PT132.S3.P4.Q28

PrepTest 132 - Section 3 - Passage 4 - Question 28

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P1

Computers have long been utilized in the sphere of law in the form of word processors, spreadsheets, legal research systems, and practice management systems. ███

Context · Computers often used by lawyers
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Topic · Exciting prospect of using computers for legal reasoning
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Problem · Computers don't perform legal reasoning well
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Main Point / Explanation · Computers have difficult interpreting and applying legal rules
P2

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Early Methods · Assumed computers could apply facts to rules to reach legal results
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Problem with Early Methods · Underestimated difficulty of interpretation
E.g., is a mobile home in a trailer park a house or a motor vehicle? That requires interpretation. Many laws contain vague concepts in order to be flexible. But to apply those laws requires a lot of contextual knowledge about the world.
P3

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Modern Methods · Computers that incorporate case law
Proponents believe that computers can be programed with cases and use case-based reasoning to reach the right conclusion.
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Problem with Modern Methods · The problem of interpretation is still present
Because the computer still needs to figure out which cases are similar in relevant ways.
Passage Style
Problem-analysis
Single position
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28.

The examples of situations that ███ ████ ██ █████████ ███████████████ ███████ ████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██████████ ████████ ██ ███ ███████ ██

a

substantiate the usefulness ██ █████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ███

The author briefly notes at the top of P1 that in some ways, computers can be useful for legal professionals, but she never substantiates (i.e., supports) that claim. Meanwhile, the examples we’re looking at are in P2, and at this point in the passage, the author is arguing that rule-based legal reasoning systems lack usefulness because they can’t deal with issues open to interpretation. She gives examples of situations that are open to differing interpretations in order to illustrate the kinds of scenarios where these reasoning systems fall short.

1%
b

illustrate a vulnerability ██ ████ ███████ ██ ████████████ █████ █████████

At this point in the passage, the author is arguing that the key shortcoming of rule-based legal reasoning systems is their inability to deal with rules that are open to interpretation. She gives examples of situations that are open to differing interpretations in order to illustrate the kinds of scenarios where these reasoning systems fall short.

78%
c

isolate issues that ████████ ███████ ███ ██ █████████ █████████ ██ ████████

Descriptively inaccurate. The author argues that computers are incapable of handling these situations in practice, not in principle. She states that for computers to handle these situations in principle, they’d need capabilities that they just don’t have in practice.

14%
d

explain how legal █████ ████ ████ ███████ ██ █████ ██████████

Descriptively inaccurate. The author doesn’t explain how legal rules are adapted to new situations. She just states in the following sentence that legal rules are sometimes left open-ended so that they can be adapted. And anyway, she’s not talking about the adaptation of legal rules yet when she brings up these examples. She’s simply noting some cases where a simple-seeming concept can be interpreted in different ways, in order to illustrate the kinds of situations where rule-based legal reasoning systems fall short.

6%
e

question the value ██ █████████ ████ ██████████ ██ ████████████ █████ █████

Descriptively inaccurate. The author doesn’t discuss or question how precedent is used to interpret legal rules. In fact, she states in P3 that reasoning systems that use precedents (i.e., case-based systems) don’t interpret legal rules.

1%

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