#14 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

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

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

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

[Lsatbeast69]

I was unsure on this question but I went with D because it seemed that the philosophical discussion of legal determinacy throughout the passage entails when a judge will have to make a decision outside of the direct scope of the law-- one that would be in the periphery vs the core. I do not see why B is correct because I thought it would imply that the hard cases could be definitively resolved. But even scholars disagree on such cases. Any help to clarify B would be great.

[Adam Tyson]

The key here is to stay focused on exactly what the question asked, Lsatbeast69. All they are asking for in this question is a definition of the term "legally determinate" found in the last line of the first paragraph. That term is defined in the text immediately after the term is introduced: "decidable according to existing law." That's the prephrase!

The rest of the passage is about the debate around different theories of how to apply the law to hard cases, and whether some issues are or are not legally determinate, but the term itself retains its meaning. Hart may consider some cases to not be legally determinate, while Dworkin may think they are all determinate in some form or fashion, but both Hart and Dworkin still use the term to mean the same thing.