Paralegal Final

Question 1

What is Evidence?

Answer 1

Information that can be presented in court as proof of some fact.

Question 2

Define Facts

Answer 2

An actual or alleged incident or condition - NOT a legal conclusion.

Question 3

Define Rules of Evidence

Answer 3

Federal and State Rules that determine how to gather and preserve evidence to use it in court.

Question 4

What are the 4 Forms of Evidence?

Answer 4

Real or Physical - Any Tangible Object (Knife, Gun, Bag of Money)
Testimonial- Oral Discription of events a witness testifies to under oath in a legal proceeding.
Documentary - Any written instruments (Records, Reports, Etc. )
Judicial Notice - Judge Formally recognizes something as being a fact w/o the Atty having to prove it.

Question 5

What is the Foundation or Laying the Foundation?

Answer 5

The process of gathering admissable evidence (Relevant, Material, Competant, Authenticated) Evidence must be Rel, Mat, Comp to be Admissable.

Question 6

What is Authenticated mean?

Answer 6

The process of proving evidence is admissable - proving the gun in the exhibit is THE gun from the crime.

Question 7

What is Relevant Evidence?

Answer 7

This refers to Probative Value of Evidence and whether the evidence leads one to logically conclude that the asserted fact is more probable or less probable.

Question 8

What is Material Evidence?

Answer 8

It is a subcategory to Relevant Evidence stating that evidence is required to be more probative than predjudicial.

Question 9

What is Competant Evidence?

Answer 9

Relates to the ability of a witness to testify

1) Capable of being understood
2) Can understand their duty to tell the truth
3) If they are a lay witness, they must give testimony based on personal knowledge.

Question 10

What is a Lay Witness?

Answer 10

Witness with no special expertise - Is testifying to their personal knowledge.

Question 11

What is an Expert Witness?

Answer 11

Person with Expertise in a certain area as qualified- CAN testify with their opinion.

Question 12

What are the 4 TYPES of evidence?

Answer 12

Direct Evidence - “I saw it”
Circumstantial Evidence - Indirect evidence used to imply that something took place.
Cumulative Evidence - Doesn’t add anything new - confirms existing evid. IN THE SAME FORM.
Corroborative Evidence - Evidence that supports the previous evidence IN A DIFFERENT FORM.

Question 13

What is Hearsay? What is an Exception?

Answer 13

When a witness testifies in court about something someone told them - An Exception is Dying Declaration or excited utterance.

Question 14

What is the Best Evidence Rule?

Answer 14

Having an original or the next best thing

Question 15

How do you Plan an Investigation?

Answer 15

Get the chronology of Events

Pictures and Getting Documents

Question 16

What is Supoena Duces Tecum?

Answer 16

It is a court order to someone who is not a party to litigation to appear in court or deposition and bring required documents.

Question 17

What is a FOIA request?

Answer 17

It is a request for public government documents or information empowered by (Freedom of Information Act )

Question 18

What is a retainer?

Answer 18

It is a deposit or an amount of money paid to an attorney in advance to engage services.

Question 19

What is a fixed fee?

Answer 19

Set Fee for specific services (i.e drafting a will or real estate closing)

Question 20

What is a contingency fee?

Answer 20

Fee calculated a percentage of a settlement or award (33% or 0) Cannot do divorce or criminal cases on contingency - creates conflict of interest between atty & client.

Question 21

What is a tickler system?

Answer 21

A Calendaring system tracking document control - missing deadlines is the #1 malpractice cause.

Question 22

What is a Case of First Impression?

Answer 22

When the court is facing an issue it hasn’t dealt with before and create common law.

Question 23

What are the 3 types of Interview questions?

Answer 23

Open - Tell me about……
Closed - Yes, No, Short Answers
Leading - Sooo you FULLY stopped at the red light, Riight?

Question 24

What is Mandatory Authority?

Answer 24

Higher court in the SAME Jurisdiction - The MA SJC is the mandatory authority to the MA trial courts and Appeals Court.

Question 25

What is Persuasive Authority?

Answer 25

Can use as an authority -But you don’t have to follow – Use NH decision but you don’t have to.

Question 26

What are headnotes?

Answer 26

The summary of a legal point in a court decision.

Question 27

What is the Syllabus (in a court opinion)?

Answer 27

A summary of the fact and the courts decision.

Question 28

What are 3 kinds or levels of professional status?

Answer 28

Licensure - Licensed and can be taken away
Certification - Qualified and Tested
Registration - Your name is on a list

Question 29

What is Overrule?

Answer 29

When a court in a later case changes the law so that its prior decision is no longer Good Law - “Times Change”

Question 30

What are the 3 main parts of a Citation?

Answer 30

The names of the parties, the volume, official reporter and page number, the unofficial reporter, and finally the decision year.

Question 31

Bullet Points on Interviewing

Answer 31

• Send Form to get basic information
• Do a conflict check
• Introduction(s)
• Pay attention to cultural differences - if they are understanding what is being asked, what their hope for resolution is what theire view of the problem is.
• Do the funnel method of Questioning - Start with Open and funnel down to closed or leading .
• Summarize, Discuss Follow up, Ask if anything else I should know?
• Organize and write up notes ASAP after interview