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Full-Text Articles in Law
Responsibility And The Boundaries Of The Self, Meir Dan-Cohen
Responsibility And The Boundaries Of The Self, Meir Dan-Cohen
Meir Dan-Cohen
Argues that people must look beyond free will as the sole ground for responsibility. Importance of moral and legal responsibility; Concepts of responsibility and the self that depart from the standard approaches; Relationship between the two concepts; Use of the theory of self and responsibility to analyze some puzzles concerning the attribution and denial of legal responsibility; Forms of responsibility that appear deviant from the voluntarist perspective.
The Moral Lawyer And The Machiavellian Nature Of Law Practice, David Barnhizer
The Moral Lawyer And The Machiavellian Nature Of Law Practice, David Barnhizer
David Barnhizer
In Western culture the name Niccolo Machiavelli has become Machiavellianism, a pejorative signifying the willingness to do anything to achieve desired ends. American lawyers do have limits, however, and are expected to operate according to an ethical code that is at least intended to prevent the worst abuses. The effectiveness of this ethical code has often been questioned, as have the questionable efforts of the organized bar to enforce its rules, but on the surface it differentiates law practice from hand-to-hand combat and military struggles. Even though I have sometimes used the concepts of the warrior lawyer, the general and …
A Rhetorician’S Practical Wisdom, Linda L. Berger
A Rhetorician’S Practical Wisdom, Linda L. Berger
Scholarly Works
For three years, I had the great good fortune to work in the office next to Jack Sammons. My good fortune extended to a coincidence of timing that allowed me to work with Jack on a co-authored article, The Law's Mystery. During the time I worked next door, I felt cursed by an inability to grasp concepts that to Jack appeared inevitable and essential, whether those inevitabilities and essences were to be found within the law, good lawyering, or good legal education. The curse persisted throughout the writing of The Law's Mystery.
For Jack, the essence of a …
Believe It Or Not: Mitigating The Negative Effects Personal Belief And Bias Have On The Criminal Justice System, Sarah Mourer
Believe It Or Not: Mitigating The Negative Effects Personal Belief And Bias Have On The Criminal Justice System, Sarah Mourer
Sarah Mourer
This article examines the prosecutor’s and defense attorney’s personal pre-trial beliefs regarding the accused’s guilt or innocence. This analysis suggests that when an attorney does hold pretrial beliefs, such beliefs lead to avoidable bias and errors. These biases may alter the findings throughout all stages of the case. The procedure asking that the prosecution seek justice while having nothing more than probable cause results in the prosecutor’s need to have a belief in guilt before proceeding to trial. While this belief is intended to foster integrity and fairness in the criminal justice system, to the contrary, it actually contributes to …