Is the Court System Fair?
Is the Court System Fair?
Lynette Price
CJA-224
9/03/2012
Professor John Pierce
Throughout generations, the public joke of how attorneys are like sharks, they “circle around their prey before they head in for the kill” has been proven through ruthlessness and relentlessness to acquire and win a court case, especially if the possible case is high-profile (a Hollywood star, a nationally known football player, singer, a television show icon and etc.) The stigma of working in one of the top career areas, attorneys are labeled untrustworthy, shady, and corrupt, sometimes giving into the pressures of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial misconduct or misconduct by the defense counsel (by not properly representing the client) in order to boost their own careers regardless of the consequences. All three misconduct actions mentioned could be a layers biggest nightmare unless the attorney stays on the legal side of the law without any outside influences. In this essay, three real-life court cases from Oklahoma, Texas, New York and Kentucky, will show the misconduct by the three main courtroom players, the judge, the prosecution and the defense, and what the outcome of the case turned out to be. To layout the groundwork of the first real-life case, it was found in the New York Times archives.
“The victim, Mr. Michael Morton’s life changed drastically in December of 2011, when he was finally released from a Texas prison after spending almost 25 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Morton’s case was reopened by a nationally known non-profit group of people, who are law students, fully credited attorney’s and etc. called “The Innocence Project” where a DNA test had been requested therefore proving beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Morton was not his wife’s killer”. (NY Times-2011)
Now, to address the question of “what did the prosecutor do wrong and how does immunity protect the prosecutor from the consequences of his/her misconduct? As for the
Lynette Price
CJA-224
9/03/2012
Professor John Pierce
Throughout generations, the public joke of how attorneys are like sharks, they “circle around their prey before they head in for the kill” has been proven through ruthlessness and relentlessness to acquire and win a court case, especially if the possible case is high-profile (a Hollywood star, a nationally known football player, singer, a television show icon and etc.) The stigma of working in one of the top career areas, attorneys are labeled untrustworthy, shady, and corrupt, sometimes giving into the pressures of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial misconduct or misconduct by the defense counsel (by not properly representing the client) in order to boost their own careers regardless of the consequences. All three misconduct actions mentioned could be a layers biggest nightmare unless the attorney stays on the legal side of the law without any outside influences. In this essay, three real-life court cases from Oklahoma, Texas, New York and Kentucky, will show the misconduct by the three main courtroom players, the judge, the prosecution and the defense, and what the outcome of the case turned out to be. To layout the groundwork of the first real-life case, it was found in the New York Times archives.
“The victim, Mr. Michael Morton’s life changed drastically in December of 2011, when he was finally released from a Texas prison after spending almost 25 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Morton’s case was reopened by a nationally known non-profit group of people, who are law students, fully credited attorney’s and etc. called “The Innocence Project” where a DNA test had been requested therefore proving beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Morton was not his wife’s killer”. (NY Times-2011)
Now, to address the question of “what did the prosecutor do wrong and how does immunity protect the prosecutor from the consequences of his/her misconduct? As for the
References: Channel 9 News-Oklahoma City. (2011). Oklahoma Judge, Husband Accused of Scamming DHS over Foster Care Reimbursements. Retrieved from www.news9.com Cliffnotes. (Sept-2012). Crime Control or Due Process? Retrieved from www.cliffsnotes.com New York Times Paper. (December 28, 2011). Justice and Prosecutorial Misconduct, Correction Appended. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com Norris, T. L. (August 27, 2011). SUMMARIES OF ALL U.S. SUPREME COURT INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL CASES INCLUDING AND FOLLOWING WIGGINS V. SMITH. Retrieved from teresa@blumelaw.com Siegel, L. J., Schmalleger, F., & Worrall, J. L. (2011). Courts and criminal justice in America (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. www.cliffnotes.com. (2012). Cliffnotes. Retrieved from www.cliffsnotes.com