Legal Studies 101

Tort and contract actions can be differentiated in that

1. in a tort action, the purpose is to be fully compensated for any harm caused; the purpose of a breach of contract action is to get the benefit of the bargain. and 2. in a tort action, the duties are established by the court or legislature; in a contract action, the duties are established by the terms of the contract.

Joan says to Jill, "For $25 I will buy your watch." Jill replies, "O.K."

A bilateral, express contract has been formed.

Which of the following would NOT involve a potential conflict of interest?

All involve potential conflicts of interest.

Which of the following are NOT examples of legal work that would typically be done on the basis of a flat fee?

All of the above could be done on the basis of a flat fee.

The "Full Faith and Credit" clause is found in

Article IV of the Constitution

Bruce was in an automobile accident. So far, Bruce's medical bills have exceeded $80,000.00. In addition, his car was damaged. The repairs cost him $10,000.00. Bruce is from New York. The person he wants to sue is a resident of New York as well.

Bruce may bring his suit only in a New York state court.

A cause of action can be defined as a claim that based upon the law supports a lawsuit.

False

A court's equitable powers allow it to award money damages.

False

A legal problem can involve state law or federal law, but it cannot involve both state law AND federal law.

False

An attorney may never reveal the confidences or secrets of a client.

False

Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code applies to all contract involving parties from two different states.

False

Assault and battery are one indivisible tort.

False

Civil law deals with harm to society as a whole; criminal law deals with harm to an individual.

False

If a client admits to his attorney that he is guilty of the crime for which he is charged, the attorney must report this to the court and resign as the attorney of record.

False

If a plaintiff brings suit in federal court, federal law will always be applied to the underlying controversy.

False

In a civil action, the defendant has the burden of proving the prima facie case.

False

In deciding free exercise of religion cases, the test the US Supreme Court currently uses is the government has to establish that any restrictions on the free exercise of religion are necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that the means are narrowly tailored to achieve that interest.

False

In trial courts, there is always a jury present to determine the facts.

False

Lawyers usually charge a contingency fee in criminal cases.

False

One of the explicit powers granted to Congress in the Constitution is to create and operate national banks.

False

Personal property consists of a person's privately owned property whereas real property consists of business property.

False

Persuasive authority is another name for primary authority.

False

Probation is another name for parole.

False

The Uniform Commercial Code is a federal statute.

False

The view that argues for a strict construction of the Constitution is often referred to as constructivism.

False

Tort law usually involves an affirmative obligation to protect others rather than an obligation to refrain from taking actions that harm others.

False

Torts have traditionally been classified into one of four major categories based on whether they involve intentional acts, mere accident, negligence or strict liability.

False

Verbal defamation is known as libel and written defamation is known as slander.

False

Jim is unhappily married to Martha. He wants to draft a will in which he gives all of his assets to his best friend, Mark.

In most states, when Jim dies, Martha will still receive a part of Jim's estate under what is known as a "forced share."

John and James owned a farm as joint tenants. John died. In his will he left all of his property to Martha.

James will acquire the entire farm and Martha will not inherit any portion of the farm.

John died without a will. He was survived by two of his three children. His third child had died before John, leaving two children of his own (John's grandchildren). Under the intestate laws in most states (including Maryland), John's estate would be divided as follows:

John's two surviving children would get 1/3rd each, and the two grandchildren from his predeceased child would get 1/6th each.

Which of the following statements about the adversarial system is NOT true?

Judges determine who will be called as witnesses.

The following theory asserts that judges should look to the expertise that can be provided by the social sciences, such as psychology.

Legal Realism

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment?

Most, but not all of the rights listed in the Bill of Rights, are applied to the states through the 14th amendment.

Mrs. Edmonds, who is seeking a divorce, entered attorney Black's office for her first interview. Because she was very disturbed over the prospect of a divorce, Mrs. Edmonds brought her best friend along with her to the interview. Should attorney Black let Mrs. Edmond's best friend sit in on the interview?

No, because attorney Black and the client would not be protected by the attorney-client privilege.

Which of the following is NOT an example of procedural due process?

Right of access to an abortion during the first trimester.

Types of Enacted Law

Statutes, Constitutions and Regulations

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

The insanity defense is based on the belief that an insane defendant is incapable of formulating the required element of mens rea.

Barney was sitting peacefully in a bar, sipping his drink. Suddenly a fight broke out between two other patrons and one of them threw a bar stool. The stool missed its target and hit Barney across the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

This is an example of both a tort and a crime.

Which of the following is true?

Trials always consist of determining the answers to questions of law and questions of fact.

A delegation is the transfer by one party of his or her contractual obligations to a third party.

True

A leasehold is a parcel of real estate held under a lease.

True

A single event can become the basis of an action in both criminal and civil courts.

True

A tort occurs when someone's person or property is hurt.

True

Advocates of what is called the "Living/evolving constitution" approach believe the constitution was intentionally designed to be able to change with the times.

True

As societal values change, the law often changes.

True

Attorneys cannot offer testimony they know is false.

True

Attorneys sometimes face situations in which there are conflicts among their roles as advocates for their clients and as officers of the court, and their own sense of morality.

True

Cases begun in state court can only be appealed to the United States Supreme Court if they raise a federal issue.

True

Criminal law defines for society what behaviors are illegal and determines how lawbreakers should be punished.

True

Despite the doctrine of preemption, if a state law does not conflict with federal law, nor unreasonably burden interstate commerce, it may coexist with federal laws.

True

If someone dies without a will and leaves no relatives, the property reverts, or escheats, to the state.

True

If the parties are both mistaken about the terms of the contract, the contract can be rescinded.

True

Most state court systems consist of three levels: trial courts, intermediate appellate courts, and one appellate court of last resort.

True

Natural law theorists believe that man-made law should be based on timeless and immutable principles discoverable through humanity's innate sense of right and wrong.

True

One of the goals of the ethical rules regarding client confidentiality is to encourage candor in those clients who would otherwise be reluctant to reveal potentially embarrassing or incriminating information to their attorney.

True

Ownership of property can be sole or shared.

True

Prior court decisions are known as precedent.

True

The Constitution creates a system of separate branches exercising shared powers.

True

The court and not the legislature, has the final say on when a statute is unconstitutional.

True

The defense generally has the right to discover all the evidence that the prosecution intends to use at trial.

True

The process of applying law to a client's specific facts is known as legal reasoning.

True

The test to use to determine whether something is real or personal property is whether it is land or permanently attached to land.

True

The two required elements for every crime are the requisite mens rea and actus reas.

True

To be found guilty of a crime, there must be both a mens rea and an actus reus.

True

Under principles of federalism, the state courts are the final arbitrator as to the meaning of state statutes and the state constitution.

True

Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all powers not specifically delegated are reserved to the states and to the people.

True

When money damages are inadequate, a court may require specific performance and order a breaching party to perform his or her contractual obligations.

True

Which of the following raises a question of law?

Whether the actions of the police officers constituted entrapment.

The strict scrutiny standard is applied when

a fundamental right or a suspect class is involved.

When it comes to necessaries,

a minor remains liable for their reasonable value.

In a civil suit,

a plaintiff first presents a primar facie case; then the defendant tries to negate the plaintiff's case; finally the defendant raises affirmative defenses.

All of the following are examples of personal property, EXCEPT

a single car garage.

The benefit of stare decisis is that

a. it gives our system stability and predictability. & b. it allows for change as the needs of our society change.

Statutory language is often ambiguous because

a. of sloppy draftsmanship, b. of its being applied to unanticipated circumstances, & c. the drafters purposely wrote in the ambiguity to provide a basis for a compromise.

A provision in Smith's deed provides that he must provide a right-of-way across his property for the benefit of his landlocked neighbor. This is an example of

an easement.

The Greens are both working parents. Every day, 11-year old Sam is home alone after school for about 2 hours. One day, while home alone, Same cut himself with a knife while fixing himself a snack. He was able to get to a neighbor's house and they drove him to the hospital. A court might find that leaving Sam along for 2 hours on school days constitutes

child neglect

The three main types of damages are

compensatory, punitive, and nominal

The United States operates under a system of government known as

federalism

An example of a voidable marriage would be one involving

fraud

The first step in legal analysis is to

identify and review the facts of the client's situation.

The United States Supreme Court has the power of judicial review because

in the case of Marbury v. Madison the Court declared that it had this power.

Examples of a court's equitable powers include, the power to

issue an injunction & order specific performance

In regards to the classification of crimes as either felonies or misdemeanors, all of the following are true statements, EXCEPT

legislators determine whether a given act is to be considered a crime; the court determine whether the crime should be viewed as a felony or misdemeanor.

The police can conduct a stop and frisk

only when the police officer has a reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed, is in the process of committing, or is about to commit a crime.

When only the federal government can legislate in a given area, this is known as

preemption

The rule regarding client confidentiality applies to

prior, current, and potential clients

It is the function of administrative agencies to

promulgate regulations, investigate, and adjudicate disputes

After Jean and Arthur's divorce, the judge ordered that their son Sam was to live with Jean and that she was to make all major decisions regarding his care. Arthur was given visitation rights. This is an example of

sole physical and legal custody in the mother.

An intentional tort occurs whenever

someone intends an action that results in harm to a person's body, reputation, emotional well-being, or property.

Law can be categorized as

state, federal, local, civil, criminal, substantive & procedural (all of the above)

One day during an argument, Kira told Janet that she thought Janet was rude. Janet sued Kira for slander. The judge dismissed the case, saying that Janet did not have avalid cause of action. This means

that a. saying someone is rude does not form a legal basis for slander, and b. that Janet did not plead sufficient facts to prove a case of slander.

The losing party takes an appeal from a federal district court decision to

the appropriate federal circuit court of appeals.

To prove the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff would have to prove

the defendant committed an extreme and outrageous intentional act that caused the plaintiff severe emotional distress.

After the U.S. Supreme Court interprets a federal statute in a certain way,

the executive branch must enforce the law as it was interpreted by the Court and Congress can amend the law if it does not like the way it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court.

The Bill of Rights is

the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution

Within the criminal justice system,

the juvenile court system was created to provide a non-criminal alternative for processing juveniles who are accused of acts that are considered crimes if they are committed by adults.

All of the following are true, EXCEPT

the person appointed to administer the trust is the settler

The following are all true statements about self-defense, EXCEPT

the person claiming self-defense may have been the initiator of the violence.

At Susan's trial, Susan chose not to testify and in her closing argument the prosecutor commented on Susan's silence. During the trial Susan's attorney objected to the reliability of a blood test that the prosecution had used. Finally, an eyewitness testifed that he saw Susan at the scene of the crime. However, a close friend of Susan's testified that Susan had been with him the entire evening. Susan wishes to appeal her conviction. She can base her appeal on

the prosecutor's statement & the questionable reliability of the blood test.

The person who commits a tort is known as

the tortfeasor.

A valid, enforceable bilateral contract has been formed, and both parties are bound once

there is an offer, acceptance and consideration.

Sally forms a contract with Bill to shoot Sam in return for $5,000. This contract is

void

The objective theory, when used to determine if an agreement was reached, means that the court must look at all of the following, EXCEPT

what the parties claim they were thinking at the time.

An emancipated minor is someone

who is still under the legal age of adulthood, but has nevertheless been released from parental authority and given the legal rights of an adult.