Attorneys Obligations 1 Attorneys Obligations Your name ADJ 235 Due date Instructors name Attorneys Obligations 2 Attorneys Obligations Although each of these professions requires extensive knowledge of criminal law prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys are on opposing sides during the administration of justice Each job requires the lawyer to act in accordance with certain ethical values One could logically assume the ethical codes to which they adhere are going to differ from one another what may be surprising is how similar they are Defense attorneys should always operate with a specific set of ethics in mind Of the many ethical obligations defense attorneys have three in particular come to mind Defense attorneys must maintain the attorney client privilege safeguarding information that may prove inculpable They must also ensure clients and courts are provided with factual information If a defendant is offered a plea bargain that client must be informed of the offer regardless of the defense attorney s beliefs Prosecuting attorneys have a slight different set of ethical standards to follow While cross examining a witness prosecutors should never attempt to discredit witnesses they know are being truthful Prosecutors have a moral responsibility to the public to present evidence in an effort to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime he o she is charged with Prosecuting attorneys must also protect the rights of the accused while still attempting to prove guilt Though these ethical standards appear quite different they have some similarities Both attorneys must aim to protect the rights of the accused All attorneys must strive to prove the cases of their clients to the best of their abilities If an attorney is to continue working in the field of law maintaining attorney client privileges is mandatory This is not an exhaustive Attorneys Obligations 3 comparison of the ethical obligations of attorneys as such a critical review could span many pages
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