Busy. Please wait.
Log in with Clever
or

show password
Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?  Sign up 
Sign up using Clever
or

Username is available taken
show password


Make sure to remember your password. If you forget it there is no way for StudyStack to send you a reset link. You would need to create a new account.
Your email address is only used to allow you to reset your password. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.


Already a StudyStack user? Log In

Reset Password
Enter the associated with your account, and we'll email you a link to reset your password.

Legal Survey vocab review for paralegal test 2

Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in each of the black spaces below before clicking on it to display the answer.
        Help!  

Question
Answer
Abuse of process   Intentional tort of malicious use of the legal process  
🗑
Accessory   Someone who assisted in the preparation of the crime but was not present during the crime  
🗑
Accessory after the fact   Someone who aided the principal after the commission of the crime  
🗑
Accomplice   Also known as a principal in the second degree; a person who assists the principal with the crime or with the preparation of the crime  
🗑
Accord and satisfaction   Payment of money, or other thing of value, usually less than the amount demanded, in exchange for cancellation of a debt that is uncertain in amount.  
🗑
Actual Cause   Cause in fact; "But for" the D's actions, the P would not have been injured  
🗑
Actus reus   Bad act (for a crime, the bad act must be voluntary)  
🗑
Advertisement   A solicitation of an offer to buy  
🗑
Alibi defense   A defense requiring proof that the defendant could not have been at the scene of the crime  
🗑
Appropriation   An intentional unauthorized exploitive use of another person's personality, name, or picture for the defendant's benefit  
🗑
Arraignment   Criminal proceeding at which the court informs the D of the charges being brought against him or her and the D enters a plea  
🗑
Arrest   Occurs when the police restrain a person's freedom and charge the person with a crime  
🗑
Arson   Malicious burning of the house or property of another  
🗑
Artisan’s lien   Rightfully retaining someone’s property. A defense to trespass to personal property and conversion  
🗑
Assault   An intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive physical contact  
🗑
Assumption of the risk   Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger  
🗑
Attractive Nuisance   Doctrine in which a danger that would attract children must be protected by more than just a sign (swimming pools)  
🗑
Bail   Money or something of value held by the gov't to ensure the D's appearance in court  
🗑
Battered woman/spouse syndrome   When self-defense is allowed even when the victim is not in immediate danger, but is a victim of a continuing pattern of violence  
🗑
Battery   An intentional act that creates a harmful or offensive physical contact  
🗑
Battery   A wrongful physical contact with a person that entails some injury or offensive touching  
🗑
Beyond a reasonable doubt   Standard of proof in criminal trials  
🗑
Bilateral Contract   A promise is exchanged for a promise  
🗑
Booking   Process after arrest, taking D's information, read/sign Miranda card, use of telephone  
🗑
Breach   Failure to do one's duty  
🗑
Burglary   Breaking into and entering a building with the intent of committing a felony  
🗑
Capital Crime   A crime for which the death sentence can be imposed.  
🗑
Charging the jury   The judge informs the jurors of the law they need to know to make their decision  
🗑
Comparative Negligence   A method for measuring the relative negligence of the P and D, with a commensurate sharing of the compensation for the injuries  
🗑
Compensatory damages   aka Actual Damages; awarded to P for the harm done to him  
🗑
Complete defense   A defense that relieves the defendant of all criminal responsibility  
🗑
Consideration   Anything of value; it must be present for a valid contract to exist, and each side must give it  
🗑
Conspiracy   An agreement to commit an unlawful act  
🗑
Content neutrality   Laws may not limit free expression on the basis of whether the speech's content supports or opposes any particular position  
🗑
Contract   An agreement that can be enforced by law  
🗑
Contributory Negligence   P’s breach of duty to protect himself was the proximate cause of the injuries; complete bar to P’s recovery  
🗑
Conversion   Taking someone else's property with the intent of permanently depriving the owner; civil side of theft  
🗑
Crime   An activity that has been prohibited by the legislature as violating a duty owed to society and hence prosecutable, with the possibility of resulting incarceration or the payment of a fine.  
🗑
Custodial interrogation   Questioning that occurs after a defendant has been deprived of his or her freedom in a significant way  
🗑
Custody   Occurs when the D has been deprived of freedom in a significant way  
🗑
Deadly force   A force that would cause serious bodily injury or death  
🗑
Defamation   The publication of false statements that harm a person's reputation  
🗑
Defamation per se   Remarks considered to be so harmful that they are automatically viewed as defamatory  
🗑
Disclosure   The intentional publication of embarrassing private affairs  
🗑
Double jeopardy   A constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same crime  
🗑
Dram shop Laws   establish the liability of bars, etc. if an intoxicated patron negligently injures another  
🗑
Drug Dealer Liability Act   Under this statute (adopted in 16 states), anyone who distributes an illegal drug in a particular geographic area during a particular time can be sued by anyone harmed by that type of drug.  
🗑
Due Process   5th and 14th amendments guarantee that notice and a hearing must be provided before depriving someone of property or liberty  
🗑
Duress   A defense that force or a threat of force was used to cause a person to commit a criminal act  
🗑
Duty   Legal obligation  
🗑
Eggshell skull   The rule that a wrongdoer must take his victim as he finds him  
🗑
Elements of a binding contract   1. Offer, 2. Acceptance, 3. Consideration  
🗑
Entrapment   A defense that the D would not have committed the crime but for police trickery  
🗑
Exclusionary rule   A rule that states that evidence obtained in violation of an indiv.'s constitutional rights cannot be used against that indiv. In a criminal trial  
🗑
Exculpatory clause   A provision that purports to waive liability; such as a waiver  
🗑
Exculpatory evidence   Evidence that suggests the D's innocence  
🗑
Execute   To perform  
🗑
Executed Contract   Contract in which all promises have been fully performed  
🗑
Executory Contract   Contract in which promises have been made, but not yet fulfilled  
🗑
Exigent circumstances   An emergency situation that allows a search to proceed without a warrant  
🗑
Express Contract   Contract formed through words, either oral or written  
🗑
False arrest   When a person is arrested (by either a law officer or citizen) without probable cause and when not covered by special privilege  
🗑
False Imprisonment   When one person, through force or threat of force, unlawfully detains another person against his or her will  
🗑
False Light   The intentional untrue portrayal of someone in a way that would be offensive to a reasonable person  
🗑
Felony   A serious crime, usually carrying a prison sentence of one or more years  
🗑
Fine   Money payment intended to make the defendant pay financially for the crime committed  
🗑
Forfeiture   The loss of money or property as a result of committing a criminal act  
🗑
Forgery   Alteration or falsification of documents with the intent to defraud  
🗑
Formal Contract   Contract made under seal; a recognizance; negotiable instrument. A check or a real estate transfer are examples.  
🗑
Fourth Amendment   Amendment requiring all searches and seizures be "reasonable"  
🗑
Fraud   Involves the intent to induce reliance on the misrepresentation, knowledge that the misrepresentation is false or a reckless disregard for the truth, justifiable reliance, and harm  
🗑
Fruits of the poisonous tree doctrine   Evidence that is derived from an illegal search or interrogation is inadmissible  
🗑
General damages   Compensatory damages that you would naturally expect to occur given the type of harm suffered  
🗑
General deterrence   Punishment so that other individuals will not commit this or other crimes  
🗑
General intent   An intention to act without regard to the results of the act (common law)  
🗑
Grand jury   A group of (usually 23) people whose function is to determine if probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed by D  
🗑
Hate crime   Crime where the selection of the victim is based on that person's race, sex, orientation, etc.  
🗑
Hate speech   Speech directed at a particular group of people that involves intimidation  
🗑
Homicide   The killing of one human being by another  
🗑
Implied-in-fact contract   Contract formed through conduct, not words  
🗑
Incapacitation   The perpetrator of a crime is isolated in a prison so that this individual will not be able to commit any crimes during the length of the incarceration  
🗑
Inchoate crimes   Attempted crimes  
🗑
Inculpatory evidence   Evidence that suggests the D's guilt  
🗑
Indictment   Grand jury's written accusation that a given individual has committed a crime  
🗑
Inference   A conclusion reached by a judge or jury in a criminal trial based on the facts given  
🗑
Informal Contract   Contract that does not have to meet a special formality to be followed  
🗑
Information   A prosecutor's written accusation (after preliminary hearing) that a given individual has committed a crime  
🗑
Injunction   An order that the D do a specific act or cease doing a specific act  
🗑
Insanity defense   A defense requiring proof that the defendant was not mentally responsible  
🗑
Intentional infliction of emotional distress   An intentional act that is extreme and outrageous and causes severe emotional distress  
🗑
Intentional tort   Purposeful violation of a duty toward others; an intent to harm and a resulting harm  
🗑
Interference with a Contractual Relationship   Prohibits one from inducing a party to breach a contract or interfering with the performance of a contract  
🗑
Intervening cause   A factor that contributed to the plaintiff's injury  
🗑
Intoxication defense   A defense that D was not able to form the mens rea due to being under the influence of alcohol/drugs  
🗑
Intrusion   The intentional unjustified encroachment into another person's private activities  
🗑
Invasion of privacy   An intentional tort that covers a variety of situations, including disclosure, intrusion, appropriation, and false light  
🗑
Irresistible impulse test   Insanity test - if D could not control his or her actions  
🗑
Kidnapping   Crime of unlawful confinement (usually asportation - movement of the victim, must occur)  
🗑
Knowingly   Not intending to cause a specific harm, but being aware that such harm would be caused (MPC)  
🗑
Last Clear Chance   The doctine that states that despite the P’s contributory negligence, the defendant should still be liable if the D had the final opportunity to avoid the accident  
🗑
Lesser Included Offense   A crime whose elements are contained within a more serious crime.  
🗑
Libel   Written defamation  
🗑
Loss of consortium   The loss by one spouse of the other spouse's companionship, services, or affection  
🗑
Malice   Making a defamatory remark either knowing the material was false or acting with a "reckless disregard" for whether or not it was true  
🗑
Malicious prosecution   Filing a lawsuit out of spite, with no legal or factual foundation  
🗑
Market Share Theory   A legal theory that allows plaintiffs to recover proportionately from a group of manufacturers when the identity of the specific manufacturer responsible for the harm is unknown  
🗑
Mens rea   Bad intent  
🗑
Merchant’s firm offer   An offer made by a merchant in a signed writing that assures the buyer the offer will remain open for a specific period of time. It does not require consideration to be binding.  
🗑
Miranda warnings   The requirement that D be notified of their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present prior to questioning  
🗑
Mirror Image Rule   The requirement that the acceptance is exactly the same as the offer, or the acceptance will be viewed as a counteroffer.  
🗑
Misdemeanor   A minor crime not amounting to a felony, usually punishable by a fine or a jail sentence of less than a year  
🗑
Misfeasance   Acting in an improper or wrongful way  
🗑
Mistake   A defense of ignorance of the facts  
🗑
Mixed Comparative Negligence   A method for awarding a % of damages if P’s contributory negligence is responsible for less than 50%  
🗑
M'Naghten Test   Insanity test - if D suffered from a defect or disease of the mind as not to know the nature and quality of the act, or if he did know it, could not understand whether the act was right or wrong. Aka "right from wrong" test  
🗑
Model Penal Code and Commentaries   The American Law Institute's proposal for a uniform set of criminal laws; not the law unless adopted by a state's legislature (1956)  
🗑
Motion to require a finding of not guilty   The defense's request that the court find the prosecution failed to meet its burden and that it remove the case from the jury by finding the defendant not guilty  
🗑
Motion to suppress   A request that the court prohibit the use of certain evidence at the trial  
🗑
Necessity   A defense that the D was forced (by nature) to take an action to avoid a greater harm  
🗑
Negligence   The failure to act reasonably under the circumstances; also, a unintentional tort  
🗑
Negligence per se   This occurs when an actor's violation of a statute (or regulation) causes the kind of harm the statute was intending to prevent.  
🗑
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress   underlying concept is that one has a legal duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing emotional distress to another individual  
🗑
No-knock warrant   A warrant that allows the police to enter without announcing their presence in advance  
🗑
Nolo contendere   D's plea meaning that the D neither admits nor denies the charges  
🗑
Nominal Damages   Damages awarded when a right has been violated, but the plaintiff cannot prove any monetary harm  
🗑
Nonfeasance   Failing to act  
🗑
Offer   A promise do to something that is conditioned on the other party’s promising to do something in return  
🗑
Option contract   A contract in which the buyer gives the seller consideration to keep the offer open for a stated period of time  
🗑
Output contract   A contract in which one party agrees to deliver its entire stock or production of a particular product to the other party  
🗑
Overbreadth   A reason for invalidating a statute where it covers both protected and criminal activity  
🗑
Partial defense   A defense that reduces a crime to a lesser included offense  
🗑
Personal recognizance bond   A D's personal promise to appear in court  
🗑
Plain view doctrine   Without the need for a warrant, the police may seize objects that are openly visible  
🗑
Plea bargaining   When the prosecution and defense negotiate the D's punishment  
🗑
Principal   The person who commits the crime  
🗑
Probable cause   A belief based on specific facts that a crime has been or is about to be committed; more than a reasonable suspicion  
🗑
Product Misuse   When the product was not being used for its intended purpose or was being used in a dangerous manner; it is a defense to a products liability claim so long as the misuse was not foreseeable  
🗑
Products Liability   The theory holding manufacturers and sellers liable for defective products when the defects make the products unreasonably dangerous  
🗑
Promissory estoppel   aka Detrimental Reliance; Occurs when the courts allow detrimental reliance to substitute for consideration  
🗑
Proximate cause   When the act and resulting harm are foreseeably related as to justify a finding of liability  
🗑
Punitive Damages   aka Exemplary Damages; Damages awarded with the purpose to punish and deter  
🗑
Purposeful   Intending to cause a specific harm (MPC)  
🗑
Quantum Meruit   When a person does something for another, without any agreement as to his compensation, the law implies a promise (quasi-contract) for “as much as it’s worth”  
🗑
Quasi-contract   Although no contract was formed, the courts will fashion an equitable remedy to avoid unjust enrichment.  
🗑
Reasonable suspicion   A suspicion based on specific facts; less than probable cause  
🗑
Recklessness   Disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result  
🗑
Recklessness   Disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result  
🗑
Rehabilitation   The perpetrator of a crime is given treatment so that this individual will have no need or desire to commit crimes in the future  
🗑
Requirements contract   A contract in which one party agrees to buy all it needs of a particular product from another party  
🗑
Res Ipsa Loquitur   "The thing speaks for itself"; the doctrine that suggests negligence can be presumed if an event happens that would not ordinarily happen unless someone was negligence  
🗑
Restatement of the Law of Torts, Second   An authoritative, secondary source, written by a group of legal scholars, summarizing the existing common law, as well as suggesting what the law should be.  
🗑
Retreat exception   The rule that in order to claim self-defense there must have been no possibility of get away  
🗑
Retribution   The perpetrator of a crime is punished to exact revenge on behalf of the victim or the victim's family  
🗑
RICO   The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act  
🗑
Robbery   Theft of personal property in circumstances that involve either the infliction of serious bodily injury or the threat of such injury  
🗑
Rules of criminal procedure   Federal and state rules that regulate how criminal proceedings are conducted  
🗑
Scienter   Element of intent in fraud  
🗑
Self-defense   Justified use of force to protect oneself or others  
🗑
Slander   Spoken defamation  
🗑
Social Host Liability   Similar to dramshop laws, but regarding private parties, not bars  
🗑
Solicitation   Encouraging someone to commit a crime  
🗑
Sovereign Immunity   Prohibits suits against the government without the gov’t consent  
🗑
Special Damages   aka Consequential Damages; Compensatory damages that vary depending on the specific situation  
🗑
Specific deterrence   Punishment so that this individual will not commit other crimes  
🗑
Specific intent   An intention to act and to cause a particular result (common law)  
🗑
Stalking   The crime of intentionally or knowingly engaging in conduct that causes a reasonable person to fear the imminent physical injury or death of himself or herself or of a member of that person's family  
🗑
Stop and Frisk   Right of the police to detain someone for brief period of time and to search the outside of clothing if the police have a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed or is about to commit a crime  
🗑
Strict Liability tort   Liability without having to prove fault; one is held responsible for injuries that resulted from actions that were not unreasonable and that did not violate a standard of care  
🗑
Substantial capacity test   MPC insanity test - if D lacked either the ability to understand that the act was wrong or the ability to control the behavior  
🗑
Superseding cause   An event which occurs after the initial act leading to an accident and substantially causes the injury; D's negligence no longer makes him liable  
🗑
Theft/Larceny   Crime of stealing  
🗑
Tort   A private wrong (other than breach of contract) in which a person or property is harmed because of another's failure to carry out a legal duty  
🗑
Tortfeasor   The person who commits the tort  
🗑
Transferred intent   A legal fiction that if a person directs a tortuous action toward A but instead harms B, the intent to act against A is applied to B  
🗑
Trespass   Unauthorized intrusion or invasion of the premises of land of another  
🗑
Trespass to Land   When someone enters or causes something to enter or remain on the land of another without permission  
🗑
Trespass to Personal Property   When someone harms or interferes with the owner's exclusive possession of the property but has no intention of keeping the property  
🗑
Ultrahazardous Activities   Those activities that have an inherent risk of injury and therefore may result in strict liability  
🗑
Unenforceable Contract   A valid contract that cannot be imposed because of a procedural error, such as the passage of the statute of limitations  
🗑
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)   Model code governing commercial transactions  
🗑
Unilateral Contract   A promise is exchanged for an act  
🗑
Valid Contract   Contract which has all essential elements needed for a binding contract  
🗑
Void Contract   Contract that is found to be for an illegal purpose  
🗑
Void for vagueness   A reason for invalidating a statute where a reasonable person could not determine a statute's meaning  
🗑
Voidable Contract   A contract that can be set aside at the option of one party; such as a contract with a minor; minor can void contract  
🗑
Warrant   A court's prior permission for the police to search and seize  
🗑
Writ of habeas corpus   A request that the court release the D because of the illegality of the incarceration  
🗑
Wrongful birth   A medical malpractice claim brought by the parents of a child born with birth defects, alleging that negligent treatment or advice deprived them of the opportunity to avoid conception or terminate the pregnancy.  
🗑
Wrongful life   A type of medical malpractice claim brought on behalf of a child born with birth defects, alleging that the child would not have been born but for negligent advice to, or treatment of, the parents  
🗑


   

Review the information in the table. When you are ready to quiz yourself you can hide individual columns or the entire table. Then you can click on the empty cells to reveal the answer. Try to recall what will be displayed before clicking the empty cell.
 
To hide a column, click on the column name.
 
To hide the entire table, click on the "Hide All" button.
 
You may also shuffle the rows of the table by clicking on the "Shuffle" button.
 
Or sort by any of the columns using the down arrow next to any column heading.
If you know all the data on any row, you can temporarily remove it by tapping the trash can to the right of the row.

 
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.

  Normal Size     Small Size show me how
Created by: Paralegal
Popular LSAT sets