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Full-Text Articles in Law

Character And Context: What Virtue Theory Can Teach Us About A Prosecutor's Ethical Duty To "Seek Justice.", R. Michael Cassidy Oct 2011

Character And Context: What Virtue Theory Can Teach Us About A Prosecutor's Ethical Duty To "Seek Justice.", R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

A critical issue facing the criminal justice system today is how best to promote ethical behavior by public prosecutors. The legal profession has left much of a prosecutor’s day-to-day activity unregulated, in favor of a general, catch-all admonition to “seek justice.” In this article the author argues that professional norms are truly functional only if those working with a given ethical framework recognize the system’s implicit dependence on character. A code of professional conduct in which this dependence is not recognized is both contentless and corrupting. Building on the ethics of Aristotle and modern philosophers Alasdair MacIntyre and Bernard Williams, …


Reconsidering Spousal Privileges After Crawford, R. Michael Cassidy Oct 2011

Reconsidering Spousal Privileges After Crawford, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

In this article the author explores how domestic violence prevention efforts have been adversely impacted by the Supreme Court’s new “testimonial” approach to the confrontation clause. Examining the Court’s trilogy of cases from Crawford to Davis and Hammon, the author argues that the introduction of certain forms of hearsay in criminal cases has been drastically limited by the court’s new originalist approach to the Sixth Amendment. The author explains how state spousal privilege statutes often present a significant barrier to obtaining live testimony from victims of domestic violence. The author then argues that state legislatures should reconsider their spousal privilege …


Toward A More Independent Grand Jury: Recasting And Enforcing The Prosecutor’S Duty To Disclose Exculpatory Evidence, R. Michael Cassidy Oct 2011

Toward A More Independent Grand Jury: Recasting And Enforcing The Prosecutor’S Duty To Disclose Exculpatory Evidence, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

This Article analyzes the Supreme Court’s decision in Williams, in which the Court struck down an attempt by the Tenth Circuit to impose an obligation on federal prosecutors to disclose substantial exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. The author discusses the contours of this case and the ethical underpinnings of a prosecutor’s disclosure obligations before the grand jury, and sets forth a new framework for consideration of such issues.


The Prosecutor And The Press: Lessons (Not) Learned From The Mike Nifong Debacle, R. Michael Cassidy Oct 2011

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 May 2011

Prosecutorial Ethics, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.


Plea Bargaining, Discovery, And The Intractable Problem Of Impeachment Disclosures, R. Michael Cassidy Dec 2010

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 Sep 2010

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

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.


Panelist, Developments In Criminal Procedure, R. Michael Cassidy Dec 2009

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 Dec 2009

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 Dec 2008

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 Dec 2004

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 Dec 2003

'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 Dec 2002

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 Dec 1995

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 Dec 1991

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 Feb 1991

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 Nov 1990

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

R. Michael Cassidy

No abstract provided.