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A witness saw the victim and the accused leave a bar together several days before the victim was…

The evidence shows that the two were together on one occasion. A last-seen inference of culpability calls for close temporal proximity or other evidence excluding…

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A witness saw the victim and the accused leave a bar together several days before the victim was killed. Nothing establishes their later movements or links the sighting to the death. What can the court infer from that testimony alone?

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Answer and explanation

Correct answer D

The evidence shows that the two were together on one occasion. A last-seen inference of culpability calls for close temporal proximity or other evidence excluding intervening possibilities. The sighting alone proves neither an ongoing friendship nor guilt.

Option feedback

Option A

The witness cannot establish who saw the victim later.

Option B

A sighting days earlier, without other connecting circumstances, cannot by itself prove guilt.

Option C

A single observation of two people together does not establish an ongoing friendship.

Option D

The testimony supports the observed association at that time. The multi-day gap and missing links make a guilt inference unsafe.

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