Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons^™

Legal Ethics And The Political Activity Of Government Lawyers, Andrew Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The ability to engage in political activity is an essential feature of a democratic society. However, the ability of government lawyers to do so is unclear. While most governments have passed legislation identifying permissible political activity of their employees, it is unclear how the professional obligations of lawyers apply in this context and how these professional obligations interact with this legislation. This article answers these questions. The duty of loyalty to the client requires most government lawyers to refrain from all political activity at the same level of government. The special professional obligations of Crown prosecutors require these lawyers to …

Should Medical Assistance In Dying Be Extended To Incompetent Patients With Dementia? Research Protocol Of A Survey Among Four Groups Of Stakeholders From Quebec, Canada, Gina Bravo, Claudie Rodrigue, Vincent Thériault, Marcel Arcand, Jocelyn Downie, Marie-France Dubois, Sharon Kaasalainen, Cees M. Hertogh, Sophie Pautex, Lieve Van Den Block

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Background: Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders affect a growing number of people worldwide. Quality of life is generally good in the early stages of these diseases. However, many individuals fear living through the advanced stages. Such fears are triggering requests for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) by patients with dementia. Legislation was recently passed in Canada and the province of Quebec allowing MAiD at the explicit request of a patient who meets a set of eligibility criteria, including competence. Some commentators have argued that MAiD should be accessible to incompetent patients as well, provided appropriate safeguards are in place. Governments …

A First Look At The Proposed 'Fraudulent Joinder Prevention Act Of 2015', Arthur D. Hellman

Testimony

Almost half a century ago, the American Law Institute observed, “The most marked abuse has been joinder of a party of the same citizenship as plaintiff in order to defeat removal on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. Such tactics have led to much litigation, largely futile, on the question of fraudulent joinder.” Over the last half century, the volume of litigation on this question has only increased. In response, Congress is now actively considering legislation to address the problem of fraudulent joinder.

The bill is H.R. 3624, the “Fraudulent Joinder Prevention Act of 2015” (FJPA). The FJPA seeks to prevent …

Agenda: Free, Prior And Informed Consent: Pathways For A New Millennium, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law. American Indian Law Program

Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Pathways for a New Millennium (November 1)

Presented by the University of Colorado's American Indian Law Program and the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy & the Environment.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), along with treaties, instruments, and decisions of international law, recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to give "free, prior, and informed consent" to legislation and development affecting their lands, natural resources, and other interests, and to receive remedies for losses of property taken without such consent. With approximately 150 nations, including the United States, endorsing the UNDRIP, this requirement gives rise to emerging standards, obligations, and opportunities …

Doctors, Discipline, And The Death Penalty: Professional Implications Of Safe Harbor Statutes, Nadia N. Sawicki

All Faculty Scholarship

State capital punishment statutes generally contemplate the involvement of medical providers, and courts have acknowledged that the qualifications of lethal injection personnel have a constitutionally relevant dimension. However, the American Medical Association has consistently voiced its opposition to any medical involvement in executions. In recent years, some states have responded to this conflict by adopting statutory mechanisms to encourage medical participation in lethal injections. Foremost among these are safe harbor policies, which prohibit state medical boards from taking disciplinary action against licensed medical personnel who participate in executions. This Article posits that safe harbor policies, as limitations on medical board …

When Judges Are Accused: An Initial Look At The New Federal Judicial Misconduct Rules, Arthur D. Hellman

Articles

On March 11, 2008, the Judicial Conference of the United States, the administrative policy-making body of the federal judiciary, approved the first set of nationally binding rules for dealing with accusations of misconduct by federal judges. The new rules implement recommendations made by a committee chaired by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. The Breyer Committee found that although the judiciary has been doing a very good overall job in handling complaints against judges, the error rate in high-visibility cases is far too high.

The new regulatory regime comes into existence at a time when federal judges have been accused of …

Rhetoric Of Disputes In The Courts, The Media, And The Legislature, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Taking Ethics Codes Seriously: Broad Ethics Provisions And Unenumerated Ethical Obligations In A Comparative Hermeneutic Framework, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Ethics scholars have documented the increasingly legislative form of twentieth-century ethics regulations, culminating in the enactment and widespread adoption of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Nevertheless, pointing to the presence of broad ethics provisions, a number of leading scholars have questioned the extent to which ethics codes can accurately be conceptualized as a form of legislation. Responding to these critiques, Levine aims to take seriously both the legislative form of ethics codes and their interpretation. Toward that aim, he looks to interpretive methodologies employed in American constitutional law and Jewish law to provide both descriptive and normative models for …

An Overview Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act And Its Implications For Attorneys, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

On July 30, 2002, President Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, H.R. 3763, well-publicized in the press as a legislative response to the perceived excesses of corporate America: Enron; WorldCom; Tyco; Global Crossing, etc.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 contains an array of provisions affecting lawyers as professionals serving businesses and contains one provision that will clearly impact corporate counsel in the ethical discharge of their duties. Section 307 of the Act and the recently released Proposed Roles of the Securities Exchange Commission regarding lawyer duties and implementation of Section 307 require counsel to go "up the ladder," to …

Aggregation, Auctions, And Other Developments In The Selection Of Lead Counsel Under The Pslra, Jill E. Fisch

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Biodiversity Protection: Implementation And Reform Of The Endangered Species Act, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors Betsy Rieke, David H. Getches, Michael A. Gheleta and Charles F. Wilkinson.

All across the country--in Congress, in state legislatures and in urban and rural communities--people are discussing why we should or should not protect biodiversity and how best to do so. Since the Endangered Species Act is up for reauthorization, a variety of reform proposals are being debated. Speakers--including natural resource scholars, experts from the private and nonprofit sectors, and government officials--will examine the rationale for biodiversity protection, the legal framework of the Endangered Species Act, and …

The 1994 Aca Model Legislation For Licensed Professional Counselors, Harriet L. Glosoff, James M. Benshoff, Thomas W. Hosie, Dennis R. Maki

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

Model legislation seeks to facilitate uniformity of counselor licensure laws and promote accepted professional standards. The text of the model bill as endorsed by the 1994 American Counseling Association Governing Council is provided with commentary accompanying those sections in which significant changes have occurred. The article concludes with 15 specific suggestions based on experiences gained in the development and implementation of previous legislation for licensed professional counselors.

Discretion And Rules: A Lawyer's View, Carl E. Scheider

Book Chapters

In modern society the law regulates the complex behavior of millions of people. To do this efficiently-to do this at all-broadly applicable rules must be used. Yet such rules are bound to be incomplete, to be ambiguous, to fail in some cases, to be unfair in others. Some of the drawbacks of rules can be minimized by giving discretion to the administrators and judges who apply them. Yet doing so dilutes the advantages of rules and creates the risk that discretion may be abused. Working out the proper balance of these considerations is both necessary and perplexing in every area …

The Balance Sheet Of Law And Religion, Frank E. Horack Jr.

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.