BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Instructor Help Request

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 am
Thanked: 56 times
Followed by:26 members

Instructor Help Request

by mundasingh123 » Sun Oct 02, 2011 8:59 am
OA is mentioned
When the defendant in a trial chooses not to testify , the jury is not supposed to view this as evidence of the defendant's guilt or innocence . Rather, the jury should base its decision on the evidence that is presented throughout the trial . Nevertheless, jurors will often take the failure of the defendant to testify as evidence of that defendant's guilt .
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the information above ?
(A) Most defendants who refuse to testify in their trials are in fact guilty
(B)The rules should be modified to testify regardless of their guilt or innocence
(C) The fact that a defendant refuses to testify is sometimes unfairly considered by a jury
(D) A defendant would sometimes be better served by testifying at trial than by choosing not to testify
(E) Even when a defendant does testify some jurors choose not to believe the defendant's testimony


OA [spoiler]C[/spoiler]
I mentioned the OA


This Cr is from veritas prep sc guide. I found C and D to be the possible solutions.
Considering that an innocent defendant could be pronounced guilt in case he chooses not to testify , wouldnt opting to testify be a better option for him/her .

Could An instructor please help me eliminate D ?
I Seek Explanations Not Answers
Top
Source: — Critical Reasoning |
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:54 pm

by nzt » Sun Oct 02, 2011 8:33 pm
i'm not an expert or instructor but this is how i decided between the two.

the conclusion of the argument is "jurors will often take the failure of the defendant to testify as evidence of that defendant's guilt" -> not testifying can be used against you, it sucks not to testify.

c says refusing to testify is sometimes unfairly considered by a jury - which means it sucks not to testify and it can be used against you.

d says that the defendant would sometimes be better served by testifying - which means that your helping your case by testifying -> no where in the conclusion does it say that. you're making that assumption if you testify you're helping your case but the conclusion says if you don't testify you're hurting it. small but subtle difference between the choices
Top
Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 am
Thanked: 56 times
Followed by:26 members

by mundasingh123 » Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:13 pm
nzt wrote:i'm not an expert or instructor but this is how i decided between the two.

the conclusion of the argument is "jurors will often take the failure of the defendant to testify as evidence of that defendant's guilt" -> not testifying can be used against you, it sucks not to testify.

c says refusing to testify is sometimes unfairly considered by a jury - which means it sucks not to testify and it can be used against you.

d says that the defendant would sometimes be better served by testifying - which means that your helping your case by testifying -> no where in the conclusion does it say that. you're making that assumption if you testify you're helping your case but the conclusion says if you don't testify you're hurting it. small but subtle difference between the choices
D says sometimes the defendant would be better served . This could refer to those cases in which a defendant is innocent . But he refuses to testify . Therefore jurors pronounce him guilty. Had he testified , perhaps he could have proved his innocence .
I Seek Explanations Not Answers
Top
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 496
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:34 am
Thanked: 38 times
Followed by:1 members

by sl750 » Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:34 pm
Choice C rephrases the last sentence in the argument. Whereas, in choice D we are inferring to much. Just merely testifying would not necessarily help the defendant to prove his innocence as the Juror's are expected to base its decision on the evidence that is presented throughout the trial as stated in the argument
Top
Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 am
Thanked: 56 times
Followed by:26 members

by mundasingh123 » Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:44 pm
sl750 wrote:Choice C rephrases the last sentence in the argument. Whereas, in choice D we are inferring to much. Just merely testifying would not necessarily help the defendant to prove his innocence as the Juror's are expected to base its decision on the evidence that is presented throughout the trial as stated in the argument
Your interpretation of the option seems to be very extreme whereas option D is very moderately phrased .There could be at least one occasion on which a defendant could get a worse deal if he refuses to testify.What are you seeing that i cant see. Could you be a bit more descriptive .
Why do you say "Just merely testifying would not necessarily help the defendant " when its clearly said that by not testifying , an innocent defendant could be held guilty of the crime
I Seek Explanations Not Answers
Top
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:22 pm
Thanked: 37 times
Followed by:18 members

by Ilana@EconomistGMAT » Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:16 am
C is the more proper inference. In Critical Reasoning we choose the minimal inference, and, as others have noted, D goes a bit too far.

Here's popular example: In a stormy, overcast day, a student comes into class dripping with water - what is the minimal inference we can draw?

a- it has just started raining outside
b - the student recently came into contact with water.

Surely, b is the minimal inference. Choices a makes a further assumption, which although reasonable, goes beyond the premises. The student might have had a prank played on him in the hallway. Similarly, in the question presented, the possibly unfair consideration by the jury is the more minimal inference.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1