56) A trial court judge ________.
A) cannot rule on whether certain evidence is admissible
B) generally presides over a case as a part of a panel
C) reviews lower-court cases to determine whether errors of law were committed
D) decides the facts in a case if the right to a jury trial has been waived
57) Federal court judges ________.
A) are generally elected
B) are nominated by the president
C) are nominated to appear before the U.S. Senate by the American Bar Association
D) generally serve definite terms, the length of which varies from state to state
58) Judicial review refers to ________.
A) the power to determine whether a law passed by the legislature violates the Constitution
B) the federal court system’s jurisdictional supremacy over cases that involve a federal question
C) the system of litigation in which the judge hears evidence and arguments presented by both
parties
D) an appellate court’s power to reverse or remand a case if it finds that an error was committed
59) A judge who believes in judicial ________ believes that the three branches of government
are coequal, and the judiciary should refrain from determining the constitutionality of an act of
Congress unless absolutely necessary, to keep from interfering within the congressional sphere
of power.
A) restraint
B) nullification
C) activism
D) supremacy
60) Judges who believe in judicial ________ are much less likely to overturn an existing
precedent.
A) subordination
B) supremacy
C) activism
D) restraint
61) Petit juries ________.
A) consist of 13 to 24 citizens
B) are used only convened in criminal matters
C) are waived off if both parties to a case agree
D) must reach a unanimous verdict in civil cases in all states
62) An indictment is ________.
A) a formal accusation of the commission of a crime made before a defendant can be tried for the
crime
B) a doctrine describing the philosophy of judicial activists
C) a formal document prepared by an attorney in conjunction with a case that is protected by
attorney-client privilege
D) the initial pleading in a case that states the names of the parties to the action
63) Which of the following statements is true of a jury?
A) Members of the jury are selected by the parties involved in the case.
B) A grand jury convenes to decide whether enough evidence exists to try the defendant.
C) A grand jury can be impaneled in a civil case if the nature of the case is highly technical.
D) A jury can ask the judge to decide the facts if the nature of the case is highly technical.
64) Making sure that a case is heard with reasonable speed is one of the functions of a trial court
judge.
65) The power of judicial review was explicitly stated in the Constitution when it was drafted.
66) Grand juries are used only in criminal matters.
67) The Fifth Amendment requires that all federal prosecutions for “infamous” crimes be
commenced with an indictment by a grand jury.
68) What are the arguments for and against electing judges and appointing them for life?
69) Describe the attorney-client privilege.
70) Compare and contrast between judicial restraint and judicial activism.
71) Which of the following is a criticism of the adversarial system of litigation in the United
States?
A) The lack of a neutral factfinder such as a judge or a jury.
B) Arguments are only allowed from the defendant’s side.
C) Heavy dependency on the skills of the representing attorney.
D) Only evidence produced by the plaintiff is permissible.
72) Which of the following statements is true about pleadings?
A) Informal negotiations can only be held after the pleadings have been served.
B) Counterclaims should only contain responses to the allegations in complaints.
C) A motion to dismiss can only be filed by the plaintiff.
D) Plaintiffs are allowed to file a reply to a defendant’s counterclaim.
73) Which of the following statements is true about pretrial motions?
A) A motion is the gathering of information, by the parties, from each other.
B) In forma pauperis is a motion to proceed without payment of fees.
C) If a motion has been filed, the judge must immediately hold a hearing.
D) A motion to dismiss can be filed to introduce evidence that the opposing party may be hiding.
74) Which of the following statements is true about the discovery stage in a trial?
A) Interrogatories must be answered before any pleadings are filed.
B) Interrogatories are the questions posed to a witness in court by an attorney.
C) Both parties’ attorneys are allowed to cross-examine the potential jurors of the trial.
D) Both parties can be subjected to physical and mental examinations if necessary.
75) Which of the following statements is true about the steps followed in a civil litigation before
the trial begins?
A) Both parties have to file a request for information to obtain the deposition transcripts.
B) Both parties usually come to an agreement on the damages to be awarded in the pretrial
conference.
C) Depositions can be used if there is cause to believe that a witness may die before trial.
D) A motion to dismiss has to be granted by the plaintiff.
76) Questions of fact are ________.
A) resolved by the judge during the jury trial
B) resolved during informal negotiations
C) the questions on what actually happened
D) the questions on how the law should be applied to the facts
77) Voir dire refers to the ________.
A) process of questioning potential jurors to determine whether they will be able to render an
unbiased opinion in the case
B) pretrial testimony of witnesses who are examined under oath
C) power of a court to render a decision that affects property directly rather than the owner of the
property
D) jurisdictional supremacy that federal courts have over state courts over matters concerning
concurrent jurisdiction
78) Which of the following statements is true about jury selection?
A) The process of questioning potential jurors to determine if they will render an unbiased
opinion is called volte face.
B) Attorneys must give a reason for rejecting potential jurors under peremptory challenges.
C) Attorneys are given an unlimited number of peremptory challenges during jury selection.
D) Race-based and gender-based peremptory challenges are banned in civil cases.
79) Which of the following statements is true about a jury selection service?
A) A mock jury sits in the courtroom during the trial and provides direct feedback to lawyers.
B) Lawyers practice their arguments in front of a shadow jury before presenting the case to the
actual jury.
C) A shadow jury’s verdict helps lawyers decide whether to try to settle or wait for the actual
verdict.
D) Mock juries are banned in most states.
80) A shadow jury ________.
A) is selected through voir dire
B) is selected randomly by a jury selection service
C) is not allowed to interact with the lawyers of a case
D) provides feedback to lawyers on their case
81) A mock jury ________.
A) is a group of individuals who are demographically matched to the actual jurors in a case
B) sits in a courtroom during a trial and deliberates on the proceedings at the end of each day
C) can be rejected by the opposing attorney through peremptory challenges
D) is selected by the judge from a list of potential candidates
82) Mathew fits the demographic profile of one of the members of an actual jury in a case. He is
approached by a jury selection service to be a part of a shadow jury. In this scenario, which of
the following statements is true?
A) Mathew will be the only juror in that shadow jury.
B) Mathew will be rejected by the opposing counsel during voir dire.
C) If he accepts, he will not be allowed to directly interact with the lawyers of that case.
D) If he accepts, he will have to deliberate and provide feedback at the end of each day.
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83) Which of the following statements is true about a defendant’s case?
A) The plaintiff’s attorney is entitled to cross-examine the defendant’s witnesses.
B) A defendant must only present a case if his or her motion for a directed verdict is granted.
C) The defendant’s attorney is not allowed to conduct redirect examinations on the witnesses.
D) The defendant’s case is presented after the conference on jury instruction.
84) Which of the following statements is true about a motion for a directed verdict?
A) It should be filed before the discovery stage.
B) It can be filed by either party after the presentation of the defendant’s case.
C) It can be filed by the plaintiff before the presentation of the defendant’s case.
D) It is generally not granted to the defendant if the plaintiff offers no evidence of any
compensable injury.
85) In a trial by jury, the ________.
A) judge’s vote is used to arrive at the verdict
B) conference on jury instructions is held after the closing arguments of both parties
C) judge is considered the factfinder
D) judge confers with the attorneys and draws up instructions for the jury
86) A rebuttal is ________.
A) a brief additional argument by the plaintiff to address any important matters in the defendant’s
closing argument
B) a questioning of a witness by the plaintiff’s attorney following cross-examination, the scope of
which is limited to questions asked in the cross-examination
C) a process whereby the judge and/or the attorneys question potential jurors to determine
whether they will be able to render an unbiased opinion
D) a response to the allegations in the plaintiff’s complaint in which the defendant must admit,
deny, or state his or her knowledge about the truth of the allegations
87) Which of the following statements is true about post-trial motions?
A) A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is usually made by the party that wins.
B) A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict must be filed in an appellate court.
C) A motion for a new trial can be granted on the discretion of the presiding judge.
D) A motion for a new trial can only be granted if a majority of the jury votes in favor of it.
88) Which of the following statements is true about an appeal?
A) When a case is appealed, a new trial is held.
B) The losing party can appeal a case even if it does not allege a prejudicial error of law.
C) The court to which a case is appealed depends on the court in which the case was originally
heard.
D) When a case is appealed, only the appellant has to file briefs in the court of appeals.
89) Which of the following statements is true about the decisions taken by an appellate court?
A) If a case is reversed, the appellate court holds a new trial.
B) If a case is remanded, a new trial is conducted in a lower court.
C) The lower court’s decision is said to have been affirmed if the remedy granted is changed by
the appellate court.
D) The lower court’s decision is said to have been modified if the appellate court hears oral
arguments from the attorneys.
90) Which of the following statements is true of the factors to be considered by a businessperson
before appealing a decision?
A) Appellate courts are usually composed of a grand jury.
B) A favorable ruling in an appellate court has precedential value.
C) Attorneys are less expensive to hire for an appeal than an initial trial.
D) The appeal should not allege that a prejudicial error occurred during the trial.
91) An appellate court ________.
A) is usually composed of a grand jury
B) can reverse a decision only if the judges are unanimous in their decision
C) records the majority opinion, which is used by judges to make future decisions
D) cannot accept cases where a prejudicial error has occurred during the trial
92) A writ of certiorari is ________.
A) an order to a lower court to send the record of a case to the Supreme Court
B) a legal principle which obliges judges to defer to legal precedents set by previous cases
C) a statute authorizing a state court to obtain jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant
D) a process in which the judge and the attorneys question potential jurors
93) Which of the following statements is true about appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court?
A) The U.S. Supreme Court grants most of the petitions requesting an appeal.
B) A refusal to hear a case by the Supreme Court has a precedential effect.
C) Quo warranto is a writ issued by an appellate court to a lower court to send the record of the
case to the Supreme Court.
D) The Supreme Court will only issue a writ of certiorari if at least four justices vote to hear the
case.
94) Which of the following statements is true of class actions?
A) A class action cannot be filed if the individual claims are small.
B) The named plaintiffs in a class action have to pay all the court costs.
C) They are cases in which the plaintiff is an individual who has a complaint against a group of
people.
D) When a class action is brought, the case is usually filed in the name of all the parties who
have the same complaint.
95) The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 ________.
A) mandates that attorney fees be based on the gross sum awarded to the plaintiff class
B) provides federal courts with jurisdiction if complete diversity of citizenship can be established
C) makes it easier for plaintiffs to pursue their actions in state courts
D) denies different monetary awards to class members based on their geographical location
96) If a case is being heard by a jury, the trial would start with the conference on jury instruction
between the judge and the attorneys.
97) The jury acts as the factfinder when an equitable remedy is being sought.
98) The pretrial conference includes the defendant and the plaintiff without their lawyers.
99) Discovery is the pretrial gathering of information from each other by the parties.
100) The defendant presents the first closing argument.
101) The Supreme Court is likely to issue a writ of certiorari when a federal court has ruled that
an act of Congress is unconstitutional.
102) If the appeals court feels that an error was committed by the lower court when coming to its
decision, but it does not know how that error would have affected the outcome of the case, it will
reverse the lower court’s decision.
103) What are the basic stages in a lawsuit?
104) Discuss the consequences of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 on the plaintiffs and the
defendants.
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105) Explain with an example how the legal system in the United States differs from that of
other countries.
106) When parties make international agreements, they can incorporate as a term of the
agreement their choice of which nation’s court will hear any disputes arising under the
agreement.