PrepTest 153, Section 4, Question 19

DetailDifficulty3 of 5
Passage 3Judicial candor as a moral duty or a practical presumption
The questionFull text in your LawHub copy of PrepTest 153

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)

Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)

Reading the passage

B's distinctive practical argument concerns restraints on judicial power. It says judges can evade criticism by concealing their true reasons, weakening limits imposed by constitutions, statutes, and precedents. A discusses guidance and legitimacy but doesn't develop that account of how other restraints depend on honesty.

What we’re looking for

Check that the answer is actually mentioned in B and absent from A. A familiar phrase alone isn't enough if it belongs to the wrong side.

Working the answers

  • A

    The opening of A explicitly refers to the institutional considerations judges must balance. This fails the “not passage A” requirement immediately.

  • B

    Neither author suggests that judicial deception is largely accidental. B discusses judges being free to distort or misstate their reasons, not unintended errors accounting for most deception.

  • C

    Transparency appears explicitly in A's second paragraph. It isn't unique to B.

  • D

    This reverses the locations. Guidance to litigants is one of A's examples of a practical benefit; B doesn't mention it.

  • E
    Correct

    B specifically discusses checks against judges misusing their authority (Passage B, paragraph 2) and identifies constitutions, statutes, and precedents. Honest disclosure lets others check and criticize the exercise of that power. A's practical examples concern guidance and institutional legitimacy instead; it doesn't mention this system of restraints.

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