Summary Of Law And Legal Professionals By Joyceyn Pollock

The chapter about law and legal professionals by Joycelyn Pollock focuses on the legal aspect of the criminal justice system and the ethicality of legal professionals. The first half of the chapter sets up how the law relates to ethics, and what its purpose is. The law is a good way to see a written form of society’s ethics, because laws are tools of behavior meant to prevent harm to individuals and the community as a whole. However, the law is not comprehensive in defining moral behavior, as we can see in the way certain actions become legal or illegal as society changes. There are different views of how the law works, and we see these through paradigms, or models of what the system is. People who see the law as a reflection of the majority

These models were established through the American Bar Association and set out general guidelines for ethical behavior. The chapter discusses how the model rules have continued to be adapted and added to as issues within the court system have occurred. This is a good example of showing how these code of ethics can be effective if they are kept current and reformed as new issues occur. Other parts of the criminal justice systems could learn from this and hopefully amendments can be made to other documents and policies that exist so that corruption and unethical practices can reduce throughout all sectors of the system, not just the

The book mentions two different types of lawyers, the legal agent and the moral agent. From the legal agent standpoint, the role of the lawyer is to remain impartial and help their client get the outcome they desire, regardless of their client’s ethicality in the situation. From the moral agent standpoint, the lawyer should follow the rules of their own moral code, and if the interests of their client conflict with this, they follow what is ethical. From a legal point of view, the moral agent is a better option because it ensures that the truth is known to the courtroom and lessens mistakes being made. From a civil rights point of view, the legal agent is the better option because it ensures the rights of the client and instills trust between the individual and his or her agent. I would be interested to see research on how each type of moral agent affects the criminal justice system, and if there is a ground in the middle upon which lawyers could attempt to maintain client confidentiality, but also report information that could be imperative to a case whether it be for or against a