Law Commons^™

Undue Influence: A Prosecutor’S Role In Parole Proceedings, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

Professor Cassidy explores what it means for a prosecutor to act as a “minister of justice” in the context of parole proceedings. He argues that prosecutors should not perceive themselves as zealous advocates in what is essentially an administrative setting, and that prosecutors should not oppose release simply because they believe that the nature and circumstances of the crime warrant continued incarceration. Rather, Cassidy argues that prosecutors ordinarily should refrain from personally testifying at parole hearings, and should submit written comments to the parole board only in those rare situations where the prosecutor is in possession of otherwise unavailable information …

The Grand Jury: A Shield Of A Different Sort, R. Michael Cassidy, Julian A. Cook Iii

R. Michael Cassidy

According to the Washington Post, 991 people were shot to death by police officers in the United States during calendar year 2015, and 957 people were fatally shot in 2016. A disproportionate percentage of the citizens killed in these police-civilian encounters were black. Events in Ferguson, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; Charlotte, North Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Staten Island, New York - to name but a few affected cities - have now exposed deep distrust between communities of color and law enforcement. Greater transparency is necessary to begin to heal this culture of distrust and to inform the debate going forward …

Sentencing Reform: The Power Of Reasons, R. Michael Cassidy, Robert L. Ullmann

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Discovery And Adequate Plea Colloquys, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

Silencing Grand Jury Witnesses, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

The investigations of local police officers for causing the deaths of unarmed civilians in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York have generated significant national discourse about the fairness and transparency of grand jury proceedings. This article addresses one crucial aspect of this ongoing debate; that is, whether witnesses before the grand jury should be allowed to talk to each other and to the media about the contents of their testimony. In the federal system and in the majority of states that still employ the grand jury as an investigative and charging tool, obligations of grand jury secrecy do not …

Grand Jury Gag Orders: Are There Any Ties That Bind?, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

(Ad)Ministering Justice: A Prosecutor's Ethical Duty To Support Sentencing Reform, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

This article stakes out an ethical argument in favor of prosecutorial leadership on sentencing reform. Prosecutors have a duty as “ministers of justice” to go beyond seeking appropriate conviction and punishment in individual cases, and to think about the delivery of criminal justice on a systemic level ― promoting criminal justice policies that further broader societal ends. While other authors have explored the tensions between a prosecutor’s adversarial duties and “minister of justice” role in the context of specific litigation, few have explored what it means to be an “administer” of justice in the wider political arena. The author sets …

Panelist, Can Law Schools Prepare Students To Be Practice Ready?, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Strategic Austerity: How Some Law School Affordability Initiatives Could Actually Improve Learning Outcomes, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

The legal profession is facing profound and perhaps irreversible changes. Whether you view these striking demographics as a “crisis” likely depends on the location of your perch. If you are a tenured professor at a T14 law school or a senior partner at an NLJ 250 firm, you may view the trends we have been discussing today as cyclical corrections. If you are an unemployed graduate looking for work or an untenured professor at a lower-tier school that is struggling to stay afloat, you may be more likely to view these trends as permanent and paradigm shifting.

While applications to …

Prosecutorial Ethics, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

This casebook explores the ethical responsibilities of a prosecutor at each stage of the criminal justice process. Focusing on ethical and constitutional constraints on prosecutorial discretion, the texts covers both Supreme Court decisions interpreting Fifth and Sixth Amendment guarantees and state rules of attorney conduct. Topics discussed include a prosecutor’s conduct during criminal investigations, charging decisions, grand jury practice, interviewing and contacting witnesses, plea bargaining, jury selection, trial conduct, and publicity. Each chapter is followed by real-world hypotheticals designed to introduce students to the ethical dilemmas typically encountered by government lawyers in criminal practice. This book is suitable for use …

Integrating Professional And Personal Values, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Beyond Practical Skills: Nine Steps For Improving Legal Education Now, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

It has been five years since the Carnegie Report “Educating Lawyers” called upon law schools to adopt an integrated approach to professional education that teaches practical skills and professionalism across the curriculum. Yet so far, very few schools have responded to this clarion call for wholesale curricular reform. Considering the inertial effect of traditional law school pedagogy and the institutional impediments to change, this delay is not surprising. A fully integrated approach to teaching professional skills (such as the medical school model) would require major resource reallocations, realignment of teaching responsibilities, redesign of courses, and a change to graduation requirements. …

The Model Penal Code’S Wrong Turn: Renunciation As A Defense To Criminal Conspiracy, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

While the Model Penal Code was certainly one the most influential developments in criminal law in the past century, the American Law Institute (ALI) took a seriously wrong turn by recognizing a defense of “renunciation” to the crime of conspiracy. Under the Model Penal Code formulation, a member of a conspiracy who later disavows the agreement and thwarts its objective (for example, by notifying authorities of the planned crime in order to prevent its completion) is afforded a complete defense to conspiracy liability. This defense has enormous implications for crimes involving national security and terrorism, which are typically planned covertly …

Virtue And Criminal Punishment, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

The Prosecutor And The Press: Lessons (Not) Learned From The Mike Nifong Debacle, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

Using the Mike Nifong disciplinary case in North Carolina as a focal point, the author examines the disciplinary rules pertaining to public speech by attorneys during the pendency of an adjudicatory proceeding. The author argues that in light of the Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, certain provisions of Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 3.6 and 3.8, may violate the first amendment, at least as applied to an elected prosecutor speaking during a political campaign. While former District Attorney Nifong made several statements to the media during the so-called “Duke Lacrosse” investigation that were …

Prosecutorial Ethics, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Plea Bargaining, Discovery, And The Intractable Problem Of Impeachment Disclosures, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

In a criminal justice system where guilty pleas are the norm and trials the rare exception, the issue of how much discovery a defendant is entitled to before allocution has immense significance. This article examines the scope of a prosecutor’s obligation to disclose impeachment information before a guilty plea. This question has polarized the criminal bar and bedeviled the academic community since the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in United States v. Ruiz (2002). A critical feature of the debate has been the enduring schism between a prosecutor’s legal and ethical obligations – a gulf that the American Bar Association recently …

Plea Bargainng, Discovery, And Waivers, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Panelist, Developments In Criminal Procedure, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Lawyers And Fundamental Moral Responsibility, R. Michael Cassidy, Daniel Coquillette, Judith Mcmorrow

R. Michael Cassidy

The materials in this book are organized around specific problems designed to encourage and focus class discussion. There are two other inherent organizing principles of the materials in this book. First, the philosophical materials are in the rough order in which the ideas themselves evolved in the history of philosophy. The materials have been revised since the book first was published in 1995 to address some of the burning ethical problems of our day, including terrorism, national security, and abuse of government power. The Second Edition also is reorganized to assist students to better appreciate philosophical theories underpinning discourse about …

Federal Criminal Discovery: Handbook Regarding Exculpatory & Impeachment Material, R. Michael Cassidy, Douglas Woodlock, Leo Sorokin

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Prosecutorial Ethics, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

This casebook explores the ethical responsibilities of a prosecutor at each stage of the criminal justice process. Focusing on ethical and constitutional constraints on prosecutorial discretion, the texts covers both Supreme Court decisions interpreting Fifth and Sixth Amendment guarantees and state rules of attorney conduct. Topics discussed include a prosecutor’s conduct during criminal investigations, charging decisions, grand jury practice, interviewing and contacting witnesses, plea bargaining, jury selection, trial conduct, and publicity. Each chapter is followed by real-world hypotheticals designed to introduce students to the ethical dilemmas typically encountered by government lawyers in criminal practice. This book is suitable for use …

'Soft Words Of Hope:' Giglio, Accomplice Witnesses, And The Problem Of Implied Inducements, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

Many scholars have criticized the government's practice of rewarding accomplices with leniency in exchange for their cooperation in criminal cases, because such practice provides the accomplice with a tremendous inducement to fabricate in order to curry favor with the government. To date, however, no commentators have approached the complex problem of accomplice fabrication from the perspective of criminal discovery. In the enclosed article, the author takes a fresh look at the subject of accomplice testimony, and argues that what are needed are not further restrictions on the circumstances in which an accomplice may testify, but rather a more vigorous enforcement …

Sharing Sacred Secrets: Is It (Past) Time For A Dangerous Person Exception To The Clergy-Penitent Privilege?, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

In this article, the author discusses the important and previously unexplored topic of whether the law should recognize a future harms exception to the clergy-penitent privilege, similar to that recognized in the area of psychotherapist-patient and attorney-client privileges. After tracing the origins and current application of the clergy-penitent privilege in America, the author discusses how the privilege as currently applied in most states admits of no exceptions, and is unnecessarily expansive in breadth. Using the hypothetical of a homicidal spouse who reveals to his minister an intent to murder his wife, the article compares the ethical and legal duties of …

Case & Statute Comments, "Public Education And Crime: Supreme Court Backs States' Rights, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Massachusetts Grand Jury Practice, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Case & Statute Comments, Search And Seizure-Search Warrants-Identification Of Confidential Informants, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.

Case & Statute Comments, The New Massachusetts Drug Asset Forfeiture Law: A Dialogue, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.