LNAT (Legal Aptitude I) 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage argues that juries should be replaced by professional judges because 'jurors lack legal training.' The author provides no evidence that legally trained decision-makers produce better outcomes. Which flaw does this reveal?
- Hasty generalisation — the author overstates evidence from a few cases
- Begging the question — the author assumes legal training improves outcomes without demonstrating it (Correct answer)
- False analogy — the author incorrectly equates judges with jurors
- Non sequitur — the conclusion is entirely unrelated to the premises
Correct answer: Begging the question — the author assumes legal training improves outcomes without demonstrating it
The argument assumes that legal training produces better verdicts, but this is the very proposition it needs to prove — making it question-begging.
Question 2: An LNAT passage describes a case where Parliament passed a law with the stated purpose of preventing tax avoidance. Courts later applied the law to catch a transaction that Parliament had not specifically considered. Which rule of statutory interpretation did the court most likely use?
- The literal rule, reading the plain words of the statute
- The purposive approach, applying the statute in line with its underlying aim (Correct answer)
- The rule in Pepper v Hart, consulting Hansard to find parliamentary intent
- Ejusdem generis, restricting general words to the class of specific words listed
Correct answer: The purposive approach, applying the statute in line with its underlying aim
The purposive approach extends a statute to situations not literally covered but within the legislature's evident purpose, here preventing avoidance.
Question 3: A human rights treaty requires states to protect the right to life 'except in cases absolutely necessary to prevent unlawful violence.' A state uses lethal force to disperse a peaceful protest. Which analysis is correct?
- The use of force is lawful because the state has discretion in security matters
- The use of force likely violates the treaty because a peaceful protest does not constitute unlawful violence (Correct answer)
- The treaty exception applies whenever the state determines there is a security risk
- Lethal force is permitted against protests because public order is a legitimate aim
Correct answer: The use of force likely violates the treaty because a peaceful protest does not constitute unlawful violence
The treaty exception is narrow and requires actual unlawful violence; a peaceful protest does not meet that threshold, making lethal force disproportionate and likely unlawful.
Question 4: A law review passage states: 'The presumption of innocence is incompatible with pre-trial detention.' Which counterargument most directly weakens this claim?
- Pre-trial detention is used in most legal systems worldwide
- Pre-trial detention can be justified by flight risk or risk of interference with evidence without implying guilt (Correct answer)
- The presumption of innocence is a principle, not an absolute rule
- Defendants in pre-trial detention receive faster trials
Correct answer: Pre-trial detention can be justified by flight risk or risk of interference with evidence without implying guilt
Pre-trial detention based on procedural grounds (flight risk, evidence tampering) does not treat the defendant as guilty — it addresses practical risks, leaving the presumption of innocence intact at trial.
Question 5: Under the doctrine of promissory estoppel in contract law, which scenario would most likely invoke the doctrine?
- A seller promises to deliver goods on a specific date but delivers late
- A landlord promises to reduce rent for six months; the tenant relies on this and declines higher-paying work; the landlord then demands full rent for those months (Correct answer)
- A buyer breaches a contract and the seller seeks damages
- Two parties fail to agree on essential terms and no contract is formed
Correct answer: A landlord promises to reduce rent for six months; the tenant relies on this and declines higher-paying work; the landlord then demands full rent for those months
Promissory estoppel prevents a party from going back on a clear promise when the other party has relied on that promise to their detriment.
Question 6: A passage distinguishes between 'rule-based' and 'standard-based' legal regulation. Which example best illustrates a rule-based approach?
- A law requiring drivers to travel at a 'reasonable speed' given road conditions
- A regulation prohibiting driving faster than 70 mph on motorways (Correct answer)
- A law requiring companies to take 'adequate' steps to prevent bribery
- A statute obliging employers to provide a 'safe' working environment
Correct answer: A regulation prohibiting driving faster than 70 mph on motorways
A bright-line speed limit is a classic rule — precise, predictable, and applied without discretionary judgment — in contrast to open-textured standards like 'reasonable.'
Question 7: An author argues that capital punishment deters serious crime by citing statistics from one US state that abolished the death penalty and subsequently saw a rise in homicide rates. What is the most significant logical weakness?
- The author relies on statistics, which are inherently unreliable
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc — the homicide rise followed abolition but may have had independent causes (Correct answer)
- The argument is valid because correlation always implies causation in legal contexts
- The sample is biased because only one state was chosen from a federal system
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc — the homicide rise followed abolition but may have had independent causes
Assuming that abolition caused the rise in homicides because one followed the other commits the post hoc fallacy — many other factors could explain the trend.
LNAT (Legal Aptitude I) 4
A passage argues that juries should be replaced by professional judges because 'jurors lack legal training.' The author provides no evidence that legally trained decision-makers produce better outcomes.
Which flaw does this reveal?