Legal Knowledge and Procedure
Legal Knowledge and Procedure
This domain tests whether you can place a client’s problem in the correct court and procedural posture. Expect questions on jurisdiction and venue, the stages of a civil action, criminal process from arrest through sentencing, and basic substantive distinctions in contracts, torts, property, and estates. The exam favors applied sequencing: what filing or event comes next, and which rule controls.
Core framework
- Subject-matter jurisdiction: federal courts need a federal question or diversity with the statutory amount; state courts are courts of general jurisdiction.
- Personal jurisdiction requires minimum contacts plus fair play; venue is the proper geographic district and is waivable.
- Civil timeline: pleading, service, answer or motion, discovery, dispositive motions, pretrial order, trial, judgment, post-trial motions, appeal.
- Criminal timeline: arrest, initial appearance, bail, preliminary hearing or indictment, arraignment, discovery, motions, plea or trial, sentencing.
- Burdens: a civil plaintiff proves elements by a preponderance; the criminal prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Worked example
A client slips in a store in another state and wants to sue for $90,000. The store is incorporated in Delaware with its principal place of business in Ohio; the client is a citizen of Texas. Diversity jurisdiction exists because the parties are completely diverse and the amount exceeds $75,000. Venue is proper where the defendant resides or where the events occurred. The complaint must be filed and served under the applicable rules, and the answer is due after service, not after filing.
Traps
Do not confuse venue with jurisdiction. Do not assume a federal court is available just because a claim is serious. In criminal questions, do not skip the initial appearance or treat arraignment as the trial. In civil questions, remember that discovery comes after pleadings and that a motion to dismiss is not an answer on the merits.