The Ambiguous Probation Report
You are a sergeant reviewing a probation report. The report contains this sentence: 'The suspect was seen by the officer with the stolen property in his car that was reported stolen last week.' The sentence is ambiguous: it is unclear who had the stolen property, whether the car or the property was reported stolen, and whether the officer or the suspect was with the property. A second sentence reads: 'After interviewing the witness, the suspect was arrested.' The report will be used in a probation revocation hearing, and the defense has already challenged its clarity. You must revise both sentences to eliminate ambiguity without changing the facts: the officer saw the suspect in the suspect's car; the car contained property that had been reported stolen; the officer interviewed the witness and then arrested the suspect.
1. Identify the specific sources of ambiguity in the first sentence.
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The first sentence has three sources of ambiguity:
- 'with the stolen property' could attach to 'seen by the officer' (the officer had the property) or to 'the suspect' (the suspect had the property).
- 'that was reported stolen' could modify 'car' (the car was stolen) or 'property' (the property was stolen).
- 'his car' could refer to the officer's car or the suspect's car.
Because the sentence can be read multiple ways, it does not clearly convey the facts.
2. Rewrite the first sentence in two different ways, each resolving the ambiguity to reflect a different possible meaning (but both consistent with the facts provided).
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Rewrite A (focus on the suspect and the property): "The officer saw the suspect sitting in the suspect's car; inside the car was property that had been reported stolen last week."
Rewrite B (focus on the officer's observation and the car): "The officer saw the suspect in the suspect's car, and the car itself had been reported stolen last week; the car also contained property."
Both rewrites are consistent with the facts: the officer saw the suspect in the suspect's car, and the car contained property reported stolen. Rewrite A makes clear that the property was stolen; Rewrite B makes clear that the car was stolen. The original sentence could be read either way, which is the problem.
3. Fix the dangling modifier in the second sentence, and explain why the original is grammatically problematic.
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Corrected sentence: "After interviewing the witness, the officer arrested the suspect."
The original sentence ("After interviewing the witness, the suspect was arrested") contains a dangling modifier. The introductory phrase 'After interviewing the witness' is meant to describe the officer's action, but the sentence's subject is 'the suspect.' Grammatically, the sentence says the suspect did the interviewing. Correcting the subject to 'the officer' makes the sentence clear and accurate.