Choose the statement that is best supported by the information given in the…
2024
Choose the statement that is best supported by the information given in the question passage.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. No search of a person's home or personal effects may be conducted without a written search warrant issued on probable cause. This means that a neutral judge must approve the factual basis justifying a search before it can be conducted.
This paragraph best supports the statement that the police cannot search a person's home or private papers unless they have
- A.
legal authorization
- B.
direct evidence of a crime.
- C.
read the person his or her constitutional rights.
- D.
a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept: In a ‘best supported by the passage’ reading question, the correct choice must be a close paraphrase of something the passage explicitly states or logically requires — never an outside fact, however true in real life, that the passage itself never mentions.
Application: The passage sets out two conditions before a home may be searched: (1) a written search warrant, issued only on probable cause, and (2) a neutral judge’s advance approval of that factual basis. A warrant plus a judge’s sign-off is exactly what “legal authorization” means — permission granted under law before the search happens.
Contrast with the other choices:
“Direct evidence of a crime” — the passage asks for a judge’s approval of the factual basis, not that police already hold hard evidence at that stage.
“Read the person his or her constitutional rights” — this (a Miranda-style caution) concerns custodial questioning, and the passage never raises it in connection with searches.
“A reasonable belief that a crime has occurred” — the passage requires more than an officer’s own belief; that belief still has to be reviewed and approved before a search can proceed.
Result: Only “legal authorization” is fully supported by the text, so that is the correct choice.