...In high profile cases, prosecutors are often their own worst enemies. The pressure to succeed too often causes prosecutors in the spotlight to make strategic and ethical decisions that can backfire against their case. Several recent high-profile cases illustrate this problem: (1) the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, (2) the Jesse James Hollywood murder prosecution, and (3) the clemency proceedings of murderer Michael Morales. This essay is not intended to embarrass any particular prosecutor. Indeed, prosecutors in high-profile cases face a particularly difficult task. Each decision they make is put under a microscope by the media and its legal commentators.2 Defense lawyers are quick to claim prosecutorial misconduct, 3 knowing that ∗ Professor of Law, William M. Rains Fellow & Director, Center for Ethical Advocacy, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. The author wishes to express her gratitude to her fabulous research assistants, Shawn Domzalski and Jeffrey Jensen, for their help with this Essay. As always, their assistance was invaluable. Thank you also to the staff and editors of the Loyola Law School Law Review for their fine editorial assistance. Finally, thank you to Sammy and Marci Maniker-Leiter for their daily inspiration. 1. MODEL CODE OF PROF’L RESPONSIBILITY EC 1–2 (1981). 2. For the ethical responsibilities of prosecutors in evaluating these cases, see Erwin Chemerinsky & Laurie Levenson, The Ethics of Being a Commentator III, 50 MERCER L. REV. 737 (1999); Erwin...
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...Bruce Fein, JD, General Counsel for the Center for Law and Accountability, in an American Bar Association website article titled "Individual Rights and Responsability - The Death Penalty, But Sparingly" (accessed June 17, 2008), offered the following: "Abolitionists may contend that the death penalty is inherently immoral because governments should never take human life, no matter what the provocation. But that is an article of faith, not of fact, just like the opposite position held by abolitionist detractors, including myself... The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral sense, and thus subject even to butchery to satiate human gluttony. Moreover, capital punishment celebrates the dignity of the humans whose lives were ended by the defendant's predation." June 17, 2008 - Bruce Fein, JD Alex Kozinski, JD, Circuit Judge in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a Nov. 7, 2002 Hoover Institution "Interview," stated the following: "Immanuel Kant said it best. He said a society that is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody else's life is simply immoral. So the question really... when the system works and when you manage to identify somebody who has done such heinous evil, do we as a society have a right to take his life? I think the answer's plainly yes. And I would go with Kant and I would say...
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...1 ATTACHMENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST GUIDELINES PURSUANT TO THE PROVINCIAL OFFENCES ACT (“POA”) TRANSFER WHEREAS the administration of the POA Court by municipal partners pursuant to a transfer agreement with the Attorney General must be conducted in accordance with fundamental principles of justice, which include judicial and prosecutorial independence, fairness, impartiality, competence and integrity; AND WHEREAS it is deemed expedient to establish guidelines in relation to such matters; AND WHEREAS these Guidelines shall apply to all elected representatives for the City as the province’s municipal partner in relation to the transfer of POA matters for the Area, as well as all officials and staff of the City & to other persons retained by the City who perform functions pursuant to the Transfer Agreement; THEREFORE, the City hereby implements and adheres to these Guidelines & other requirements as set out below on behalf of the elected representatives, officials and staff of the City as well as to other persons retained, for all matters relating to the transfer of POA Court matters in the Area: 0.0 Interpretation 0.1 In these Guidelines: 0.1.1 Area means the Windsor/Essex Court Service Area, which includes the geographic areas encompassed by the City, the constituent municipalities of The Corporation of the County of Essex, & Pelee Island/Township. 0.1.2 City means The Corporation of the City of Windsor. 0.1.3 Guidelines means these Conflict of Interest Guidelines, as may be...
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...The Untouchables is a fifty minute documentary on the “F-bomb,” the word is fraud; it’s not to be used, in a film which shines the light on the number one suspects being Wall Street. Many of Wall Street’s top brokers and if not all top executives who have contributed to the next great recession will not face any chance of prosecution or be indicted on any criminal charges because the failure of the United States government including the efforts made by the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to bring about any credible evidence in which there was beyond a reasonable doubt. Based on the seemingly packaged and toxic mortgage loans to investors and the gambling on those securities and bonds to fail for even more financial succession of these institutions and top executives I really find it hard to believe with such credible evidence and the amount of it, that not one person to date can be held accountable for their actions especially in such times of economic distress for our nation where the top 1% of the population of the United States controls more money than the rest of almost 95 % combined, to me that is the atrocity. We can talk about starting from the bottom and working our way up but in this case I think the underwriters really have nothing to do with what is the core issue of what’s happening right now in our financial instructions. Should they have been more ethical who knows, should they have went to someone in charge in fact they did, should...
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...Defense Paper Peyton Rumbo CJS/220 Amanda Eicher 28 July 2013 A prosecutor and a defense attorney are different in a lot of ways. The prosecutor works for the plaintiff and the state's case, and they show the gathered evidence that proves that the person accused of the crime is guilty of committing it. The defense attorney's job is to give evidence that proves that the accused is not guilty. If you are accused of a crime, you will share a table at the trial with the defense attorney. The prosecutor tries to prove your guilt, while the defense attorney does their best to prove that you are innocent. The defense attorney works on their own for you, but the state pays the prosecutor. A person can, and would, hire a defense attorney, but never a prosecutor. Even though public funds are paid to prosecutors, they are not employed by the government. The person who they defend pays the defense attorney – the prosecutor is responsible for representing the government when they bring a suit against an accused criminal. The prosecutor's job title is different in each jurisdiction, but they are often called the district attorney, county attorney, state attorney, city attorney, or United States attorney. The prosecutor is charged by the public with punishing people who commit crimes, so that they can protect law-abiding citizens. The defense attorney has to protect the rights of people who are accused of a crime. If I was to become a lawyer I would definitely want to be the prosecutor...
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...Okay, let’s dive in! Let’s talk about patent infringement. Because the absolute best way to understand a patent…your rights with a patent…your competitors’ rights with a patent…the strength of a patent. The best way to understand a patent is to understand how a patent is infringed. So, we know the power of the patent is in the claims. This is where the inventor defines his or her patent rights; his or her ENFORCEMENT rights. So, let’s try to infringe some claims. We’ll use a simple example. Let’s imagine we can get a patent on anything. Let’s get a patent on a basic chair. Imagine a world without chairs…pretty scary…all we can do is sit on rocks. Not comfortable. Hard to move around. So, we invent the first chair. And we know we’re on to something. Everyone will want to buy this. So, we go to a patent lawyer and get a patent. Here is the claim. (Visually display the elements) • An apparatus for sitting comprised of • a seat, • a back, and • four legs. All of these elements make up one independent claim. And this would be a great claim. It would come at the end of a patent document which could be a few or even dozens of pages of text and drawings describing how to make it and how to use it. (Patent visual running through page after page of drawings then text…then narrow in on a claim). What can we do with this patent… with this claim? Well, first, in our scenario, let’s pick a country. We need to do that because each patent is only...
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...The Power of Logic The Power of Logic FOU RTH E DITION Frances Howard-Snyder Daniel Howard-Snyder Ryan Wasserman WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Published by McGraw-Hill, an imprint of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2009, 2005, 2002, 1999, by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGrawHill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 0 9 8 ISBN: 978-0-07-340737-1 MHID: 0-07-340737-2 Editor in Chief: Michael Ryan Editorial Director: Beth Mejia Sponsoring Editor: Mark Georgiev Marketing Manager: Pamela Cooper Editorial Coordinator: Briana Porco Production Editors: Melissa Williams/Melanie Field, Strawberry Field Publishing Cover Designer: Ashley Bedell Cover Photo: © Dan Trist/Corbis Media Project Manager: Thomas Brierly Production Supervisor: Louis Swaim Composition: This text was set in 10.5/12.5 Goudy by Aptara, Inc. Printing: Printed on 45# New Era Matte by R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Inc. Credits: The credits section for this book is on page 647, following the Answer Key in the back of the book, and is considered an extension of the copyright page. ...
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...of approximately 1,000 women and was, at the time the letter was written, the beneficial owner of a number of Cypress shares. The letter was a form letter, and it carried the stamped signature of Doris Gormley, OSF. In the letter, Sister Doris, speaking for the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia as a Cypress shareholder, expressed the view that a company "is best represented by a Board of qualified Directors reflecting the equality of the sexes, races, and ethnic groups." The letter went on to say that it is the congregation's policy "to withhold authority to vote for nominees of a Board of Directors that does not include women and minorities." In response to the letter, an individual wrote an argument in defense of our current selection process. On top of this defensive argument, the writer outlined the pitfalls associated with investors questioning our practices on the grounds of creating “responsible corporations”. This response letter is detailed and outlines facts and figures to support its claims concerning these pitfalls. Yet, this letter espouses its point using a confrontational tone and terminology designed to insult the intended audience. The individual has also proposed sending this letter to all Cypress shareholders and a select group of sympathetic veterans of the affirmative-action debate. Discussion The response letter can be broken down into three parts. The first part is outlines the current selection process for the board of directors as well...
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...Glossary for Philosophy 101 Logic – the study of argument, the study of inference. Statement/proposition – something that is true or false. Argument – a set of statements, some of which are premises and one of which is the conclusion. The conclusion is said to follow from the premises. Premise – a proposition in an argument from which the conclusion follows. Conclusion – a proposition in an argument which follows from the premise(s). Valid argument – an argument whose structure is such that if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. (Alternative “negative” definition: an argument whose structure is such that it is impossible for its conclusion to be false when its premises are true.) Invalid argument – an argument whose structure is such that it is possible for its conclusion to be false when its premises are true. Sound argument – a valid argument with true premises. Tautology – a proposition which is always true, due to its logical structure. (Self-)Contradiction – a proposition which is always false, due to its logical structure. Contingent proposition – a proposition which can be either true or false, due to its logical structure. reductio ad absurdum – (“reduction to the absurd”), proof by contradiction – a form of argument in which we attempt to reach a contradiction, which is then used to deny the supposition that led to the contradiction. Necessary and sufficient conditions A condition is said to be necessary for something when that condition...
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...well as three examples to support each definition. All answers must be typed – print out a final copy for teacher and self E.C. = +5pts on Quiz and notes if completed by the end of the hour today 1. |wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn | | | | |Definition |Example #1 | |Example: |Claim or argument is rejected on the basis of some irrelevant |Why should your views on welfare reform matter when we all know | |Ad Hominem |fact about the author of or the person presenting the claim or |that your parents make a lot of money. | | |argument | | |Tu Quoque | An attempt to discredit the opponent's position by exposing |Bill: “It is wrong to use animals as clothing. | | |his failure to act consistently in accordance with that |Ted: “But you are wearing a leather jacket.” | | |position. | ...
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...goes on by breaking several of these words down to their base meaning and then places them into context, for example “virtually spotless” a claim made on nearly every dish and laundry cleaning product on the market. The word virtually is used by advertisers as a almost guarantee but actually by definition means not in fact. Several of these weasel words are brought to trial and put to the sword in the same fashion. William Lutz's logos is very powerful in the argument using the words own definition and the advertisements writers lack of context to let it defeat itself. His use of pathos is strong points to warn his readers to look deeper at words such as “like magic” and “helps...”. His ethos in the argument do relay a sense of reliability in the piece, but could be called into question by a more conservative reader for his use of a comical but slightly out of place rewriting psalms 23rd. One problem With These Word I Can Sell You Anything, is a lack of counter argument, or even having room where a counter argument can come into play. An advertiser could argue two strong points ageinst Lutz. One that advertisements aren't written to solely to mislead consumers, and that words like...
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...describe the continuing issue that the United States faces in regards to repeat offenders. In the article "Stopping The Madness: A New Reentry System For Juvenile Corrections." Author's Scott Sells, Irene Sullivan and Donald DeVore focus on some of the reasons that contribute to youth recidivism and programs that can help minimize this issue. Without first determining the causes of the issue we can not begin to address resolutions. This article focuses on an interview as well as studies and evidence based theories tto combat this issue that we are faced with. The artilce discusses issues that contribute to failing reentry programs which ultimately result in high recidivism in young offenders. Although they provide a strong logical argument, and sufficient evidence the authors do not go into detail the effects of implementing such facilities will have on those who do not have family. Also the authors reasoning for implementing the PLL program is justified but can come across as bias. "Look this was my second committment and here's the problem. I went from this totally structured environment for eight long months back to a totally unstructured home with no real plan before i left [residential]. I am going back to the same home [life]...
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...CETM11 Portfolio item 1 –A comparative literature review This is worth 30% of your module The following learning outcomes are assessed: Knowledge 1. A critical appreciation of the nature of research and the goals of academic reading, information searching and communication. 2 A critical appreciation of the clarity, scientific approach and structure of academic writing. This item will allow you to get feedback on skills that you need to help with the Research Plan in Portfolio item 2. TASK You are required to do a comparative literature review of the following topics (you may need to customise the title to include the domain) Choose one of the following topics on which to do a comparative literature review (word limit 2000 words): * The impact of personality traits of the project leaders in project success * Managing change management * Communication skills and project success * Network security and social networking * The role of effective IT management strategies in organisations * Assessing risks in home and public access wireless networks * Ethics in the design of business applications You may find the Q5 technique useful to map out the structure of each paper before you do the review. The task You will select a topic then find two or more academic papers that address the topic. You are required to write a comparative review of the topic from the perspective of these papers. This may require you to examine several schools of thought...
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...or a phrase that makes something less important, gives a way out if challenged, and specific words to upscale something. Class two devices succeed on unwarranted assumptions. Class three, which is my favorite, is humor or exaggeration. I use this one all the time and never realized that there was a specific name for what I was doing. Class four is using or conforming a definition to meet your needs. The devices when used properly can captivate the audience. If they are used wrong it can get the audience in an uproar very quickly. If the author or speaker uses these devises the way they are intended to one could not argue against them and they would have an air tight opinion. A very experienced person using these devices can convey their argument to any group and have them at least stop and think. If these devices are once again used correctly the claims that are made could sound extremely creditable. It will once again depend on how they are used and if confronted how the author could explain his claims without skipping a beat. If he had to think about the confrontation before he responded I believe that his claims would take a hit, but if his rebutted immediately then that would save him and his...
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...propositions. eg.I am taller than you, It is raining, She will win the race. Premise- A statement that is offered in support of a conclusion Conclusion - A statement that is held to be supported by a premise or premises eg. All whales are mammals. Moby Dick is a whale. Moby Dick is a mammal. Argument- a set of statements one of which (the conclusion) is taken to be supported by the remaining statements (the premises). • The conclusion is what the speaker wants you to accept. • The premises state the reasons or evidence for accepting the conclusion. Inference- is the process of reasoning from a premise (or premises) to a conclusion (or conclusions) based on those premises. Explanation- tells you why something happened. Argument- tells you why you should believe something. • Arguments have something to prove; explanations do not. eg. 1. Adam stole the money, for three people saw him do it. 2. Adam stole the money because he needed to buy food. Premise-Indicator words: Since, Because, For, as, given that, inasmuch as, for the reason that Conclusion Indicator Words: Thus, Therefore, Hence, Entail(s), it follows that, we may conclude, consequently, so In arguments, premises do not always come before conclusions; conclusions do not always come after premises eg. Religious beliefs cannot be proven. If something is a matter...
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