Ethical Cases: Calvin Beckett, The District Attorney

The problem solving methods that might be helpful to assist Jerry in making an ethical decision would be to establish trust with the patient and become aware of the problem. Then analyze the problems and decide on a plan with the patient. He will then want to make sure he reinforces the commitment to the patient and activate the plan. Last, he will follow through with the task and monitor everything until the situation is taken care of.

“The Verdict” is a movie that deals with medical and legal ethics. Frank Gavin is an alcoholic who hasn’t won any of his cases in the past three years. Mickey, his former partner, gives him a medical malpractice case that is sure to settle for a large amount of money. The case of Deborah Ann Kay, a mother who was given anesthetic when she had just eaten inhaled her vomit and is now in a coma. The Donaheys, her sister and brother in law are hoping for a good settlement and Frank assures them that they have a strong case. While the case is going on he meets Laura, a woman at a bar who he falls in love with. Frank goes to visit Deborah Ann Kay in the hospital and is affected by her condition. He meets with the defendants who run the

Based on the charged presented to someone a plea bargain, no matter how unusual may sound appealing. For example, if an individual was stop for speeding one night and was later found to be driving under the influence they could be charged with an OUI. Lets say this is not this persons first OUI and due to this being a recurring offence they will be facing jail time and a loss of license. After the individual was arrested their vehicle was searched and a large amount of money was found in a bank sleeve. In this instance the prosecutor offers, no jail time, and suspension of the license for 30 days opposed to year in exchange for the cash found in the vehicle. This would be an example of ad hoc plea-bargaining. It’s unethical perhaps for the prosecutor to suggest the defendant surrender his money to the state to receive a lighter sentence, however if the defendant does not with to do jail time and not having a license for an extender period of time could be devastating to them. Ad hoc plea-bargaining can also be exchanged in the other direction, from the defendant to the

In this paper I am going to identify some the legal and ethical issues in My Sister’s Keeper. Some of those issues include emancipation of a minor, genetic engineering, and limited termination of parental rights. I will be giving my opinion on these matters also.

Ethical Dilemmas are a pressing issue within any law enforcement or law agency the power that people have in positions such as these force them to share an equal or greater amount of reasonability. Ethics is defined as “the branch of philosophy that typically deals with values relating to human conduct with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions”. This definition of ethics courtesy of Webster dictionary shows just how complex the intricacies of ethics are and how major dilemmas might negatively impact departments for instances lawyers are plagued with ethical dilemmas on a day to day basis such as Lawyer advocacy, conflict of interest, Professional

The same kind of good evil scenario between the defense attorney and prosecutor’s office is also evident in the television show Law & Order. Although that show does not often portray one side as only good or only bad, there have been times when it has created defense attorney characters who have taken advantage of the law to force the system to completely exonerate their clients, which makes them appear to be evil people who are “cheating” justice. Reality and Fiction: the True View 3 The reality of attorneys on opposing sides of a case is that they are seldom easily identified as good or evil persons and just because they are working for the defense or the prosecution does not indicate the type of person they are (Steinberg). Both are expected to act legally and both have pressures on them that affect their work and who they are. Simply the side they represent does not alone affect the kind of person they are. As to how they try their cases, attorney ethical codes require attorneys to “zealously” pursue their case for the benefit of their client to the extent the law allows (ABA). This means that if a defense attorney sees an opportunity for his client to be set free then he or she must use it because that is their job. It is the job of the prosecutor to assure the defense does not have those opportunities. Again, this does not reflect on the quality of their character. The same thing can also

1. Identify the most significant boundary issue(s) or “circumstances where social workers encounter actual or potential conflicts between their social, sexual, religious or business relationships” (Reamer, 2003) exhibited by the worker in this case. Justify your answer with specific evidence from the case AND the NASW Code of Ethics.

There are many examples of ethical decisions throughout American history yet few have had a more profound impact on shaping our country then the paths chosen by the American Revolutionaries. Let’s face it, had it not been for their actions our country would probably look much different today. If it were not for the foresight of our founding fathers, men like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, or Thomas Paine (1776), who authored arguably the most compelling piece of political propaganda the world had seen to date, Common Sense. After reading Paine’s work I believe that many of the ideals and philosophies are still relevant in modern society, so much so that I was drawn into the relevance and found myself pondering the moral palaver which

Calling Your Bluff: How Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Adapt Plea Bargaining Strategies to Increased Formalization

Plea bargaining has been around since the early 1800’s and is a process where the attorney for the defendant negotiates a plea with the prosecuting attorney. This process which was simple in the beginning has changed dramatically over the years. Prosecutors have made it seem they have evidence for serious crimes and get people to plead guilty to a lesser offense. Many people will accept a plea bargain out of fear of what will happen at trial. Everyday people who otherwise would have been acquitted due to lack of evidence or they are really innocent will plead guilty to a lesser charge. It wasn’t until 1970 with the United States Supreme Court case of Brady v. United States that the constitutionality of plea bargaining was established. Plea bargaining should be regulated so as not to harm the legal system any more than it has. Plea bargaining takes away a person’s right to be tried by a jury of their peers.

The history of plea-bargaining dates back to early the 1800s during the Commonwealth v. Battis case. The plea-bargaining is a process of negotiation that usually involves the defendant, the prosecutor, and the defense counsel. The plea-bargaining is a practice by which prosecutors charge a defendant with a less serious crime in exchange for a guilty plea. The defense attorneys and their clients will agree to a plea of guilty when they are unsure of their ability to win acquittal at trial. Prosecutors may be willing to bargain because the evidence they have against the defendant is weaker than they would like it to be. Plea-bargaining offers prosecutors the additional advantage of a quick conviction without the need to commit the time and resources

Nurses are faced with ethical issues and dilemmas on a regular basis. Nurses must understand his or her values and morals to be able to deal adequately with the ethical issues he or she is faced with. Some ethical issues nurses are exposed to may be more difficult than others and the ethical decision making process is learned over time.

MOLLY: One ethical issue in the AZT trials was fairness, the people in the developing countries received a different course of the treatment than those in the developed countries. The African mother-baby patients were put at risk for the gain of American patients.

It has been understood that many successful criminal prosecutions in the United States end not with jury trial, rather yet plea bargain. Plea bargains are agreements between prosecutor and defendant, where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in order to receive a lesser offence or sentence. “The mode of plea-bargaining is most closely associated with high volume, low-stakes cases like misdemeanors and low grade felonies, as well as cases in which the prosecutor and defense lawyer have a good relationship and a long history of past dealings,”(O’Hear,2008). Throughout the following report I will be creating a scenario as a prosecutor proposing a plea offer alongside with a role of defense counsel and preparing a counteroffer

When it comes to large sums of money, it is not uncommon for the spender to feel they have been ripped off or become over protected. The practice of law is no exception to this phenomenon, and crocked lawyers and paralegals have negatively contributed to the notion. On several occasions law professionals have taken client money for personal use, acting against the law and rules of professional conduct. Although lawyers and paralegals have their own individual rules and guidelines to abide by, they follow the same professional structure of proper conduct. The rules of conduct for paralegals is governed by the Law Society of Upper Canada and is the governing body responsible for reports of misconduct. Further investigations will lay out the proper procedures and tasks that must be completed when a paralegal encounters an accusations of misconduct, specifically when a client accuses a paralegal of misappropriating money from the clients trust fund. When it comes to possible options it is important to remember that by proactively sending a report of the circumstance to the Law Society of Upper Canada with a detailed list of events, bookkeeping and accounts billed to the client will help your case prior to the client reporting you to the Law Society. Should a paralegal choose to ignore the threat of the client, in hopes that the client will not follow through with higher involvement, the paralegal will then face an audit by the Law Society. If the Law Society is apprised that the