PrepTest 150, Section 4, Question 24
Passage A Why do some trial court judges(458 more words not shown)
Passage A(204 more words not shown)
Passage B(262 more words not shown)
Given the statements about cross-examination(36 more words not shown)
- AAn absolute prohibition(9 more words not shown)
- BThe adversarial system(7 more words not shown)
- CScientific admissibility decisions(6 more words not shown)
- DErroneous decisions can(6 more words not shown)
- EA trial provides(8 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
B calls cross-examination the greatest legal engine for discovering truth. In context, opposing lawyers use it to test expert witnesses and the scientific literature they present. That is a favorable claim about the adversarial process's ability to examine specialized evidence. We need A's opposing assessment of that same process.
Working the answers
- A
B expressly sets aside what trial courts may do. Praising trial cross-examination does not establish that B favors an absolute ban on independent research by trial judges.
- BCorrect
A calls the adversarial system especially poor at evaluating technical information (Passage A, paragraph 2). B praises one of that system's central tools as a way to test expert evidence and discover truth. Those claims directly differ in their assessment of how well the adversarial process handles scientific information.
- C
The quoted praise of cross-examination does not deny that admissibility decisions can affect future cases. The effectiveness of a tool for testing evidence and the later influence of a decision are different issues.
- D
The sentence concerns opposing parties questioning expert witnesses, not third parties readily exposing erroneous decisions. It does not supply the requested disagreement with this claim, and A does not make the claim in the first place.
- E
B's praise of live testing fits the idea that a trial provides useful structure. It does not challenge A's claim that this structure can guide research. B's central concern is what happens when new research escapes that trial process.
More Application questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Application questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.