Critical Legal Studies

Answer choices

1. A

   Unsupported: relevance depends on X11% picked this

   How one determines the extent to which these considerations are relevant depends on one’s degree of belief

   In that last paragraph, she is pretty much asserting we can view these external considerations as still being part of the "rules of the game". She doesn't tie relevance to any other concept. In fact, she's not using Relative wording at all. She's talking about whether or not they're relevant (Absolute language). This answer is saying, depending on your belief in the legal process, you might think they're 40% relevant or 75% relevant. We can't support this causal link or this sliding scale between "belief in legal process" and "how relevant you think these external considerations are".

   11%
2. B

   Unsupported: relevance depends on X24% picked this

   The extent to which these considerations are part of the legal process depends on the extent to which the policies

   In that last paragraph, she is pretty much asserting we can view these external considerations as still being part of the "rules of the game". She doesn't tie amount of relevance to any other concept. In fact, she's not using Relative wording at all. She's talking about whether or not they're relevant (Absolute language). This answer is saying, depending on your belief in the legal process, you might think they're 40% relevant or 75% relevant. We can't support this causal link or this sliding scale between "endorsement of the legal process's policies and values" and "how relevant you think these external considerations are".

   24%
3. C

   Unsupported: more moral authority4% picked this

   When these considerations have more moral authority than the law, the former should

   We only use the term "moral authority" once in this final paragraph, and it is in absolute language, not relative. At no point does Meyerson every compare how much moral authority one thing has vs. another. Her whole point in this paragraph is simply that "whether or not something has moral authority" is not determined by "how clear the rules are or how clear the application of the rules are to a given situation".

   4%
4. D

   Opposite12% picked this

   If one uses these considerations in determining a legal solution, one is assuming that the policies

   Her whole point in this final paragraph is the opposite of this, that you can understand the rules of the legal process (including these external considerations) and even apply these rules to reach unambiguous solutions to legal problems, without ever needing to believe they have moral authority or desirability.

   12%
5. E

   Correct48% picked this

   Whether these considerations are separate from or integral to the legal process is a

   Why this is right

   This is a silly-stupid correct answer. It's certainly not trying to represent her main thought about the external considerations or even her purpose in bringing them up. On question stems that use words like inferred / implies / suggests / most likely to agree the correct answer sometimes seems to reinforce a big idea the author had, but at least as often it just provides us with some claim that can be derived from the text, even if it comes from an obscure part of the passage or doesn't represent any important idea. Can we derive that Meyerson thinks that whether these considerations are separate from or integral to "the game" of the legal process is a matter of debate? Yes, because she didn't say, Such considerations are part of, not separate from, the rules of the game. She said, Such considerations may be viewed as part of, not separate from, the rules of the game. By hedging her wording in that fashion, she's indicating that the idea is not a given. Some people may view these external considerations as really internal, but some may not. Saying "it is a matter of debate" is not the same as saying "it is a matter being debated". It just means that "it's not an established truth".

   Skill tested: Non-Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   48%