B-Law midterm
_____ refers to the power of a court, at the state or federal level, to hear a case.
Jurisdiction
Which of the following statements is true about the property boundaries in the physical world?
Law rather than intuition should ideally provide physical boundaries for a real property.
_____ means either that a case has been finally decided on appeal or that the time for appeal has expired and a cause of action finally determined by a competent court cannot be litigated by the parties in a new proceeding by the same court or in any other court.
Res judicata
_____ provide the details concerning processes to be followed in federal court litigation.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Which of the following Amendments to the Constitution guarantee the right of trial by jury in both criminal and civil cases?
The Sixth and Seventh Amendments
Vincent keeps his bag of books and magazines at his friend's storeroom, as he believes that he will not be using it for a few months. This is an example of a(n) ______.
bailment for the sole benefit of the bailor
For criminal cases, the burden of proof is described as _____.
beyond a reasonable doubt
In appellate procedures, each party files a(n) _____ that contains a short description of a case, a factual summary, legal points and authorities, and arguments for reversing or affirming a lower court decision.
brief
The element of standing to sue that requires a plaintiff to allege a personal stake in the resolution of a controversy prevents the plaintiff from __________.
asserting the rights of the general public or of a group of which he or she is not a member
The legal mechanism for evaluating the existence of an incentive for a person's promise to establish a binding contract and acts as a receipt of a legal benefit or the suffering of a legal detriment is ______.
consideration
The rules of a testamentary gift require that such a gift pass ownership by
death of the donor and proving of a valid will that specifies the gift.
In many states, if foreclosure and auction does not produce enough money to satisfy the debt owed by the mortgagor, the creditor-mortgagee can still sue the debtor for the balance owed, called a(n) ______.
deficiency
Which of the following terms refers to force or threat of force?
duress
The Homestead Act of 1862 illustrates ownership through ______.
possession
A municipality zoning ordinance attempts to regulate the placement of satellite dish antennas in residential areas by specifying the size and location requirements. The Supreme Court rules that the zoning ordinance is unconstitutional as it violates the Federal Communications Commission Regulation law. In this case, the ruling of the Supreme Court illustrates the concept of ______.
preemption
Essentially, the judicial power of the federal courts extends to matters involving __________.
questions of federal law
A ______ makes no guarantees other than that the grantor surrenders all claim against the land.
quitclaim deed
In Batson v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed discrimination on the basis of _____ in jury selection.
race
Justice Benjamin Cardozo stated that if the answer to a case is not clearly established by statute or by unquestioned precedent, a judge must first extract from the precedents the _____.
ratio decidendi
Which of the following statements is true about lost items?
The law distinguishes things that have been lost from things that have simply been mislaid.
Standing to sue is determined __________.
at the outset of the litigation
A petition for a writ of certiorari is __________.
a request by the losing party in the court of appeals for permission to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court
Which of the following classifications is subject to a rational-basis test?
age
The ______ is most likely to be applied when the legislators have gone too far in seeking to achieve a goal.
overbreadth doctrine
Maria has been sued in federal court by her former roommate, Theresa, who is a lawyer. Maria and her lawyer look at the complaint and see that it is vindictive and lacks any legitimate claims. Maria's lawyer determines that Theresa is merely bullying Maria and that the lawsuit is frivolous. In this case, Theresa is most likely to be __________.
sanctioned under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
In civil cases, the right to trial by a jury is preserved in suits at common law when the amount in controversy exceeds _____.
$20
The party to a case who files a civil action is called the _____.
plaintiff
Under the deed of trust, a third party who holds the full ownership to a land is called a ______.
trustee
Madison promises Grace $10 if Grace collects her dry cleaning for her. This is an example of a(n) ______ contract.
unilateral
Tony's Carpets Inc. wants to charge $9.80 a yard for installing a carpet for Serenity Bookstore but accidentally states $8.90 a yard in the bid. Serenity Bookstore accepts Tony's Carpets' bid. Tony's Carpets made a ______.
unilateral mistake
A(n) ______ is an agreement when one party has the right to withdraw from the promise made without incurring any legal liability.
voidable contract
The meaning and application of the equal protection clause have been central issues in cases involving ______.
voting requirements
A ______ promises the grantee that the grantor has good ownership and the full power to convey it.
warranty deed
Which of the following classifications is most likely to be presumed valid under the minimum rationality approach?
weight
According to the mailbox rule, a contract is formed:
when the acceptance is mailed.
How many Courts of Appeal have been created by Congress in the United States under its constitutional authorization?
13
In the context of pleadings, which of the following statements is true?
A clerk of the court issues the summons to be served to a defendant.
Which of the following statements is true of the roles of a lawyer in U.S. courts?
A lawyer is often actively involved in the personal decisions of a client.
_____ is a method of enforcement that involves having a portion of a debtor's wages paid to a court, which in turn pays a creditor.
Garnishment
Which of the following is a similarity between joint tenancy and tenancy in common?
In both these forms of ownership, the tenants can force the separation of ownership under the doctrine of partition.
Which of the following statements is true of taking depositions?
It is the most expensive method of discovery.
Which of the following statements is true of an easement?
It places a particular use of land behind the exclusive legal fence.
Ivana's car was stolen. The car needed some repairs and the thief, Donald, had the rearview mirror replaced as well as the muffler. Donald was apprehended and the car was returned to Ivana. In this scenario, which of the following is true?
Ivana owns the car and owes Donald nothing.
Identify a correct statement regarding joint tenants.
Joint tenants must have equal ownership shares.
Josh crashes his car into Sheila's house. Sheila is severely injured and suffers $95,000 worth of medical and property damages. She believes that the accident was Josh's fault and files a lawsuit at a state trial court. What would have to be different for Sheila to be able to sue Josh in a federal court?
Josh and Sheila must live in different states.
Robert is about to graduate from his university. His parents tell him that as he is the first member of the family to graduate college, they want to buy him a new but inexpensive car. They have the money to buy the car, and Robert is excited to receive his gift. On graduation day, his parents tell him that they have decided to use the car money for a vacation and that there will be no car. In this situation, can Robert sue his parents?
Robert cannot sue because he did not suffer any legal detriment in the receipt of the promise.
Which of the following statements is true of silence as a method of acceptance?
Silence may well imply acceptance if the parties previously dealt with each other.
Smith Inc. sends a letter dated August 1 to Cervaille Stores, offering to sell 20 table lamps to Cervaille Stores at $80 each. Cervaille Stores provides a consideration of $160 to Smith Inc. to keep the offer open for at least two weeks. In the second week of August, Smith Inc. receives an offer from Shine Retailers Inc. to purchase the table lamps at a price of $85 each. Can Smith withdraw its offer made to Cervaille Stores?
Smith cannot withdraw its offer as the agreement is in the form of an option.
_____ is a court's power over the issues involved in a case.
Subject matter jurisdiction
Solomon plans to sell his property. He intends to sell the cattle on his property to the prospective buyer but not the clothes and the household goods. Which of the following is the reason for the clothes and the household goods not being sold with the house?
The clothes and household goods are personal property.
Dustin, who is 17 years old, purchased a car from Speed Auto Sales Inc. for $1,000. The following year, Dustin's father gifted him a brand new car on his 18th birthday. Dustin returned the car that he had purchased to Speed Auto Sales the next day, and he demanded his money back. At the time of disaffirmance, Dustin was 18—the age at which he was considered an adult in his jurisdiction. Will this disaffirmance be enforceable in the court of law?
The disaffirmance will be enforceable since Dustin disaffirmed during the year he attained adulthood.
Which of the following causes problems in determining when diversity of citizenship exists in cases involving business corporations?
The fact that business corporations are frequently incorporated in one state and have their principal place of business in another state
Which of the following statements is true of federalism?
The federal government recognizes that it was created by the states.
Which of the following statements is true about adverse possession?
The most common way to destroy a claim of adverse possession is to sue for trespass.
Which of the following statements is true of the quasi-strict scrutiny tests?
The quasi-strict scrutiny tests are used for cases that fall between the minimum rationality and strict scrutiny approaches.
Stephen, a private individual, intends to bring a public nuisance claim against a textiles plant because its runoff is destroying the natural habitat of the local river's beaver population. Which of the following will permit Stephen to bring a valid claim?
The runoff has caused substantial damage to Stephen's property.
Which of the following statements is true of the role of judges in U.S. courts?
They apply the law to the facts of a case.
Which of the following statements is true of trial judges of U.S. courts?
They are responsible for finding the facts in cases without a jury.
Which of the following statements is true of small-claims courts?
They handle much of the litigation between businesses and its customers.
Eli, a resident of New York, wants to sue Tony, a resident of Texas, for trespassing against Eli's property in New York. To obtain personal jurisdiction over Tony under a long-arm statute, the New York court must find that __________.
Tony committed the tort in New York
Which of the following is given first priority when various laws are not consistent?
U.S. Constitution
The ______ creates the Congress, the presidency and vice presidency, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
United States Constitution
Brandie is facing financial difficulties. Warren wants to help Brandie, and tells her that he will loan her $1,000. Later, Warren refuses to loan the promised money to Brandie. In the context of this scenario, which of the following statements is true?
Warren need not loan the money to Brandie because Brandie did not promise anything in return.
All persons suing a drug company, alleging injuries from a product, constitute __________.
a class for a tort action.
Vincent agrees to sell 10 cartons of footwear to a local retail outlet at $150 for each carton. Each carton is to contain 30 pairs of footwear, but the local retail outlet finds that most of the cartons have only 25 pairs of footwear. The retail outlet decides to sue Vincent, but they decide to settle the matter outside the court in order to reduce the expenses involved in a lawsuit. Both parties finally agree to revise the rate of each carton to $135 with each carton containing 25 pairs of footwear. This settlement is an example of ______.
accord and satisfaction
Laborers working on a building are promised by their contractors that their wages would be paid at the end of every month. The laborers also in return promise to work from the beginning of the subsequent month. When the laborers have worked for the entire duration of the month and are awaiting their wages at the end of the month, the contract is ______.
executory
A(n) ______ is one when parties have not performed their agreement.
executory contract
The separation of powers between levels of government is known as ______.
federalism
Sarah has given 24 acres of land to Kent County as long as the land is used as a park. In this case, Kent County has a
fee simple defeasible.
In the pretrial phase of litigation, if a party fails to produce relevant, requested evidence, the party seeking the information is most likely to __________.
file a motion to compel discovery
In the context of real property, when an object of personal property becomes an object of real property by physical annexation (attachment), it is known as a(n) ______.
fixture
A lawsuit that is totally lacking in merit is said to be _____.
frivolous
The doctrine of quasi-contracts is predominantly based on a(n)
implied-in-law contract.
Those who believe that the power to exercise judicial review should not be used except in unusual cases are said to believe in _____.
judicial restraint
Valid consideration can include any promise to do something one has no obligation to do, refrain from doing something one has the right to do, or in the case of a unilateral contract, a performance when there is no obligation to do so. This is known as a(n) ______.
legal detriment
Contracts are
legally enforceable promises.
Strict scrutiny tests are applied to cases involving classifications based on ______.
legitimacy
Gerard works for a weekly magazine in the state of California. He is held responsible for publishing an article that falsely accuses the governor of the state. In this case, Gerard is most likely to be accused of ______.
libel
______, a tort theory, is used to recover damages as a result of printed defamation of character.
libel
In the context of legal capacity of parties to a contract, who among the following are also called infants in a contract?
minors
Terrell files a complaint against Chad for negligence with the court clerk. After Terrell receives an answer from Chad in response to the summons, Terrell believes that he can win based solely on his original complaint and Chad's answer. In this case, Terrell is most likely to file a __________.
motion for a judgment on the pleadings
Which of the following types of easement is also called easement by necessity?
natural easement
A(n) ______ means that an adjoining landowner cannot do anything that would cause your land to cave in or collapse, such as digging a ditch that would cause the land on your side to collapse.
negative easement
Writs of certiorari are granted primarily in cases __________.
of substantial federal importance
Because the litigants are entitled to only _____ in the court of appeals, a subsequent review by the U.S. Supreme Court must be obtained through a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court.
one review
In contracts that are not between merchants selling goods, a promise to keep an offer open for a certain time period must be supported by the offeree's consideration. Such agreement to not revoke an offer is called a(n) ______.
option
In addition to a brief, a reviewing court is often given the benefit of _____ in deciding a case.
oral argument
A zoning ordinance holds that writing anything on both public and private properties, including one's own private property, is a crime. This law is most likely to be unconstitutional based on the ______.
overbreadth doctrine
Courts have held that the existence of diversity of citizenship is determined by the citizenship of the __________.
parties in a case
When a petition for certiorari is filed to the Supreme Court, the party initiating the petition is the petitioner and the other party is known as the _____.
respondent
The strict scrutiny approach is applied to cases involving rights such as the
right to travel.
In the pretrial phase of litigation, the argument used by a defendant to dismiss a suit on the basis of expiration of the time limit during which the defendant is subject to suit is usually referred to as _____.
statute of limitations
When a party asks a judge to base a decision of a case on the pleadings and affidavits provided there are no material disputed issues of fact, the party is most likely to be filing a motion for _____.
summary judgment
Judicial review is the power of __________.
the courts to review laws passed by the legislative body and to declare them to be unconstitutional
Alan committed a felony in Delaware and returned to Minnesota, where he lives permanently. Alan has a respectable job in Minnesota and is a respected citizen there. When the Delaware police locate Alan, _____.
they must seek extradition of Alan to have him transported to Delaware
Which of the following is beyond the scope of zoning ordinances?
to enforce ethnic or gender diversity
A lawyer's first duty is __________.
to the administration of justice
The usual rule in the scope of discovery is that the information sought in discovery is discoverable and an objection is overruled as long as the information __________.
will lead to evidence admissible during a trial
After an appeal gets rejected by an intermediate appellate court, the losing party may petition the highest court in the system for a(n) _____.
writ of certiorari
