PT 48, S4, Q13 Columnist: Tagowa's testimony in the

by **bbirdwell** Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:23 pm

13. (A)
Question Type: Identify a Flaw
After testifying in the trial, Tagowa stepped outside and publicly affirmed her belief that Pemberton was guilty. But, the jury found Pemberton not guilty. Hence, the author concludes that the jury did not believe Tagowa. The problem here centers on "belief." Tagowa believed Pemberton is guilty, the jury did not. Does this mean the jury did not believe Tagowa?

(B) is half-scope. The argument does confuse facts about what certain people believe, but it mentions nothing about what "ought to be the case."
(C) is out of scope. The argument does not assume that juries never find innocent people guilty.
(D) is a very attractive answer, but is also out of scope. The test-writers are hoping you will make the error of associating "non-belief" with "dishonesty." But the argument does not raise the issue of dishonesty.
(E) contains a detail creep. It refers to Jury members’ agreement about the significance of the testimony, while we are interested in whether they believe it.