...Ethics for Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Phillip C. Moore U.S. Courts Professor Shenia C. Kirkland, Esq. January 29, 2013 Ethics has been defined in many ways, but one true definition remains elusive when attempting to obtain a clear and concise meaning of ethics. For this paper, ethics will be defined as rules of conduct in regard to specific actions as administered by a particular group of people; i.e. medical or Christian ethics (Webster, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to address two cases in which the prosecutor and defense attorney violated the Attorney Professional Code of Conduct. This paper will summarize the facts of the case and detail the duties of either the prosecutor or defense attorney; determine which duties were breached and what should have happened to bring them in compliance; and will deduce both the personal and professional ramifications of their actions. The first case to be discussed will be one that the Innocence Project appealed on behalf of Ralph Armstrong in Dane County Wisconsin. Ralph was convicted of the rape and murder of college student Charise Kamps in 1981. For the duration of his twenty eight year incarceration, Ralph maintained he was innocent. An internet search of the trial proceedings and how the jury reached their verdict of guilty in the original trial proved to be a dead end. However, the Innocence Project website and several news agencies provided the information on how the prosecutorial misconduct...
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...Prosecution versus Defense University of Phoenix CJS/220 Patricia Brickhouse Lacey Martz December 11, 2011 In many ways, when it comes to comparing defense counsel to prosecution there are several similarities. The role is very different, but they are both considered to defending individuals. The prosecution role is to protect the people, the victims by putting their cases together with the mind frame of keeping justice fair. This is a must, to maintain what we want and need as a civilized society. While protecting the individuals or parties their innocents they must prove the guilty is guilty. Prosecutors can do this by taking a fair chance of embarrassing the individuals just to find the truth, as long as personal feelings do not interfere. Where with the defense attorney, are the ones that protect our rights when we have been accused of an action? They make sure that the legal rights are fair so that the client is not prosecuted unjustly or even falsely tried. Defense attorneys are not well trained for the all the verities of cases that must be hard. When a case is failed the defense attorney takes the chance to open another door to set another date for another hearing or even send the guilty to the death sentence. Each lawyer, the prosecutor and the defense attorney does the same job within our society and that is to protect our people whether they are innocent or guilty. The individuals give our protectors in the court room an opportunity to fight for...
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...On a daily basis, law enforcement officials are entrusted with the most crucial responsibility of safeguarding and protecting the rights and interests of citizens, organizations, and businesses, as well as maintaining law and order in a society. Police officers and attorneys have vowed to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens and combat mistreatment and violence imposed on individuals and the society as a whole. However, these prestigious positions are also not without their flaws, law enforcement officials more than any other profession are frequently challenged with numerous ethical dilemmas, making their daily tasks further burdensome. In their line of duty, honesty, loyalty, gratuities, the abuse of power, wrongful pursuit of personal...
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...our own foreknowing founding fathers. The founding fathers knew what would happen to average citizens if the government got too much power. There are warnings/restrictions set in place by our constitution. The other part comes from how advanced of a society the U.S. is in the world today. Third world countries have no notion of due process, rights or a criminal justice system. In this paper today we will discuss challenges that face defense attorneys. We will see how balancing family demands competes with having law practice viability. We will see how personal integrity and professionalism correlate. We will look at how zealously advocating for rights of the...
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...| A Review of the Literature: Plea Bargaining and Ethics in the Criminal Justice System | | | Plea bargaining is a significant portion of today’s criminal justice system. As Chief Justice Burger stated, “The disposition of criminal charges by agreement between the prosecutor and the accused, sometimes loosely called ‘plea bargaining,’ is an essential component of the administration of justice. Properly administered, it is to be encouraged” (Santobello v. New York, 1971). The practice of plea bargaining has generated thoughtful ethical debate with effective arguments on both sides. Prior to offering an opinion, an understanding and comparison of the points of view regarding its use along with the purpose, types, and effects of plea bargaining must take place. A plea bargain is a criminal case pact wherein one side offers sentence prearrangement to the other in return for a guilty plea (Bikel, 2004). This permits those who have been suspected of serious criminal acts the opportunity to considerably lessen the charges and escape a more severe penalty. The prosecuting attorney will usually bargain this, or the initial charge will endure with a recommendation for a lighter punishment. With these forms of inducements, the courts save time and money swiftly and efficiently (Feješ, 2012). A plea bargain can be introduced by either the prosecuting or defense counsel with both sides negotiating throughout the process. This practice can be swift or entail...
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...CHAPTER 1 Myth v. Reality Many people form opinions about the criminal justices system from the media. But how true are these images of justice? Developing the criminal justice system Introduction--London Metropolitan Police was the first police agency and was developed in 1829. The first police agencies in the United States were in Boston (1838), New York (1844); and Philadelphia (1854). Criminal justice system was first recognized in 1919, by the Chicago crime commission. The modern era of justice Modern era of justice can be traced to a series of research projects begun in the 1950 under the sponsorship of the American Bar Foundation. Federal involvement in criminal justice President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice was appointed by President Johnson in 1967. Passage of the Safe Streets and Crime Control Act of 1968 Helped launch massive campaign to restructure criminal justice system Provided funding for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) The contemporary criminal justice system Introduction—The criminal justice system is society’s instrument of social control. The contemporary criminal justice system in the United Sates is monumental in size. The system is massive because it must process and care for millions of people. The criminal justice system can be divided into three main components: law enforcement agencies, court system, and correctional system. The formal criminal justice process Introduction: Few cases...
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...download link within a minute. Please contact us immediately. ( hwminute@gmail.com) Visit Website: http://hwminute.com/ Week One: Ethics and the Criminal Justice Practitioner Details Due Points Objectives 1.1 Explain the importance of ethics to the criminal justice practitioner.1.2 Distinguish between morality, ethics, duties, and values.1.3 Explain common theories related to ethics in criminal justice. 1.4 Analyze ethical decision-making processes. Reading Read the Week One Read Me First. Reading Read Ch. 1 of Justice, Crime, and Ethics. Reading Read Ch. 2 of Justice, Crime, and Ethics. Reading Read Ch. 3 of Justice, Crime, and Ethics. Reading Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Participation Participate in class discussion. 4 of 7 days 1 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. DQ1 due day 3DQ 2 due day 5 3 Learning Team InstructionsLearning Team Charter Select Learning Team members who work together throughout the course.Create the Learning Team Charter. Day 7 Learning Team InstructionsWeekly Team Review Review the Week One objectives and discuss insights and questions you may have. Learning Team InstructionsEthical Decision-Making Paper (Preparation) Begin working on the Ethical Decision-Making Paper due in Week Two. IndividualEthics Awareness Inventory Complete the Ethics Awareness Inventory (EAI), located on the student website, in preparation for the Week Two...
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...Dallas attorney Clark Birdsall of the Law Office of Clark Birdsall is the attorney you want on your side when facing a criminal charge. Clark’s history as a prosecutor gives him unique insight into the mind of his opponents. He personally left the prosecution side to become a defense attorney for the sole purpose of righting the injustices he saw in the courtroom on a regular basis. He felt many people were treated unfairly when being tried for a crime. This injustice created a fire within him to change sides and begin fighting for those facing criminal charges. The following is more information about Clark Birdsall and why you need him on your side when facing a criminal charge: Accomplishments of Clark Birdsall: Clark has practiced law for...
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...Scott Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, now has to contend with more than a guilty verdict for his client - and the penalty phase of the trial, now delayed for a week by the judge. Geragos is also facing a bar complaint related to the case. In the complaint, Florida attorney John B. Thompson - who has no reported connection to the case - argues that Geragos violated a key ethic rules forbidding communication with jurors. According to Thompson, Geragos did so by putting a replica of Scott Peterson's boat two blocks from the courthouse. Geragos, who remains under a under a gag order preventing him from discussing the case with the media, has not been able to respond to the allegations. Thompson says that Geragos's alleged boat display not only broke the California ethics rule barring juror communication, but also broke the California ethics rule against extrajudicial communications about a case. (As a recent column by Jonna Spilbor for this site noted, the penalty phase of this case - in which a death sentence could be imposed - has yet to occur.) Reportedly, the boat contained homemade concrete anchors - such as those the prosecution alleged Scott used to weigh down Laci Peterson's body - and a dummy representing the body. The defense's theory was that Scott could not have thrown Laci's heavily pregnant body over the side of the tiny, anchor-filled boat without swamping the boat with water and tipping it over. The display was apparently intended to illustrate just how tippable...
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...the State Attorney’s Office to further my career as a defense attorney, I zealously advocated for every one of my clients at every stage of representation. As you move forward, you will need attorneys to fill key positions in your organization. I will discuss in detail my key accomplishments that make me a perfect candidate for one of these positions. Trials Since starting at the Public Defender’s office in August I have focused on trials. In a little over three months I conducted seven jury trials. As you know, this is well above average for the office. The average Assistant Public Defender in this circuit averages one trial per quarter. My trial performance is exceptional in another respect, each of these seven trials resulted in a not guilty jury verdict. I obtained diverse trial experience as the charges at each trial were different. I defended against resisting arrest, fraud and theft, driving crimes, as well as violent crimes. The defenses presented at trial were also varied, from an alibi defense, to an identification defense and to just pulling a rabbit out of the hat. As you know, I also have experience as a prosecutor. I have prosecuted over a dozen cases at trial. Although I can’t say that I am undefeated as a prosecutor, I have learned a great deal from these trials. This experience will help me prepare powerful defenses for our clients. Trials experience serves a key component of any legal defense organization. I stand ready to continue to zealously...
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...In high profile cases, prosecutors are often their own worst enemies. The pressure to succeed too often causes prosecutors in the spotlight to make strategic and ethical decisions that can backfire against their case. Several recent high-profile cases illustrate this problem: (1) the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, (2) the Jesse James Hollywood murder prosecution, and (3) the clemency proceedings of murderer Michael Morales. This essay is not intended to embarrass any particular prosecutor. Indeed, prosecutors in high-profile cases face a particularly difficult task. Each decision they make is put under a microscope by the media and its legal commentators.2 Defense lawyers are quick to claim prosecutorial misconduct, 3 knowing that ∗ Professor of Law, William M. Rains Fellow & Director, Center for Ethical Advocacy, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. The author wishes to express her gratitude to her fabulous research assistants, Shawn Domzalski and Jeffrey Jensen, for their help with this Essay. As always, their assistance was invaluable. Thank you also to the staff and editors of the Loyola Law School Law Review for their fine editorial assistance. Finally, thank you to Sammy and Marci Maniker-Leiter for their daily inspiration. 1. MODEL CODE OF PROF’L RESPONSIBILITY EC 1–2 (1981). 2. For the ethical responsibilities of prosecutors in evaluating these cases, see Erwin Chemerinsky & Laurie Levenson, The Ethics of Being a Commentator III, 50 MERCER L. REV. 737 (1999); Erwin...
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...that area. A. The Special Need For Undercover Operations against Lawyers and Judges There is surely no need to belabor the importance of integrity in the administration of justice, or the necessity to pursue any corruption vigorously. At the same time, we must recognize that undercover operations directed against lawyers and judges, if inadequately controlled, could have an even more severe impact on the administration of justice than whatever corruption exists. 1 . Monroe H. Freedman is Professor of Law and former Dean of Hofstra University Law School. He has testified on several occasions before the Judiciary Committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and has qualified as an expert witness on lawyers' ethics in federal and state proceedings,...
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...workgroup is an informal agreement between a criminal prosecutor, criminal defense attorney and the judicial officer (CJT 2015). These courtroom groups remain senior officers in court who determines the appropriateness of conduct (CJT 2015 pg276). The courtroom workgroup was proposed by Eisenstein and Jacob in 1977. Each member of the professional courtroom is dedicated to seeing a successful completion to the trial. In doing so they must follow a strict code of ethics as well as an almost reverent adherence of the law and its practice. At a state level, there are a limited number of judges and attorneys so there is a likelihood will develop and because of this personal feelings must be ignored and the pursuit of justice must be a top standard. The prosector plays an important role within the court system, they represent the rights of the citizens. This is assumed because the criminal charges pursed are an affront to the safety and security of the public. The prosector is responsible for presenting the people’s case against the defendant, and doing so in such a way that a conviction is likely. This likelihood is based on hard work to ensure that evidence is legally and that all state procedures are followed in a way to avoid all dismissal. The prosector determines the case to pursue by the prosecutorial discretion this illustrates the range of power that a prosector has ( CJT 2015) . All charges must be examine by the prosecutor: including corresponding evidence, eyewitness testimony...
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...a one-year training course of legal apprentices (Notes 1 to 3). This course is indispensable, and is intended to develop legal professions who have the knowledge and skills relating to a wide range of legal practices as well as high professionalism and ethical standards, based on the legal theory and basic practical groundings that they have acquired at law schools. Those who pass the final national examination and complete training course are qualified to become assistant judges, public prosecutors or practicing attorneys. While Law Schools provide distinctive education in different styles, the training of legal apprentices is implemented based on the common curriculum applicable to all those who are to become judges, public prosecutors and practicing attorneys. (It is generally referred to as a unified training system.) This unified training system, into which the old training system for the magistratures (judges and public prosecutors) and the old training system for practicing attorneys was integrated, has been adopted as Japan’s consistent policy for legal training system since the training system for legal apprentices started in 1947. Under this system, while learning the viewpoints from which the respective types of legal professions examine cases, legal apprentices can acquire a broad perspective and improve their ability to see things fairly and objectively. It is also conductive to enhancing mutual understating among legal professions. With these advantages, the unified...
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...Ethics and Moral issues in Business Ethics and moral issues in today’s business society amongst mankind have been considered controversial. The decisions one has to make taking in to consideration moral and ethical stance is very hard when it comes to making business and personal decisions. [Ethics refers to a value belier or attitude about something ethical in general.] (Linda Klebe Trevino, Katherine A Nelson, 2007). Morals issues correlate with the ability one might have to help or harm oneself or others. In completion of this paper, you will have a understanding of the differences between moral and ethical issues, superseded by making clear popular ethical issues that arise in the business world. The different association of ethics and morals can seem arbitrary to most but there is a basic subtle differential. Morals cover personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are instituted. Nevertheless, ethics points to and is made up of standards or codes of behaviors expected by the genre or demographic the individual classifies their self to. This could be business ethics, social ethics, and personal ethics, and so on. So while a person’s moral code is usually unchanging, the ethics he or she practices can be other-dependent. When taking into consideration the difference between personal ethics and business ethics, consider a criminal defense attorney. Though the lawyer’s personal moral code likely finds murder immoral and reprehensible...
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