By the time Bentham turned his interest to the subject, late in the

Question

By the time Bentham turned his interest to the
subject, late in the eighteenth century, most
components of modern evidence law had been
assembled. Among common-law doctrines regarding
 (5)  evidence there were, however, principles that today are
regarded as bizarre; thus, a well-established (but now
abandoned) rule forbade the parties to a case from
testifying. Well into the nineteenth century, even
defendants in criminal cases were denied the right to
 (10)  testify to facts that would prove their innocence.

Although extreme in its irrationality, this
proscription was in other respects quite typical of the
law of evidence. Much of that law consisted of rules
excluding relevant evidence, usually on some rational
 (15)  grounds. Hearsay evidence was generally excluded
because absent persons could not be cross-examined.
Yet such evidence was mechanically excluded even
where out-of-court statements were both relevant and
reliable, but the absent persons could not appear in
 (20)  court (for example, because they were dead).

The morass of evidentiary technicalities often made
it unlikely that the truth would emerge in a judicial
contest, no matter how expensive and protracted.
Reform was frustrated both by the vested interests of
 (25)  lawyers and by the profession’s reverence for tradition
and precedent. Bentham’s prescription was
revolutionary: virtually all evidence tending to prove
or disprove the issue in dispute should be admissible.
Narrow exceptions were envisioned: instances in
 (30)  which the trouble or expense of presenting or
considering proof outweighed its value, confessions to
a Catholic priest, and a few other instances.

One difficulty with Bentham’s nonexclusion
principle is that some kinds of evidence are inherently
 (35)  unreliable or misleading. Such was the argument
underlying the exclusions of interested-party testimony
and hearsay evidence. Bentham argued that the
character of evidence should be weighed by the jury:
the alternative was to prefer ignorance to knowledge.
 (40)  Yet some evidence, although relevant, is actually more
likely to produce a false jury verdict than a true one. To
use a modern example, evidence of a defendant’s past
bank robberies is excluded, since the prejudicial
character of the evidence substantially outweighs its
 (45)  value in helping the jury decide correctly. Further, in
granting exclusions such as sacramental confessions,
Bentham conceded that competing social interests or
values might override the desire for relevant evidence.
But then, why not protect conversations between social
 (50)  workers and their clients, or parents and children?

Despite concerns such as these, the approach
underlying modern evidence law began to prevail soon
after Bentham’s death: relevant evidence should be
admitted unless there are clear grounds of policy for
 (55)  excluding it. This clear-grounds proviso allows more
exclusions than Bentham would have liked, but the
main thrust of the current outlook is Bentham’s own
nonexclusion principle, demoted from a rule to a
presumption.    1 
 1. Which one of the following is the main idea of the passage?

(A) Bentham questioned the expediency of modern rules of legal evidence.
(B) Bentham’s proposed reform of rules of evidence was imperfect but beneficial.
(C) Bentham’s nonexclusion principle should be reexamined in the light of subsequent developments.
(D) Rules of legal evidence inevitably entail imperfect mediations of conflicting values and constraints.
(E) Despite their impairment of judicial efficiency, rules of legal evidence are resistant to change.

2 
 2. The author’s attitude toward eighteenth-century lawyers can best be described as

(A) sympathetic
(B) critical
(C) respectful
(D) scornful
(E) ambivalent

3 
 3. The author mentions “conversations between social workers and their clients” (lines 49–50) most probably in order to

(A) suggest a situation in which application of the nonexclusion principle may be questionable
(B) cite an example of objections that were raised to Bentham’s proposed reform
(C) illustrate the conflict between competing social interests
(D) demonstrate the difference between social interests and social values
(E) emphasize that Bentham’s exceptions to the nonexclusion principle covered a wide range of situations

4 
 4. Which one of the following statements concerning the history of the law of evidence is supported by information in the passage?

(A) Common-law rules of evidence have been replaced by modern principles.
(B) Modern evidence law is less rigid than was eighteenth-century evidence law.
(C) Some current laws regarding evidence do not derive from common-law doctrines.
(D) The late eighteenth century marked the beginning of evidence law.
(E) Prior to the eighteenth century, rules of evidence were not based on common law.

5 
 5. The passage is primarily concerned with which one of the following?

(A) suggesting the advantages and limitations of a legal reform
(B) summarizing certain deficiencies of an outmoded legal system
(C) justifying the apparent inadequacies of current evidence law
(D) detailing objections to the nonexclusion principle
(E) advocating reexamination of a proposal that has been dismissed by the legal profession

6 
 6. According to the fourth paragraph of the passage, what specifically does Bentham characterize as preference of ignorance to knowledge?

(A) uncritical acceptance of legal conventions
(B) failure to weigh the advantages of legal reform
(C) exclusion of sacramental confessions
(D) refusal to allow the jury to hear and assess relevant testimony
(E) rejection of exceptions to Bentham’s nonexclusion principle

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. The author mentions “conversations between social workers and their clients” (lines 49–50) most probably in order to

Explanation

The line reference appears in the context of the previous sentence which begins with  “Further,”  indicating that it’s continuing the previous thought—which was the idea of the entire  fourth paragraph , that there were difficulties with Bentham’s non-exclusionary principle. That’s all you need to see to choose  (A) .

Since the author is, in  paragraph 4 , questioning an aspect of a proposal of Bentham’s from over 200 years ago, the tone of  (B)  is way off.

Lines 49-50  mention examples of how Bentham’s policy might contradict itself, not examples of a phrase associated with Bentham one sentence earlier  (C) .

(D)  creates an unwarranted distinction in that  “interests”  and  “values”  are never separated in the way that  (D)  suggests.

And contrary to  (E) , the lines in question are acting as counterevidence to Bentham and not as examples of his views.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. Which one of the following is the main idea of the passage?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

The right idea here must pick up on the topic and scope, and must reflect the author’s view that Bentham had more or less the right idea, with reservations. That can only be  (B).

Bentham did do what  (A)  is saying, but this encompasses only the  first 26 lines , not the nature of Bentham’s reforms nor the author’s critique of same.

The author is content with Bentham’s influence on the law today  (lines 55-59)  and so makes no call for the reexamination that  (C)  suggests.

(D)  hearkens back to the first sentence of  paragraph 4  but otherwise fails to so much as mention Bentham, whose proposal to improve the rules of evidence is at the heart of the passage.

(E)  suffers from the same lack of focus on Bentham, who is the passage’s principal character, and fails to recognize that thanks to Bentham the rules did change, resistant or not.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

2. The author’s attitude toward eighteenth-century lawyers can best be described as

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

18th century law is discussed at length in  lines 1-26 , but 18th century lawyers only come up once, in  lines 24-26.  The reform of the policy that the author has previously called  “extreme in its irrationality”  was  “frustrated”  by lawyers’ self-interest and excessive reverence for the past. That’s all critical  (B) , but the words chosen aren’t nasty enough to justify  (D) ’s  “scornful.”

One wonders how the passage could possibly be written in order to make  “sympathetic” (A)  right and  “respectful” (C)  wrong or vice versa—two choices that are functionally identical must always be incorrect—but nevertheless, each is too positive in tone.

“Ambivalent” (E)  might be tempting if you misread the question as dealing with 18th-century legal practice in general because the author does concede some sanity, or at least modernity, in it. But the question is squarely pointed at  lines 24-26 , which couldn’t be less ambivalent.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

5. The passage is primarily concerned with which one of the following?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

Correct choice (A)  has its priorities straight; this passage exists because the author wants to show the usefulness as well as the limitations of Bentham’s principle of nonexclusion of relevant evidence.

Choices (B) and (C)  believe that the passage’s purpose is to indict  “an outmoded legal system” (B)  or to paper over  “inadequacies.”  Both choices are far too negative and lose sight of the focus on Bentham and his reforms, many of which remain in place, with the author’s approval, today.

(D)  refers only to portions of  lines 30-50 , and not even all of those 21 lines at that. No contemporary proposal has either been made or dismissed  (E) ; Bentham’s reforms date back to the late 1800s, less we forget.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

6. According to the fourth paragraph of the passage, what specifically does Bentham characterize as preference of ignorance to knowledge?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

Bentham saw the  “prefer  ignorance to knowledge” (line 39)  as the alternative to nonexclusion, that is, the policy of letting in all relevant evidence, personal or hearsay or whatever. Since nonexclusion is the policy he favored, exclusion—or  (D) —sums up what is meant by  line 39 ’s phrase.

Choice (A)  is a state of affairs Bentham and our author would surely oppose, but it is not explicitly connected to the phrase in question. (B)’s  “failure to weigh”  is O.K., but we expect to read  “failure to weigh all relevant evidence.”

(B)  dribbles off into the inane and irrelevant  “advantages of legal reform,”  so it qualifies as a 1/2 right-1/2 wrong choice. Bentham granted the exclusion of sacramental confessions  (C) , so he would not indict those confessions as a preference of ignorance. And the phrase certainly doesn’t apply to objections to Bentham’s exceptions to his new principle  (E) ; this idea runs far afield of the specific context of  lines 37-39.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. Which one of the following statements concerning the history of the law of evidence is supported by information in the passage?

Difficulty Level:   700+

Explanation

The question stem is so broad as to cover the entire text of the passage, so there’s no telling where the right answer will emerge. Best to go through them in some order and look for that which must be true. The passage’s first sentence makes it clear that contrary to (A), many long-established common-law rules remain.

(B)  emerges as the right answer in that it picks up on the thrust of the passage: Thanks in part to Bentham, modern law has been moved to accept more relevant evidence—hence appear  “less rigid” —than did law in the 1700s.

(C)  is tricky. There are some aspects of common-law rules that are not in place today, notably the bizarre rule described in  lines 6-8 . But we cannot infer that any of the current rules in place do not date back to the common law. Remember, nonexclusion of evidence had been  “demoted from a rule to a presumption”  (lines 58-59).

In other respects, as far as we can tell from the text,  “most components of modern evidence law had been assembled”  (lines 2-4) by the late 1800s—a fact that serves to knock out  (D)  and  (E)  as well, each of which misunderstands what was going on in that era. The 1800s are important in the passage because they saw the work of Bentham, nothing more.

Answer: B

VerbalBot · Answer

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