LNAT Reading Comprehension 4

Question 1

A passage argues: 'Hate speech laws restrict free expression, but hate speech silences vulnerable groups by making public discourse hostile to them.' What type of argument structure does this passage use?

Accepted Answer

A balancing argument that weighs competing values against each other.

Answer

The passage acknowledges a cost (restriction of expression) and a benefit (protecting vulnerable groups), which is the hallmark of a balancing or proportionality argument.

Question 2

A passage on judicial precedent states: 'Lower courts are bound by the decisions of higher courts in the same jurisdiction.' A student reads this and concludes that a UK High Court is bound by decisions of the Australian High Court. This conclusion is:

Accepted Answer

Incorrect, because 'same jurisdiction' excludes foreign courts, however persuasive their authority.

Answer

The passage specifies 'same jurisdiction,' and Australia and the UK are separate jurisdictions, so Australian decisions are at most persuasive, never binding.

Question 3

In a passage criticizing plea bargaining, the author writes: 'An innocent defendant may rationally choose to plead guilty if the risk of a long sentence at trial outweighs the certainty of a shorter one.' What concern does this sentence most directly raise?

Accepted Answer

Plea bargaining creates perverse incentives that may cause wrongful convictions of innocent people.

Answer

The passage highlights that rational self-interest can lead an innocent person to plead guilty, producing a conviction of someone who committed no crime.

Question 4

A passage states that strict liability offences 'require no proof of a guilty mind.' The author gives speeding as an example. Which of the following would be another appropriate example under this definition?

Accepted Answer

Selling alcohol to a minor, even if the seller genuinely believed the buyer was of legal age.

Answer

Selling alcohol to a minor is a classic strict liability offence — the defendant's honest belief about age is irrelevant because no mental element is required.

Question 5

An author writes: 'Most people assume legal and moral obligations are the same, but this conflates two distinct categories.' Which of the following best illustrates the distinction the author is drawing?

Accepted Answer

A person has a moral obligation to help a drowning stranger but in many jurisdictions no legal duty to do so.

Answer

The drowning stranger scenario shows a moral duty existing without a corresponding legal duty — the clearest illustration of the two categories diverging.

LNAT Practice Test

LNAT Practice Test

LNAT Reading Comprehension 4