PrepTest 151, Section 1, Question 5
The United States Supreme Court’s 1948 ruling in(440 more words not shown)
In the fourth sentence of(34 more words not shown)
- Ademonstrate the conceptual(9 more words not shown)
- Bhighlight a potentially(9 more words not shown)
- Csuggest that the(15 more words not shown)
- Dcast suspicion on(12 more words not shown)
- Echallenge the presuppositions(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The Fourteenth Amendment applies to state actors, but these covenants were private agreements. How can the amendment apply here? That is the puzzle the question raises. The next sentence answers it: the court's enforcement supplies the state action.
What we’re looking for
Our prediction is that the author is setting up the explanation of the Court's reasoning. The author criticizes that reasoning later, but this particular sentence first identifies the issue the Court had to resolve.
Working the answers
- A
The author eventually criticizes the attribution rationale, so a negative answer can sound appealing. But this question does not yet demonstrate that a distinction is incoherent. It asks where state action enters a dispute over a private agreement, preparing us for the Court's answer.
- BCorrect
The apparent mismatch is potentially confusing: a constitutional rule about the state is being invoked in a case involving private contracts. Identifying that mismatch helps us understand why the Court's next step—treating judicial enforcement as state action—is central to the decision.
- C
The Court recognized that the covenants were private contracts. Its answer explains why their enforcement nevertheless involves the state. The author is not accusing the Court of overlooking that fact.
- D
Nothing in this question suggests an improper motive on the part of the judges. It asks how the legal framework applies.
- E
The author is asking how the Court used the amendment, not challenging the assumptions underlying the amendment itself. Criticizing a particular application is different from attacking the constitutional rule.
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