I haven't taken any NS full lengths, but I see nothing morally/legally wrong with their passage topics being similar to the AAMC's UNLESS they actually copied some specific questions or used the same phrasing in their passage. I'm not going to argue for NS copying the topics actually being beneficial to people, but I am going to argue that using similar topics =/= copying (unless they did - in which case, that's terrible).
There is literally the same phrasing in many of their passages, which is an example of plagiarism. I'm quite shocked that the representative came and said it wasn't plagiarism. It sounds almost immature that he's arguing that as if switching out words while maintaining the same sentence structure and organization is okay. It quite clearly is a very good case of plagiarism. Didn't we all learn in high school that just changing words for synonyms doesn't mean it's NOT plagiarism? Copying someone's phrasing and ideas also constitute plagiarism.
I'm just frustrated that these test companies are making boatloads of money off of desperate premeds and are not even trying to make original test content. Here is an example. I attached the AAMC passage. Here is Next Step's passage. Oh and the questions ask almost the exact same things with same answer choices. AND half of their diagnostic is blatantly plagiarized.
[Next Step] Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Passage 5 (Questions 21-25)
Possession of drugs or smuggled goods while incarcerated is illegal. If during a routine legal briefing, a prison attorney notices that the client, John Doe, has drugs and smuggled goods, should the attorney report the crime, or should privacy concerns prevail? What happens to the agreement of privilege between a client and their attorney in prisons?
Communications between attorneys and clients are protected as privileged. A routine attorney visit is part of the privileged communication, like information obtained by taking an informal deposition. Legal professionals have a vested interest in maintaining privacy so that clients will feel at ease in revealing personal but legally necessary information. Prisoners do not enjoy the full set of Constitutional privacy rights, but they generally retain rights to privacy when there is a special relationship between the involved parties, such as the attorney-client relationship. In fact, respect for privacy is particularly important in a prison setting, in which clients feel mistrust because their attorney is often an employee of the state that operates the incarcerating institution.
Information elicited during a legal briefing that indicates the prisoner is in possession of drugs, like all information revealed in the meeting, is privileged information to be treated confidentially. The right to privacy supersedes an obligation to report the discovery because there is no imminent threat to others. On the other hand, information that speaks to the prisoner possessing a weapon represents an immediate threat to other inmates and to prison staff. Thus, upon being informed about a cache of weapons during the briefing, the attorney has an obligation to inform. According to legal precedent, when the attorney believes that a significant risk of harm exists, the obligation to inform takes priority over the client’s right to privacy.
Attorneys working in prisons also retain the privilege of confidential interactions with clients, although the prison authorities may try to convince lawyers to supply information. Independence for legal professionals in a penitentiary setting is essential for good practice. Even if attorneys are employed by the state that runs the prison, their primary responsibility is to their clients. It is at the discretion of the attorney to decide the conditions in which to give privileged information to prison authorities.
The likelihood of discovering smuggled goods during routine meetings with prisoner clients emphasizes the need for providing privacy to the client at several stages. First, prisoner clients should be taken to their attorney only after they provide informed consent, unless they are incompetent. Before any deposition is taken, they should be informed that they do have the right to and expectation of privacy when it comes to the ensuing communications. Second, if information regarding weapons is disclosed during the meeting, the prisoner client should be informed that the disclosure will be reported and given the chance to surrender the weapon to authorities before more forcible means are taken to obtain it. If John Doe was using drugs, and the drugs may possibly exacerbate John Doe’s legal problems, it is the incumbent on the attorney to instruct John Doe about the potential legal ramifications of drug possession.
The case of John Doe raises the issue of where to demarcate the boundary between the obligation to protect the public and the obligation to protect clients’ privacy. While legal canon can aid the attorney in making the choice, the attorney must rely on a guiding principle of the legal profession: Where no danger to others exists, their obligation is to zealously protect a client's interests first.
