Deck 8: Ethics and the Courts

Question 1

U.S. Supreme Court justices are not bound by the Code of Conduct for Federal Judges.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The "black letter rule" model developed over the past 40 years an alternative model for regulating the professional conduct of lawyers.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Each member of the courtroom workgroup, in theory, is supposed to adapt their professional behavior to standards created by professional associations like the American Bar Association (ABA).

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to model standards for prosecutors, their primary duty is to convict those charged with crimes.

Question 5

The vast majority of criminal cases in this country are disposed of via adversarial justice, where prosecutor and defense attorney "go at it" hammer and tong, overseen by an impartial arbiter, the judge.

Question 6

Ethical issues and the courts are embedded in a larger organizational context, the courtroom workgroup.

Question 7

"Han Solo" attorneys employ whatever tactics are necessary to win their cases.

Question 8

Prosecutorial "moral fascism" represents an extremist view of the "letter-of-the-law" when dealing with criminal defendants.

Question 9

The adversarial system of justice describes a situation where prosecutor and defense attorney litigate the merits of a case in a public forum, overseen by an impartial judge, and from which emerges "the truth."

Question 10

Prosecutors enjoy absolute immunity from civil damages arising from misconduct occurring during the legal exercise of their duties.

Question 11

This term describes judges taking the work needing to be done for their cases and assigning them to others.

A) Delegation
B) Allocation
C) Harmless error
D) Absolute immunity

Question 12

This term describes what occurs when judges set aside certain amounts of work to be done for certain types of cases.

A) Delegation
B) Allocation
C) Harmless error
D) None of the above

Question 13

In the 1976 case of Imbler v. Pachtman, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that when prosecutors act within the scope of their legal duties they enjoy:

A) Absolute immunity from civil damages arising from the conduct
B) Limited immunity from civil damages arising from the conduct
C) Qualified immunity from civil damages arising from the conduct
D) None of the above

Question 14

When assessing whether a mistake in case processing constituted a harmless error, this approach has the appeals court review case records for the purpose of assessing the factual guilt or innocence of the defendant in light of untainted evidence admitted into the record:

A) Effect-of-the-verdict approach
B) Guilt-based approach
C) Negotiated-justice approach
D) Batting-average approach

Question 15

That prosecutors prefer to know what happened in a case over why it happened reflects:

A) A kind of cynicism on their part toward criminal defendants
B) Misconduct on their part
C) A narrowness in their view of criminal cases and defendants
D) A desire to "win" at all costs

Question 16

A district attorney's "batting average" refers to:

A) The size of the DAs electoral win in the most recent election
B) How many convictions he or she has won in the cases his or her office processed
C) How many elections the district attorney has won
D) None of the above

Question 17

Which of the following activities could constitute prosecutorial misconduct?

A) Mishandling, mistreating, or destroying evidence
B) Pressuring defense witnesses not to testify
C) Charging a defendant with more offenses than the evidence warrants
D) All of the above

Question 18

According to the ABA's Criminal Justice Standards for the Defense Function, during litigation, defense counsel is supposed to:

A) Promptly investigate all cases to determine the presence of sufficient facts to warrant criminal charges
B) Know and follow the law and rules of the jurisdiction regarding victims and witnesses
C) Give witnesses reasonable notice of when their testimony is expected and know relevant rules governing expert witnesses
D) All of the above

Question 19

If litigation is considered "war," which of the following is a rule that defense counsel should follow?

A) Time should not be a factor when developing the defense strategy
B) Successful objections by defense counsel and favorable rulings by the judge to motions on behalf of the client should be aggressively broadcast via media sources
C) Litigation should be pursued with all the resources that can be summoned
D) Bring on board as many experts as possible and make sure that they are frequently seen on TV and are posting case updates on social media

Question 20

"Rambo attorneys":

A) Put the client and/or the client's case at center stage
B) Often file unnecessary motions and use discovery to intimidate the other side
C) Believe they are morally accountable to their clients for both the means used and the ends achieved
D) Are known for their civility during litigation

Question 21

Should members of the U.S. Supreme Court be bound by the same code of conduct as the rest of the federal judiciary? Why or why not? Explain.

Question 22

Is it ethical for a prosecutor or judge to advocate, whether publicly or in their writings, for policies that empirical evidence shows have little to no effect on crime (or may even cause backfire effects)? Explain your position.

Question 23

Do you think that model standards or codes of conduct like those developed by the ABA are effective at "policing" the professional ethics of prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges? Explain.