Law Commons^™

Lawyers And The War, Robert Power

Robert C Power

No abstract provided.

Everyone Deserves Defense, Peter Keane

Publications

In his decades as a public defender, Peter Keane represented murderers and other criminals as skillfully as he could – even when he knew they were guilty . Keane believes every one, no matter what they’ve done, deserves to have somebody on their side.

Toward A Feminist State: What Does Effective Prosecution Of Domestic Violence Mean?, Michelle Dempsey

Michelle Madden Dempsey

This article examines domestic violence criminal prosecutions and addresses what effective prosecutorial action means in such cases. The argument elaborates on a point recently articulated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, which links effective prosecution of violence against women to the creation of a less patriarchal society. The article concludes that effective prosecution of domestic violence means prosecution which constitutes the State as less patriarchal ceteris paribus

Defending The Unpopular Down-Under, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The ethics of criminal defence lawyers and others who represent 'unpopular clients' is a largely unexplored area of legal scholarship in Australia. This article seeks to examine, from a comparative perspective, the motivations and ethical practices of these lawyers. Using interviews with Australian lawyers who represent the criminally accused, prisoners and asylum-seekers, as well as relevant ethical rules and commentary, the article identifies why lawyers undertake unpopular cases and, ultimately, what sustains them. Contrasting Australian legal practice with that in the US, the article discusses the sometimes competing professional obligations to court and client, truth and advocacy, public and profession. …

Reports Of Batson's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: How The Batson Doctrine Enforces A Normative Framework Of Legal Ethics, Laura I. Appleman

ExpressO

In this article, I aim to explain how the Batson procedure enforces a normative framework of legal ethics, a theory which I hope will be of use to both criminal law professors and scholars of legal ethics. Despite many recent prudential attacks against the Batson procedure and the peremptory challenge, I contend that Batson has a largely unarticulated ethical component, one that invokes a lawyer’s professional responsibility. Accordingly, using legal ethics as a lens through which to interpret Batson sheds new light on the doctrine. Batson’s ethical imperative affects the norms of the legal profession itself. By fostering a non-discrimination …

The Difference In Criminal Defense And The Difference It Makes, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

My own view of criminal defense lawyering owes much to Monroe Freedman. I agree with his "traditionalist view”, of criminal defense ethics as a lawyering paradigm in which zealous advocacy and the maintenance of client confidence and trust are paramount. Simply put, zeal and confidentiality trump most other rules, principles, or values. When there is tension between these "fundamental principles” and other ethical rules, criminal defense lawyers must uphold the principles, even in the face of public or professional outcry. Although a defender must act within the bounds of the law, he or she should engage in advocacy that is …

A Skeptical Answer To Edmundson's Contextualism: What We Know We Lawyers Know, Rob Atkinson

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Bounds Of Zeal In Criminal Defense: Some Thoughts On Lynne Stewart, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

What caused Lynne Stewart, after more than two decades of defense lawyering in the best tradition of the legal profession to cross the line? Holding aside the political climate of the times, did Stewart's approach to lawyering--whether in political or not terribly political cases--lead to her demise? Is her approach to lawyering different from most of the bar?

This paper discusses the conduct that led to Stewart's prosecution and her approach to lawyering generally. The author examines whether her view of zeal and devotion is at odds with the prevailing ethics and ethos of defense lawyering, and, if not, what …

Related Representations In Civil And Criminal Matters: The Night The D.A. Ditched His Date For The Prom, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Can You Be A Good Person And A Good Prosecutor?, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Somehow, it is understood that prosecutors have the high ground. Most people simply assume that prosecutors are the good guys, wear the white hats, and are on the "right" side. Most law students contemplating a career in criminal law seem to think this. It could be that most practicing lawyers think this, as well.

Prosecutors represent the people, the state, the government. This is very noble, important, and heady stuff. Prosecutors seek truth, justice, and the American way. They are the ones who stand up for the victims and would-be victims, the bullied and battered and burgled. They protect all …

Defending The Innocent, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Of the legal scholarship examining the representation of the innocent accused, most has to do with guilty pleas, not trial or post-trial advocacy. Most of this literature is concerned with the pressure put on innocent defendants to plead guilty in order to receive a more lenient sentence than what they would get if found guilty at trial. This problem is compounded by the inability of poor defendants to make bail. Unfortunately, there are other, equally insidious ways to pressure innocent defendants to plead guilty. When addressing the question of defending the innocent at trial or in a post-conviction challenge, most …

Litigators’ Ethics, Michael E. Tigar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Defending Defending: The Case For Unmitigated Zeal On Behalf Of People Who Do Terrible Things, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although defending defending may be an endless pursuit, I cannot help taking it on. I am, after all, a defender myself, and defending fellow defenders seems to go with the territory. Of course, attacks on criminal defenders do not come out of nowhere - difficult and complex questions often arise in criminal defense work. Unfortunately, the questions that are raised in the aftermath of a high profile case such as the Abner Louima case are usually the easy ones - questions that have more to do with the nature of the adversarial system than with the values or ethics of …

Student Representation Of Indigent Defendants And The Sixth Amendment: On A Collision Course, Robert M. Hardaway

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This article will review the parallel patterns of development of clinical education and the sixth amendment, highlighting areas in which the practices of the former either conflict, or contain the potential for conflict with the latter. An analysis will be made of the present legal status of law student representation of indigent criminal defendants, with reference primarily to constitutional and sixth amendment considerations, but also to such related matters as the confidentiality of student-client communications, law student professional responsibility, and the applicability to students of state bar disciplinary rules. Finally, guidelines will be proposed regarding the proper scope of student …

The Lawyer And The Terrorist: Another Ethical Dilemma, F. Thomas Schornhorst

Indiana Law Journal

Terrorism and the Media: Legal Responses, Symposium