Digital PSAT Reading and Writing Practice Question 182: Answer and Explanation

Question: 182

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

■ In the United States, people who have been detained by the police have a right to swiftly appear before the court to determine whether the detention is valid.

■ This right is known as the writ of "habeas corpus," a Latin phrase that translates as "you should have the body."

■ This right prevents people who are being detained from disappearing into a jail or prison without due process of the law.

■ Habeas corpus was first set as a right in the Magna Carta, one of the founding documents of the English systems of laws.

■ This right today is an important check on the power of police and governments.

The student wants to suggest a possible negative consequence of not having a policy requiring habeas corpus in place. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

• A. If the right of habeas corpus were suspended, prisons and jails would be overrun with criminals in an unsafe and unsanitary manner.
• B. While some may want to remove the right to habeas corpus, they should keep in mind what the Magna Carta says about human dignity.
• C. Without the right of habeas corpus, those who are detained could disappear into jail without a proper legal process.
• D. If the United States removed the right to habeas corpus, other countries, like England, may follow its moral lead.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

(C) Since the student wants to suggest a possible negative consequence of not having habeas corpus in place-the third bullet outlines how this right prevents people receiving jail sentences without the due process of law. This aligns with Choice (C). Choice (A) is a negative consequence but is not supported by the notes, since it is likely that in the absence of habeas corpus, the number of people in prison would increase, not decrease. Choices (B) and (D) do not outline possible negative consequences.