔Fair, reasonable, and standard procedures that must be
used by the government in any legal action against a citizen. The Fifth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution prohibits the deprivation of "life, liberty, or property without due
process of law."
, ✔✔duty of care - ✔✔The duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise
a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others.
Failure to exercise due care, which is normally determined by
the reasonable person standard, constitutes the tort of
negligence.
✔✔early neutral case evaluation - ✔✔A form of ADR in which a neutral third party
evaluates the
strengths and weaknesses of the disputing parties' positions;
the evaluator's opinion forms the basis for negotiating a
settlement.
✔✔easement - ✔✔The right of a person (or utility company) to make limited use of
another person's real property without taking anything from the property.
✔✔elder law - ✔✔A relatively new legal specialty that involves servicing the needs of
older clients, such as estate planning and making arrangements for long-term care.
✔✔emancipation - ✔✔The legal relinquishment by a child's parents or guardian of the
legal right to exercise control over the child. Usually, a child who moves out of the
parents' home and supports himself or herself is considered emancipated.
✔✔embezzlement - ✔✔The fraudulent appropriation of the property or money of
another by a person entrusted with the property or money.
✔✔eminent domain - ✔✔The power of a government to take land for public use from
private citizens for just compensation.
✔✔employment at will - ✔✔A common law doctrine under which employment is
considered to be "at will"; either party may terminate the employment relationship at any
time and for any reason, unless a contract specifies otherwise.
✔✔employment manual - ✔✔A firm's handbook or written statement that specifies the
policies and procedures that govern the firm's employees and employer-employee
relationships.
✔✔enabling legislation - ✔✔A statute enacted by a legislature that authorizes the
creation of an administrative agency and specifies the name, purpose, composition, and
powers of the agency being created.
✔✔environmental law - ✔✔All state and federal laws or regulations enacted or issued to
protect the environment and preserve environmental resources.
✔✔equitable principles and maxims - ✔✔Propositions or general statements of rules of
law that are frequently involved in equity jurisdiction.
