Reading comp PrepTest 146 · Section 4 · Question 6

Passage

Passage A  .       Jury nullification occurs when the jury acquits the  . defendant in a criminal case in disregard of Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Legal Studies

Passage A
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A problematic phenomenon is introduced
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Jury nullification - Jury thinks someone is guilty but say innocent (mercy, dislike of victim, civil disobedience)
    • Probably rare, but problematic
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • First problem noted (No reasoning)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Juries don't release reasoning, so don't know how often and how used
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Second problem noted (Not all info)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Juries don't have full knowledge (e.g., prior crimes)
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • Third problem noted (Unaccountable)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Legislature passes laws; judges interpret
    • Jury not accountable, so don't need to think of overall effect
Paragraph 5
  • Paragraph note
    • Wrap up
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Disagreement over criminal law should happen in public, not in jury box
Passage B
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Benefit of nullification (Protect against overzealous prosecution)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Police and prosecutors sometimes "overzealous"
    • Jury nullification can protect against this
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Another benefit of nullification (Help legislature)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Legislature makes general/broad because they can't cover all cases or make everyone happy
    • Nullification helps legislature
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Another benefit of nullification (Tell legislature the law is bad)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • More help for legislatures - send message that law has a problem with it
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • Problem with nullification (bad reasoning); frequency is discussed
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Problem - Might be based on bad reasoning
    • Frequency of problem - Rare, since all 12 have to agree to nullify
Main Point:
Passage A - Jury nullification, while probably rare, creates many problems for criminal law.

Passage B - While jury nullification has the potential to be done for the wrong reasons, that's probably rare, and it solves a lot of problems with law enforcement and for the legislature.

Key Lines:

Passage A:
Lines 8-10 - The Author's opinion is stated
Line 11 - A problem is described
Line 17-18 - A problem is described
Lines 25-28 - A problem is described
Lines 30-32 - The Author's opinion is reiterated

Passage B:
Lines 36-40 - A benefit is noted by the Author
Lines 41-43 - Another benefit is noted
Lines 51-53 - Another benefit is noted
Lines 54-56 - A problem is noted that is said to be rare

Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
List of Problems (Passage A) - The Author starts the passage out with a statement that a certain practice has problems, and then she goes through a list of those problems. Note that our Key Lines for this list generally featured the first line of each statement, but it didn't always. Being able to identify the "best" line summing up each problem is a key way to be able to really understand these passages!

List of Benefits (Passage B) - In a mirrored structure to Passage A, Passage B notes that the same practice has benefits, and then it goes about listing those benefits. This mirrored structure reflects their opposite opinions of jury nullification.

Which brings us to the relationship between the passages. They both use a similar structure to make opposite arguments. In Passage A, problems with jury nullification are noted. In Passage B, the benefits of jury nullification are described. These problems and benefits aren't perfectly mirrored—Passage B doesn't address each downside in Passage A by suggesting that it's actually a benefit—but they do overlap in discussing the role of the legislature in the criminal justice system.

Last Thoughts:
Since the passages reach different conclusions, we should expect questions about differences between them, and answers that reflect differences. The exception to that is any question about Argument Structure or Methods of Reasoning since the way that they make their arguments is actually quite similar.

Question prompt

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Legal

Answer choices

  1. A
    Passage A offers a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Methods of Reasoning

    Strategy Overview:
    Review our analysis of the relationship between the passages, then find an answer that reflects it

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    In Comparative RC, we always take time to analyze the relationship between the passages. For this question, we should take that full analysis and then generalize it to anticipate an answer that describes the relationship between the methods of reasoning and the main point of both passages.

    So the relationship, as we stated it, is:

    They both use a similar structure to make opposite arguments. In Passage A, problems with jury nullification are noted. In Passage B, the benefits of jury nullification are described. These problems and benefits aren't perfectly mirrored—Passage B doesn't address each downside in Passage A by suggesting that it's actually a benefit—but they do overlap in discussing the role of the legislature in the criminal justice system.

    So, big picture, Passage A lists the problems with a given practice, while Passage B lists the benefits of that practice. Let's find an answer reflecting that.

    Answer Explanation:
    Both passages discuss a power possessed by juries—nullification. Passage A presents problems with this power, thus offering a critique of it. Passage B lists the benefits of the power, thus arguing in support of it. This answer reflects the two passages and their relationship to each other, so this is the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    Always think about the relationship between the passages in Comparative RC. Not only will it help you with any question that asks about both passages, but it will also directly set you up to answer a question such as this one.
  2. B
    Passage A denounces a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. Let's say that jury nullification is a judicial custom. Passage A arguably denounces it (though that's a stronger word than we might say is accurate), but Passage B definitely doesn't propose improvements to it, let alone focus on improvements.
  3. C
    Passage A surveys a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. Passage A makes an argument about nullification—it doesn't neutrally present evidence about jury behavior. And Passage B presents benefits of the behavior—he doesn't talk about why that behavior exists.
  4. D
    Passage A argues that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. There's nothing in Passage A that suggests the Author there doesn't believe the problem could be fixed, and Passage B doesn't even believe that nullification is a problem!
  5. E
    Passage A raises a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. First, jury nullification isn't really a procedure as much as a phenomenon. Second, Passage A doesn't raise questions about it—she argues against it. Third, Passage B doesn't answer a non-existent question in Passage A—it presents benefits of nullification.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 92%
  2. B 1%
  3. C 2%
  4. D 1%
  5. E 3%

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