Name: 
 

Test Drive Exam: Initial Concepts of Authority


Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
Anything the court can or must use in reaching its decision is termed:
a.
primary
b.
authority
c.
secondary
d.
none of the above
 

 2. 
True or false: Authority is always law.
a.
true
b.
false
 

 3. 
Law is considered what kind of authority?
a.
primary
b.
secondary
c.
persuasive
d.
none of the above
 

 4. 
Non-law is referred to as:
a.
primary
b.
secondary
c.
persuasive
d.
all of the above
 

 5. 
Which of the following is not considered to be primary authority?
a.
opinions (cases)
b.
statutes
c.
encyclopedias
d.
all of the above are primary authority
 

 6. 
Which of the following would be considered secondary authority?
a.
A legal dictionary
b.
A court rule
c.
A county regulation
d.
An ordinance
 

 7. 
True or False: Secondary authority may be cited in legal documents and arguments.
a.
True
b.
False
 

Multiple Response
Identify one or more choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
 

 8. 
Which of the following would be considered primary authority? (Select all that apply.)
 a.
Court rules
 b.
Constitutions
 c.
Ordinances
 d.
Executive orders
 e.
Treatises
 f.
Statutes
 

 9. 
Which of the following could, in theory, be quoted in a legal argument and relied on by the court? (Select all that apply.)
 a.
Primary authority
 b.
Secondary authority
 c.
Non-authority
 

 10. 
Which of the following would be considered non-authority? (Select all that apply.)
 a.
An invalid statute
 b.
A case that has been overturned by a later case
 c.
A statute that has been superceded
 d.
An index
 



 
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