Legal and Ethical Issues Discussion 5

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Discussion Question 5

  1. Watch Primal Fear and discuss the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by the legal professionals portrayed in the movie. 

    List at least five (5)the ethical issues faced by defense attorneys and prosecutors

  2. Activity 5.1: Lawyers, Ethics, and TV Crime Procedurals

    Many Americans get their impressions of the criminal justice system from television crime procedurals. In the Vice article below, ethics attorney Nicole Hyland discusses what it means to be an ethics attorney as well as her blog The Ethics of Better Call Saul.

    How many of them watch police procedurals like Law and Order SVU or Better Call Saul. Ask them their initial impressions of the attorneys in these shows.

    Read the Vice article below and one of Hyland’s blog posts from The Ethics of Better Call Saul. Ask the class to read them.

    Topics of discussion could include:

    What makes someone an ethical attorney?
    What is an ethics attorney?
    What are some typical ethical violations committed by attorneys in shows like Law and Order SVU or Better Call Saul?

    We Asked an Ethics Lawyer About Defense Attorneys Who Break the Rules: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8gk3g4/we-asked-an-ethics-lawyer-about-defense-attorneys-who-break-the-rules
    The Ethics of Better Call Saul: http://ethicsofbettercallsaul.tumblr.com/
    Better Call Saul Episode Recaps: https://www.amc.com/shows/better-call-saul/episodes/season-1/rico

    Activity 5.2: Prosecutorial Misconduct

    Students think of some types of prosecutorial misconduct. Then, read a copy of the Slate article ”New York’s Prosecutorial Misconduct Review Panel Could Be Groundbreaking” (link below).

    After reading the article, topics of discussion could include:

    What are some of the types of prosecutorial misconduct that occurred?
    How many prosecutors in the study were sanctioned for misconduct?
    How will the proposed Committee on Prosecutorial Misconduct review cases?
    Who is eligible to serve on the committee? Should laypersons be allowed to serve on the committee?
    What are some of the powers that NY prosecutors have that greatly impact the course of cases?
    What sanctions would you suggest for prosecutorial misconduct?

    New York’s Prosecutorial Misconduct Review Panel Could Be Groundbreaking: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/08/new-yorks-prosecutorial-misconduct-review-panel-could-be-groundbreaking.html