LSAT 136, Section 1, RC Passage 2, Fingerprints

RC Passage 2 Explanation (Comparative)

This is an explanation for passage 2 of LSAT preptest 66, the June 2012 LSAT – the comparative passage. These passages are about fingerprint analysis and whether it is flawed or useful.

This section has paragraph summaries and an analysis of the passage, links to the explanations for the questions are below.

Paragraph Summaries

Passage A

1. The defendant says fingerprint analysis is flawed.
2. The defendant says there are no fixed standards for fingerprint analysis.
3. The judge says experts agree that fingerprint analysis is reliable.
4. The judge says that while fingerprint analysis standards differ, the error rate is low.

Passage B

1. There are no objective standards in fingerprint analysis.
2. We don’t know the true error rate of fingerprint analysis, because we can’t say how likely it is that certain people will share fingerprint characteristics.
3. There haven’t been many studies of fingerprint analysis error rates. One study showed rates could be as high as 34 percent.

Analysis

The first passage is a judge’s argument (see line 21, where the author refers to himself as ‘this court’). The judge considers the defendant’s arguments, and decides that the arguments are not convincing. Fingerprint analysis may not be 100% certain, but the error rate is low enough that we can be confident in using it.

The second passage is also an argument. It says fingerprint analysis is uncertain. This argument supports the defendant. It sounds like a scholarly article he might have used in building his case.

Many wrong answer choices speak of a defendant’s right to challenge evidence. The judge doesn’t deny this right. The judge accepted the defendant’s right to challenge evidence, but concluded the defendant’s argument was wrong.

The author of the second passage doesn’t mention how courts should use fingerprint evidence. Many wrong answers suggest that he did.