Self-study
Passage A.
P1
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Trial court judges oppose independent research ·
They say it distorts the adversarial system and that judges aren't that good at research
P2
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Author's criticism ·
The judges' concerns don't justify an absolute ban on independent research by judges
Support 1 ·
Adversarial system doesn't handle specialized knowledge (like science) well
Independence research for specialized knowledge can help.
P3
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Support 2 ·
Trial structure reduces possibility of reaching bad research results
Independent research only supplements the parties' evidence.
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P4
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Author's perspective ·
Appellate courts should not do independent research
Trial court judges can do whatever they want. But appellate courts shouldn't do research.
P5
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Support ·
Appellate courts don't have important tools for figuring out what's true
Live testimony from experts can help judges understand scientific stuff, and cross-examination of those experts can help discover what's true. Appellate judges don't get these things, since they happen only at the trial level.
P6
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Support ·
Trial courts determine the facts; appellate courts shouldn't intrude on this
P7
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Support ·
Appellate courts who do research risk reaching bad results; they also shouldn't read stuff that wasn't presented to the trial court
Passage Style
25.
Which one of the following █████ ██ ████ ██ ███████ █ █████ ███████ ██ ██████ ███ ████ █████████ ██ ███ ████
a
The author uses this word to describe the desire some judges may have to do independent research, which he disapproves of. But when the author uses the word “crucible,” he’s describing something he approves of: the process of cross-examination in a trial.
b
When the author talks about a “crucible,” he’s referring to the process of cross-examination. And he says that cross-examination is a means to test the “credibility” of evidence. So “credibility” refers to a characteristic of evidence, while “crucible” refers to a specific trial process.
c
The author uses this word to refer to the process of cross-examination, which is the same thing he’s referring to by the word “crucible.” The author says that appellate courts can’t test scientific evidence in the “crucible” of the adversarial system. This comes just after the discussion in P5 about how this kind of evidence can be tested during trials through the “legal engine” of cross-examination. So when the author talks about a “crucible” or an “engine,” he’s referring to cross-examination.
d
When the author talks about a “crucible,” he’s referring to the process of cross-examination. When he talks about a “function,” he’s referring to an overall purpose of trial courts. And he doesn’t suggest that cross-examination is the overall purpose of trial courts. Rather, fact-finding is the purpose, and cross-examination is simply one way in which that’s done. So although “crucible” and “function” are related, they’re not referring to the same thing.
e
The author uses this word when describing the kinds of