Preview

Effective Defense Lawyer Case Study

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
226 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Effective Defense Lawyer Case Study
The reason prosecutors support the need for effective defense attorneys when they are adversaries in the courtroom is because the purpose isn’t to put innocent people in jail. The purpose is to have a fair trial without any mistakes. As stated in the legal briefing (BRIEF OF JANET F. RENO, et al., AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER) (p. 9), “Providing effective representation at the outset of a case will significantly reduce the amount of resources that must be expended in capital cases.” This will help save time, money, and in some cases a life.
Duane Buck’s case is a very good example of a case that involved ethical issues with ineffective defense attorneys. His attorneys introduced evidence that because of his race, he would be more

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    One of the important roles a judge, a criminal prosecutor, and a criminal defense attorney will carry out is called, a “courtroom work group”. The courtroom work group interact on a daily basis by these three entities joining together to converse over matters such as if the case has probable cause to convict the offender or whether or not if there is enough evidence to go forward with a criminal trial. Normally, the prosecutor will try to persuade the defense that they do not have a case or try to talk the defense into a guilty plea or possible bail. In other words, anything they can do to speed up the process with various types of negotiations. The judge has to remain ethical and fair to see both sides of the prosecution and defense to determine if the negotiations are valid enough to go through with. Even though the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney are the main officials of the courtroom work group, we cannot forget about other members that play a part as well. The minor (respectfully) members or other members that make up a courtroom work group are the court clerk, the bailiff, and the court reporter. The court clerk upholds all the records while the court reporter makes sure he/she transcribes the official proceedings. The bailiff helps to keep court order throughout a trial. Although I can understand how the main officers discuss the case and try to solve it without a trial, I feel that every case should be heard. The major problem with this though is time and money. In order for every offender to have a case without the prosecutor trying to convince the defense into something else, there would have to be a lot more courthouses with a lot more main officers. The only way this would ever happen is to hike up the taxes and no one wants their taxes to increase.…

    • 1708 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The court should appeal the incorrect actions taking by Prosecutor Forbes for removing the only two African-Americans from the jury stand. Prosecutor Forbes actions were a races act due to the fact, that all jurors should have the right to attend regardless of the race, nationality or gender. The only reason Forbes could remove the two African-Americans from the jury, is if both of the jurors were a close friend of the defendant Woodson. Then the prosecutor has the right to remove both jurors from the jury.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When charged with any kind of criminal offenses, one important step an offender will need to take is picking the best defense lawyer. This decision may be critical to the eventual result of a trial. Finding the right criminal defense lawyer is generally a challenging process.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The defense attorney says what he wants to say because the prosecutor has the last word in the process. The defense attorney is there for the criminal/defendant and to make the juries question all the evidence against the defendant. The prosecutor is there to give the last word in hopes that the jury can see the evidence for what it is.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Their main goal is to obtain the complete dismissal of the charges brought against their client or obtain a not guilty ruling by the jury of their peers or the judge. The criminal justice system is a 3 part system which includes the judge and jury, the prosecutor, and the defence lawyer. Each part of the system is there in order to prevent abuse of power, and make sure each person receives a fair and equal trial. If the accused did not have a defense attorney they would have noone to fight for them and their rights, this would cause the system to be even more corrupt and unbalanced, as every person presented to the court would already be guilty because they have no one to show the contradicting evidence in their…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I had conference call with the Community attorney, manager, BOD etc to agree what was the best way and action to accomplish what the Board wanted and needed. After our AR commitment was completed, they community desided to make changes without our communicating to us, furthermore we needed to contact the manager and asked what was going on.…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gideon V Wainwright Case

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages

    They advise the clients of their rights, explains what can happen for each step of the criminal procedure and help ensure their client’s rights are not violated. The defense attorney must be knowledgeable and competent through all phases while failure in this can have disastrous consequences for the attorney and the defendant. The attorney will help with plea bargains arrangements, decide what is going to be the best course of action to defend the charges or help negotiate a guilty plea punishment. The defense attorney’s position does not end with the completion of the criminal trial. They will also be needed for the trial’s punishment phase, and any appeals process or parole hearings. The attorney must be able to develop a meaningful relationship with the client in order to provide the proper defense counsel. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the “effective assistance of counsel” for criminal defendants.…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Torkzadeh Law Firm is a personal injury and accident law firm. Their offices are located in Los Angeles, CA, Irvine, CA, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, and Chicago, IL. Their areas of practice include vehicle and transportation accidents, personal injury related cases, defective medical devices, and dangerous and recalled drugs. The Torkzadeh Law Firm is the winner of the 2016 US News and World Report’s Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms awards.…

    • 73 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A defense attorney is the advocator to the accused. In his defense, the attorney will advise him or her as well as to make sure their rights are not violated. According to the American Bar Association they must also give quality representation, and not misinterpret any facts or laws to the court or to the accused. Andrew Cohen from “Why Defense Attorneys Matter” explains that even though the accused is unpopular, or despised they need to have representation for our Constitutional principles to succeed. We must try to hold the police and prosecutors accountable, defense attorneys can be related to the Bill of Rights because, the Bill of Rights was designed as a counterbalance to the enumerated power of the government that was listed in the…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The attorney also helps the defendant to see more clearly the judicial process and what the likely outcome might be for them. This objective way of thinking will help the defendant decide if he or she should take the "plea" bargain.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A job of a lawyer is to protect the people; they are driven by the pursuit of justice and fairness for all of humanity. So to indict them because of their profession would be a desperate move. It would be like saying a doctor wants his or her patients to be sick when the whole idea of a doctor, is to keep people healthy.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prosecutors are the people who go against the defense, so they are the ones that put people in jail. The prosecutors are really hard on the people that commit a crime. In the article “How We Misunderstand And Mass Incarceration,” district attorneys have seen their political options expand, and this has encouraged them to remain tough on crime even as crime has fallen”(Gopnik). This illustrates how the system is politically influenced because if the district attorneys did not have a political agenda then they wouldn't be so hard on the punishment. The attorneys just want to make their big break and put people in jail, they do not think about the person they think about their career. This ties back to the Central Park Five case which was a very big case, where the prosecutor put harsh punishments on the five boys who didn't even commit the crime because he wanted to close this big case that would help his career. If prosecutors would just think about the person who committed a crime then there would be a lot of people without long jail. If the prosecutor in the Central Park Five case thought about those boys he would've realized he had the wrong boys. Thus, prosecutors should be so hard on the punishment of a…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crimminal Defense Lawyers

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A stable career is what one always strives for but actually selecting one is quite the obstacle. When I was younger my mind was flowing with ideas and different possibilities. As time went on, I realized that with my certain talents and abilities I would most likely excel in the field of law and more specifically as a criminal defense attorney. Naturally I 'm an argumentative person who enjoys standing up for myself and others; the fact that the pay is exceptional only…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Right to Counsel

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The right to counsel is a right that is stated in the Constitution of the United States. The Sixth Amendment clearly states that the defendant has the right to counsel. The Sixth Amendment states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his or her defense.” ("Sixth Amendment", 2012). This then means that a defendant has a constitutional right to be represented by an attorney during trial. It also means that if the defendant cannot afford an attorney, in almost all instances the government will appoint one to handle the case, at no cost to the defendant. While the right to counsel is discussed, a suspect has the right to a lawyer at almost every important phase of the criminal process, typically from arrest through the first appeal after conviction. In order for the American criminal justice system to function properly, both the state and the defendant must be represented by knowledgeable and understanding attorneys. This is important mainly for the defendant since he or she is the one who will be facing the charges. Without effective representation the defendant risks jail or even death.…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reason for trials is not to prove whether a person actually committed the crime. Rather, it is to show if there is enough evidence proven to convict a guilty person. As a result, if there is not enough evidence to prove a person is guilty of a crime, even if they did commit the crime, then we should allow them to go free. It is better for this to occur than to convict an innocent person. No innocent person should suffer in jail for a crime they did not commit. In addition, under the Sixth Amendment, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to… have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” While the suspect has a lawyer, it is up to the state to prove the guilt; not for the defense to prove innocence. If the state cannot do its job to prove a person is guilty of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, then the person should not be convicted. Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution has several provisions that protect the “rights of the accused.” When putting an innocent person in prison or jail, this depraves him or her of their freedom given to them. Thus, this goes against the Constitution, which prohibits…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays