#17 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[trey.holmes22@gmail.com]

Can this question get an explanation? I answered D and I didn't feel great about any of the answers, but I had narrowed it down to C and D because I think I interpreted the question as asking for the distinguishing factor since just generally asking for the "crucial" factor in that system of criminal procedure feels so unspecific and vague. How would one explain the rules of legality being the "crucial" factor over any of the other answers?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Trey,

As introduced in the first sentence, this passage is comparing two major systems of modern criminal procedure, adversarial and inquisitorial. It's really important when answering any of these questions that you refer back to the passage and don't mix up the descriptions of the two systems. (Many on the wrong answers will try to mix up the two systems.) It's also really important that you only rely on the descriptions that are given in the passage and not use real world/outside information.

For example, we might think that "the search for relevant facts " (Answer C) should be a crucial factor for any court system, including the adversarial system, but this is not discussed in the passage. Instead, according to the passage, it's the inquisitorial system that focused primarily on the facts/evidence. This is why Answer C is wrong.

In addition to the two major systems of modern criminal procedure, the passage also briefly mentions an earlier predecessor to these systems in the first paragraph (lines 3-7). This "system" is private vengeance from the victim. You can think of this as "old school" vigilante justice. If someone is wronged, they can gather some friends/family, find the wrongdoer, and settle this/get revenge in private, no need for courts. Answer D is describing this earlier form of private justice, not a court trial under the adversarial system as the question is asking about, so this answer is also wrong.

The correct answer is Answer A, "rules of legality." The relevant lines of the passage to answer this question are lines 44-48. The paragraph starts off explaining how fact-finding is the crucial factor for the inquisitorial system, not the legal rule. Then we get the critical words, "in contrast to the adversarial system" (lines 47-48). This implies that the adversarial system is the opposite of the inquisitorial system in this regard. In other words, the legal rule is a crucial factor for adversarial system, which is how/why it contrasts with the inquisitorial system.

When a question asks what can be inferred from the passage, you're looking for an answer that isn't directly stated verbatim in the passage, but an inference that follows from what is stated in the passage, as this question/answer illustrates.