Which of the following does the author's argument for leniency rely on?
Civil disobedience is often confused with ordinary lawbreaking, but the two are different in kind. The ordinary lawbreaker hides, hoping to escape punishment. The civil disobedient acts openly, accepts the penalty, and appeals to the community's sense of justice. This openness is not a technicality; it is what makes the act a form of speech. A person who blocks a road and then walks away has simply caused an obstruction. A person who blocks it, states the reason and submits to arrest has asked a question of the society that is arresting them. The distinction also gives courts a principled basis for leniency: not because the cause is right, which judges cannot decide, but because the defendant has shown respect for the legal system while disputing one of its rules.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. That respect for the legal system can be shown even by a person who breaks one of its rules
- Step 1: The final sentence rests leniency on the defendant having 'shown respect for the legal system while disputing one of its rules'.
- Step 2: That needs the assumption that disputing a rule can coexist with respecting the system.
Answer
That respect for the legal system can be shown even by a person who breaks one of its rules.
Why not the others: The author explicitly says judges cannot decide whether the cause is right, and nothing else in the options is presumed.
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