Describe how prosecutors assess a defense attorney in term of reasonableness and three categories of attorneys.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Prosecutors assess a defense attorney in terms of reasonableness-that is, the ability to "discern a generous offer of settlement and to be willing to encourage his client to accept such an offer" (Skolnick, 1967, p. 58). Based on this criterion, Skolnick put attorneys into three categories. One category consisted of defense attorneys who handled few criminal cases. One might suppose that prosecutors would prefer dealing with such inexperienced attorneys, but they did not. Because these attorneys did not know the ropes, they were too unpredictable and often caused administrative problems. In another category were attorneys who had active criminal practices and maintained a hostile relationship with the prosecutor's office. Known as gamblers, these attorneys exemplified the aggressive, fighting advocate, but because they either won big or lost big, they also served to show the other attorneys the disadvantage of this posture. The final category of attorneys consisted of public defenders and private attorneys who represented large numbers of defendants. These attorneys worked within the system.