POLS 4905 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Improper Conduct, Legal Ethics, Absolute Immunity
5 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Christine Kim
Legal Ethics Essay
Pols 4905
Dr. Haire
The essay states that ethics refers to the study and analysis of what constitutes as a
good or bad conduct. Ethics has to do with as aspect of morals and how people view their
values. For people who work in law such as prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, they
have to deal with the issue of legal ethics of figuring out the best option when there seems to
be no good option. The essay states that there are many issues present such as ensuring that
their clients have competent attorneys, promote public respect for the legal system, and to
prevent witnesses of perjuring.
The difference between the ethics between prosecution and the defense attorney is
that prosecutors do not represent individual clients while defense attorneys do. Prosecutors
work for the government and defense attorneys work for the public indigent defendants.
Prosecutors have absolute immunity which is the complete freedom from civil liability because
they work with the support of the government. All actions are worked with immunity even if
their actions are of bad faith. The article states that prosecutors have specific ethical obligations
such as seeking justice, avoiding conflicts of interest, and refraining from any behavior that
would interfere with the fair administration of justice.
For lawyers, one of their important tasks is counseling. They advocate for their clients
and they must advise their clients about the potential legal consequences involved. Some legal
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
The essay states that ethics refers to the study and analysis of what constitutes as a good or bad conduct. Ethics has to do with as aspect of morals and how people view their values. For people who work in law such as prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, they have to deal with the issue of legal ethics of figuring out the best option when there seems to be no good option. The essay states that there are many issues present such as ensuring that their clients have competent attorneys, promote public respect for the legal system, and to prevent witnesses of perjuring. The difference between the ethics between prosecution and the defense attorney is that prosecutors do not represent individual clients while defense attorneys do. Prosecutors work for the government and defense attorneys work for the public indigent defendants.
