Legally and Civilly Yours Trivia Quiz

Answer: lawsuit under the federal law prohibiting age discrimination in employment.

The employment discrimination lawsuit would be candidate for federal court as it deals with a constitutional issue. Constitutional issues are those issues involving the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and/or Bill of Rights. For example, freedom of speech or of religion.

Lawsuits between men and women (married or not) occur all the time and can be tried in state courts as long as the damages are not extreme (over $75,000) or the parties are residents of different states.

The damages barrier for federal court are in excess of $75,000 in addition to meeting the other qualifying criteria (suing the government, diversity of parties living in other states, etc.).

Any individual can sue a corporation of his own state in a state court.

Answer: three parties located in Maryland, Texas and Michigan suing Nellis Air Force Base

Suing a government entity is an automatic ticket to federal court, the diversity of the parties is just a bonus reason.

The Texas contractor would have to sue the Florida company over the Florida hotel project since both the Defendant and the project occurred within the jurisdiction of the Florida court system.

Large corporations of a particular state sue each other all of the time in state court.

"Veteran" in the last choice is a red herring. Family members suing each other is a common theme in lawsuits no matter the state.

Answer: Defendant

The "Defendant" is the individual being sued (he or she is defending the the case brought by the plaintiff). The person initiating the lawsuit is the "Plaintiff." However, within some cases that are more administrative in nature, you will see "Petitioner" and "Claimant".

Answer: Both

Both are correct although "Defendant" is used the majority of the time. You typically see "Respondent" used in conjunction with "Claimant" and/or "Petitioner". "Respondent" is also used when the party who loses the case chooses to file an appeal to a higher court: the "Appellant" is the one filing the appeal, and the "Respondent" is the one defending the appeal.

Answer: for oneself

In other words, you are appearing in the case without legal representation. For simple lawsuits or filings, this isn't entirely such a bad thing. But remember, the old Proverb does say, "He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client."

Answer: False

Pursuant to the statutes, a corporation requires a licensed attorney to represent it in legal matters. Attorneys are licensed in the states where they have passed the state bar exam and have been admitted to practice by that state's courts. In order to practice federal law, licensed attorneys must take additional steps to gather recommendations from other licensed federal attorneys and complete an application. Once the federal court approves the application, they are able to practice in a federal court of law.

Answer: Electronically

In 2001 the federal court system transitioned to an electronic system known as PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). PACER is an electronic case management system. All pleadings (for example, the above-mentioned Answer) are filed by uploading them to the PACER system. PACER, in turn, dockets each pleading and sends an email copy to all parties associated to the case. The only exception to filings is discovery requests or extremely large filings (over several hundred pages). Those are emailed and/or mailed directly to opposing counsel.

Answer: discovery

Discovery can be both physical (hands-on examination) and written. This is the phase where Requests for Production, Requests for Admissions and Interrogatories are drafted and served. It is also during this phase that depositions are scheduled and recorded. All are forms of gathering the evidence required to support the case, but "discovery" is the correct legal terminology for this procedure.

Answer: Spoliation

Spoliation is an area taken very seriously by all court systems. Spoliation prevents either party from defending or proving their lawsuit.

Answer: imprisonment

In civil lawsuits imprisonment is not the punishment for spoliation. The usual method of punishment is sanctions and/or dismissal of the case. Legal malpractice issues can also happen when the attorney representing the offender has been negligent. However, this is not the norm when the attorney has made a good faith effort to preserve evidence and provide it to the opposing party.