Where, When, and How do ethics come into play in the courtroom? According to the New York Lawyer’s Code of Prefessional Responsibility, “Lawyers, as guardians of the law, play a vital role in the preservation of society. The fulfillment of this role requires an understanding by lawyers of their relationship with and function in our legal system. A consequent obligation of lawyers is to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct.” But during a trial, hile having to support his client, a defense attorney has to prove the prosecution’s witnesses to be fake in a reasonable manner so that the jury believes his/her client more to render a verdict in his/her favor. Eventhough a witness may be telling the truth, the opposing lawyer must …show more content…
Even as early as biblical times, have writers been labeling lawyers as the people without a moral/ethical backbone. The great satirist, Jonathan Swift had in his book Gulliver’s Travels in 1726 stated, “there was a society of men among us, bred up from their youth in the art of proving by words multiplied for the purpose that white is black and black is white, according as they are paid. To this society all rest of the people is slaves.” Despite their brash image, lawyers still have a job to do, and doing so requires cross examination. It can be stated that the real reason to conduct “Cross Examination” is to find answers to questions of fact. This can be stated to be the stage in a trial where the other party questions witnesses. The main reason to conduct cross-examination could be to find out facts that would turn out to be favorable for the case, to challenge the statements given by the witness. A counsel usually conducts cross-examination but the accused person can also conduct his defense by himself.
A Defense Attorney’s position can be very tedious as he faces several challenging facets in his job that can only be accomplished by him. It is worth noting that when he a client approaches a attorney and the attorney accepts his case, he stands by him. The duty of the attorney in such circumstances is to prove the client’s innocence, or else in
Wasserstrom also considers the fact that in many situations lawyers have the optional ability to remove themselves form issues that may contradict their individual ethics. "Having once agreed to represent the client, the lawyer in under an obligation to do his or her best to defend that person at trial." With in the process of contracting a lawyer, the lawyer has the option of acceptance or refusal of representing the client. Therefore the lawyer can asses the case and decide if it violates any of their own individual ethics.
A criminal defense attorney is a lawyer that is specialized in the defense of those who are charged with criminal conduct. Defense attorneys deal with the surrounding issues of an arrest of their clients, and the substantive issues of a crime that he or she is charged. In the United States, each individual who is brought to trail is eligible for a defense attorney, according to the sixth amendment. If an individual cannot afford an attorney, one is a pointed by the courts; these individuals are called public defenders who are employed by the government. The duties of a defense attorney, is to advocate and advice. In order, for the defense attorney to work effectively, the defendant must supply all the facts and information surrounding the case. Moreover, the defendant is protected by attorney- client privilege. Thus, any exchange information concerning the case is private and protected under the law. The criminal defense attorney role is to assist the courts with the truth-seeking process by presentation an oral argument in favor of defendant innocence. The average case calls to “advocate with courage and devotion and to render effective, quality representation” (Flower, Page 650, paragraph one). The misconceptions of a defense attorney are that she or he performs duties begrudgingly whether or not the attorney believes in the innocents of the client. The writer considers the availability of an exchange of
Although, defense attorneys are advocates for the accused, prosecutors represent the people, and the state attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state, all of these attorneys have played critical roles in the criminal justice system. Although, quite unsure of what area of law I would like to practice, I know I will be a great attorney because I will go above and beyond the call of duty to be an advocate against the wronged and serve my community
Ethical conduct and legal accountability go hand in hand with integrity. According to James M. Thomas, founder of the Alliance for Integrity, “The standards of professional integrity, have a second source, those that legal practitioners impose upon themselves. They are the values, convictions, ideas, and ideals that fix how one practices, as distinguished from what one practices.” James M. Thomas, Integrity: The Indispensable Element, 64 (2010). Thomas says that attorneys who uphold integrity share nine crucial traits; furthermore, he admits the price tag for maintaining integrity can be high. Id. He adds that, “Pared to its bed-rock essence integrity is the capacity to stand by right ideas, even when doing so is inconvenient, difficult, or unprofitable; yet, its payoffs and benefits are unmistakable.”
These crimes have been deemed particularly dangerous to society because they compromise the health, well being, privacy and protection of the people of any given jurisdiction. When these crimes are committed or a person or group is accused of such acts, legal representation is the next logical step to preserve the institution of justice, protect innocent parties, and prevent the innocent among the accused from prosecution. This is why it is important to find the right lawyer. Criminal defense in the form of an experienced attorney is critical to aligning evidence, witnesses, and countering the prosecutions arguments for the sake of their client's defense, case dismissal, acquittal, lessened sentencing or rehabilitation.
Defense attorney and client are stand up in front of judge. Usually the defense attorneys plea guilty to their client and makes an arrangement with the judge. The defense attorneys sometimes present a motion to the judge that can be denied or
The relationship between an attorney and the courtroom work group is obviously very important, considering that the courtroom work group can turn the case the opposite direction in results to failing the defendant. Defense attorneys, unless appointed, “work for their selves,” they do not get paid by the government as other members of the court, as I stated previously, they are looked at as “outsiders.” Being so, they are obligated to challenge the government to the best of their ability as the rest of the courtroom work group may go against their defense because not everyone will agree. For example, a prosecutor may want to give the defendant a charge for X amount of time, but the defense attorney may object. Hence, that the defense attorney stands out the most in this group, he or she is the most responsible for protecting the rights of the defendant.
Lawyers who assume the privileges of jury or judges for establishing the facts or altering them are more dangerous to the effective representation of their clients in a court of law. The Sixth Amendment requires representative counsels to be loyal and zealous in their conduct. However, the defense lawyer in our case was representing the client appropriately and therefore the question regarding how his conduct should have been does not arise.
This being said, beyond performing his/her role of counselor or advisor, a defense attorney is an advocate for his client. The latter ought to protect his client interest.
The main responsibility for these types of lawyers is to defend their client, prove their innocence, and in some case negotiate a lesser charge or sentence for their
Defense attorney: is the person in charge to defend the individual accused of a crime. The defense attorney exercises any number of rights on his client’s behalf to change the course of the trial or negotiate the best outcome for the defendant, as well as provided the best defense for his client.
The role defense attorneys and the community play when it comes to affecting the work of prosecutors is huge. Defense attorneys find it essential to maintain close personal ties with the prosecutor, and their staff. Inside knowledge of the prosecutor’s office and friendships made places the defense attorney at an advantage, but leaves the prosecutor feeling obligated. Defense attorneys and prosecutors have an exchange relationship according to Cole this relationship is based on their need for cooperation in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an ethical dilemma as a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an immoral act. Attorneys come into contact daily which involves the attorney-client relationships. The attorney-client privilege is a legal privilege that works to keep communications between a lawyer and his/her client secret (silence is golden). The privilege is a legal doctrine that protects confidential information, the contents and actions related to the privileged communication must preserve the integrity of the attorney-client privilege. This paper presents the ethical dilemmas of the attorney-client privileges, trust and the importance of adequate closure in attorney-client relationships.
After an expert or eyewitness establishes credibility, the witness has an advantage during cross-examination. Furthermore, the jurors may increase their trust in the expert or eyewitness during cross, unless the cross-examiner is well-prepared and encourages the witness to agree with his solid evidence. Therefore, lawyers should be very careful during cross-examination (Kebbell, Mark). Lawyers should know their limits and not ask questions that will harm his client. So, what kind of questions should a lawyer, ask to encourage the jurors to believe the lawyer, and not the witness he is cross-examining more?
As we all know, laws are divided into two broad categories- substantive laws and procedural law. Substantive laws determine the rights and liabilities of the parties, and without these laws, the society would be in a state of chaos. However, in order to enforce these rights in a court of law or a tribunal, we need a specific method or procedure in order to avoid confusion. These abovementioned laws, which prescribe the procedure for enforcing the substantive laws, are termed as procedural laws . These two branches of laws are complementary to each other. In India, some of the most important procedural laws are contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973), Code of Civil Procedure (1908) and the Indian Evidence Act (1872).