Law, Legal Professionals, and Discretion and Dilemmas in the Legal Profession
Understanding the justifications for law and the paradigms of law acquaints the professional with the concept of harm to others, offensive behavior, and ultimately harm to societal morals. Illustrating the paradigms of law enables professionals to see how ideas and concepts relate to one another and ultimately conceptualize the world around us. Recognizing that judges and lawyers face ethical dilemmas as well creates an understanding of limitations of power and the potential for abuse.
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
- Identify the justifications for law, including protections against harm to others, offensive conduct, harm to self, and harm to societal morals
- Explain the role of law in society and the paradigms that have developed to understand how law is formed and enforced
- Compare the idea of our criminal law system as an adversarial system to other descriptions of how the courtroom works and the relationships between the legal professionals
- Describe the controversy concerning the role of advocate as legal agent or moral agent
- Outline the history and source of legal ethics for attorneys and judges
- Discuss the types of ethical rules that exist, and compare them to the subculture of “winning”
- Examine the ethical issues faced by defense attorneys
- Discuss the ethical issues faced by prosecutors
- Describe some of the areas of forensic science that have been challenged by opponents
- Discuss the ethical issues faced by judges
- Explain why elected judges lead to a perception of unfairness
Professor's Notes
American Bar Association (ABA) – Rules of Ethical Conduct
The American Bar Association (ABA) currently follows the model rules of ethical conduct. From your position as a legal professional, how comprehensive are the rules, how do they guide you and other professionals in the performance of their duties, and how can they be improved?
Ethical Issues Facing Defense Attorneys
There are numerous ethical issues that present themselves to defense attorneys during the course of representation that relate to client responsibilities, conflicts of interest, zealous defense, and confidentiality. What are the key issues that come to your mind, and how should a defense attorney address them if they are to remain ethical?
Ethical Issues for Prosecutors
Prosecutors have extremely broad powers of discretion and formally prosecuting every case is not possible for a variety of reasons. What are the ethical issues for prosecutors as they exercise discretion, make plea deals, manage expert witnesses, and conflicts of interest in general?
Ethical Issues for Judges
Judges are expected to be impartial, knowledgeable, and authoritative symbols of justice who guide all actors in the trial process, ensuring the integrity of all proceedings along the way. What are the ethical issues for judges as they relate to being elected or appointed, the use of discretion, the interpretation of laws, and sentencing?
Ethical Changes in the Criminal Justice System – Recommendations
What changes can you recommend from an ethical standpoint that would increase the level of trust in our criminal justice system?
Ethical Advice for Students
What advice about ethics would you give a college student considering a career in your field?
Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice (9th ed.)
By Pollock, Joycelyn M
- Chapter 8 – Law and Legal Professionals
- Chapter 9 – Discretion and Dilemmas in the Legal Profession
- The initial post is due by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET
- Peer response posts are due by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET
- The maximum number of points for this assignment is 25
- This quiz consists of 25 multiple-choice questions
- You will have 50 minutes to complete the quiz
- Quiz must be completed no later than Sunday by 11:59 p.m. ET