PrepTest 136, Section 1, Question 12
Passage A In this appeal of his criminal(491 more words not shown)
Passage A(262 more words not shown)
Passage B(237 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- ACourts should be(15 more words not shown)
- BDefendants should have(14 more words not shown)
- CTo evaluate the(20 more words not shown)
- DFingerprint identification should(19 more words not shown)
- EFingerprint examiners must(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
These authors disagree about whether the current safeguards are good enough, but look at how they argue. A defends reliability by pointing to a consistent approach, training, testing and uniform standards. B challenges reliability by emphasizing the lack of objective standards.
What we’re looking for
That suggests shared ground: reliable identification requires standards that constrain the examiner's judgment. They can accept that principle while disagreeing about whether current practice meets it.
Working the answers
- A
A relies on the test of time, but B doesn't treat longstanding use as a reason to overlook problems with standards and testing. This is part of A's defense, not a premise shared by both.
- B
A describes a defendant's challenge; B doesn't discuss a defendant's procedural right to make one. We can't turn the subject of reliability into an unstated shared position about courtroom rights.
- C
B explicitly demands probabilities for coincidental matches between partial prints. A doesn't discuss that requirement. A's defense of reliability doesn't show that it accepts this particular test for evaluating evidence.
- D
B's discussion supports a demand for rigorous testing, making this tempting. But A accepts the low-error testimony while saying further testing may be desirable. It doesn't require the rigorous tests described in D before accepting that conclusion. The requirement is stronger than A's argument establishes.
- ECorrect
A answers the objection about missing objective standards by defending the consistent approach and the “uniform standards” developed through training and peer review. B treats the absence of agreed objective criteria as a fundamental reliability problem. The common principle is the need for standards, not agreement about how well present methods satisfy it.
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