#7 - Must Be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=11639)

The correct answer choice is (B)

The primary purpose of the passage is discussed in the VIEWSTAMP analysis in the passage discussion: the author’s main purpose is to present one perspective, and the assert the opposing viewpoint that honesty is part of the lawyer’s obligation to the client, the court, and society, and as such lawyers should only represent as innocent those whom the lawyer believes to be innocent. Correct answer choice (B) provides the best presentation of this primary purpose.

[T.B.Justin]

I want to add to the conversation of the author explicitly stating, "that the defense lawyers obligation is two-fold" to what I think the author of this passage is implying, rather, that the obligation is three-fold-to the client, court, and society, as I also think it has been expressed in the explanation of the primary purpose of this passage. Which, seemingly unrelated, this concept tripped me up on an earlier question and specific incorrect answer choice.

[p.arya]

Why is B correct while D is wrong? I feel like both of these answers are things discussed in the passage, and I don't see how B more accurately describes the primary purpose than D. Both of them feel like throwaway details mentioned by the author.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi p.arya!

This passage opens with a paragraph that provides the views of "some legal scholars." The second paragraph then contrasts with this opening paragraph, noting that their view overlooks the obligations that defense lawyers have to courts and society (lines 20-23). Finally, the third paragraph indicates that the defense lawyer's obligations to courts and society ultimately benefit defendants by fostering conditions for the "best defense" to be developed (lines 42-26).

Answer choice (B) avoids being too narrow and rather is able to encompass all these aspects of the passage. The author's intent is to proffer an argument, and that argument comes across especially clearly in the final paragraph. With respect to answer choice (D), it seems perhaps a bit too narrow. Yes, the passage discusses factors that seem important for defense lawyers to consider before accepting a case, such as their beliefs about the innocence or defense of the person, but that's in service of a larger goal of arguing that defense lawyers have obligations to courts and society that ultimately benefit defendants.