PrepTest 153, Section 4, Question 18
Passage A Some legal theorists reject the notion(475 more words not shown)
Passage A(237 more words not shown)
Passage B(246 more words not shown)
Each author implies that a(4 more words not shown)
- Aviolates an unshakable(4 more words not shown)
- Bprovides litigants with(2 more words not shown)
- Cis an unavoidable(8 more words not shown)
- Dcould conceivably have(5 more words not shown)
- Eis likely to(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The question is about a lack of candor: dishonesty. Could a judicial lie ever have a good consequence? Both arguments leave that possibility open. The key is to separate a possible benefit from a complete justification for lying.
What we’re looking for
A says truth telling isn't justified merely by good outcomes; a moral constraint remains even when a lie appears useful. B expressly leaves open deception that produces a net benefit, while insisting that we count the damage to trust and accountability. Neither author needs to claim that every lie has nothing but bad consequences.
Working the answers
- A
B declines to call candor an “unshakable obligation.” Whatever we conclude about A's moral constraint, this cannot be a view shared by both authors.
- B
A discusses better guidance to lower courts and litigants as a benefit of transparency. B doesn't make that claim about litigants. Its concerns are restraints on power, criticism, and public trust.
- C
Institutional demands can create pressure to be dishonest, but that doesn't make dishonesty unavoidable. Neither author concludes that conflicting duties force judges to deceive.
- DCorrect
B directly acknowledges the possibility of deception yielding a net benefit. A's independent moral defense also allows that a lie might have a useful result; A's point is that usefulness doesn't settle the duty to be truthful. So both can accept a possible positive benefit without agreeing about whether it permits the lie.
- E
B says lack of candor is likely to be detectable. A makes no prediction about whether prolonged dishonesty will eventually be discovered.
More Author's Opinion questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Author's Opinion questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.