Cynthia Wilke, J.D.
Introduction to the Law and
Legal System of the United States
Legal Terminology Exercises (Nr. 2)
1. The death penalty in the United States is also referred to as _____________
punishment.
2. A federal prosecutor is called a _____________ ______________.
3. The McDonald’s hot coffee case involved a law suit in the area of _________ law.
4. The term for the co-culpability of a plaintiff in a civil negligence action is called
______________ negligence.
5. A minor crime punishable by less than a year of imprisonment is a ________________.
6. The payment made to a court to release an arrested person pending trial is referred to
as _________.
7. Generally, a full time law student in the U.S. will complete law school in ________
years. At a minimum, a _____________ degree is required in order to be admitted to a
J.D. program.
8. A lawyer who works in the legal department of a corporation is called a ____________.
9. An English attorney who specializes in litigation is a ____________________.
10. A ______________ is a legal professional without a law degree who works in a law
firm and assists lawyers with legal work.
11. Two terms used to refer to a state prosecutor are __________ ______________ and
___________ ______________.
12. ____________ is early release from prison on the condition of good behavior.
13. The U.S. Constitution became the law of the land in what year? ________
14. The process for states to approve the U.S. Constitution was (is) called
_____________________; the changes to the U.S. Constitution are called
_________________. The Bill of Rights is the first _________ ______________ to the
Constitution.
15. The only court specifically created in the U.S. Constitution is the _______________
____________. There are __________ judges on this court and they are called
____________.