What unique ethics issues do paralegals working in prosecuting attorney’s offices need to keep in mind?
What will be an ideal response?
Rule 3.8 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct has six sections, but all of them
concern obligations toward being fair and truthful to those accused of a crime. Rule 3.8(a)
forbids a prosecutor from charging someone with a crime when there is no probable cause
for doing so, while 3.8(b) and (c) require prosecutors to protect a defendant’s constitutional
rights to a defense lawyer and against a mistaken waiver of the right against selfincrimination.
Prosecutors have unlimited discretion; their decisions to charge, or not charge,
someone with a crime is theirs alone. However, when prosecutors abuse their discretion, they
can find themselves on the receiving end of a similar discretion, the decision to bring
disciplinary charges against them. Rule 3.8(d) is a rule relating to discovery and shows how
serious the obligation to be fair and truthful is. It requires a prosecuting attorney to, in a
timely fashion, give to the defendant any evidence which would tend to be “exculpatory,”
which means would negate his or her guilt, as well as disclose to the court and a convicted
defendant any unprivileged mitigating information that could affect sentencing. Rule 3.8(e)
discusses the propriety of a prosecuting attorney issuing a subpoena to another attorney in a
grand jury or other criminal proceeding. It prohibits a subpoena from being issued with
respect to the receiving attorney’s current or past client unless three conditions are met: (1)
the subpoena seeks information not protected by a privilege; (2) the evidence sought is
“essential” to an ongoing investigation or prosecution; and (3) there is no feasible alternative
to subpoenaing the lawyer. This rule can be read in conjunction with ABA Rule 3.7, which
establishes strict guidelines on when a lawyer may testify in a trial where the lawyer is
representing someone.
Rule 3.8(f) concerns what public statements may be made about an ongoing case. [TX]Rule
3.6 of the ABA Model Rules, referenced in 3.8(f), is a lengthy rule that describes when
lawyers are allowed to make “extrajudicial” statements that are intended or likely to be
disseminated in the media. Notice that 3.8(f) expressly puts under its coverage (and the
coverage of 3.6) those persons who work for or with prosecuting attorneys. This portion of
3.8(f) is the work of Ethics 2000, as is the last paragraph in the Comments, which makes
reference to Rule 5.3, the critical rule for paralegals. So, prosecutorial paralegals have been
warned.
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Answer the following statements true (T) or false (F)
1. The production cost report for Department 2 shows that $452,000 was assigned to the 59,000 units transferred to Finished Goods Inventory. This cost assigned to Finished Goods Inventory is recorded with a debit to Work-in-Process—Department 2. Process costing is used. 2. The production cost report for Department 2 shows that $454,000 was assigned to the 50,000 units transferred to Finished Goods Inventory. Cost of goods manufactured equals $454,000. Process costing is used. 3. The production cost report for Department 2 shows that $457,000 was assigned to the 51,000 units transferred to Finished Goods Inventory. Cost of goods sold equals $457,000. Process costing is used. Explanation: Cost of goods manufactured equals $457,000. 4. A company uses process costing and a perpetual inventory system. When finished products are sold, Cost of Goods Sold is debited and Finished Goods Inventory is credited. 5. In a process costing system, costs can be controlled with the aid of a production cost report.
Compare and contrast formal communication networks and informal communication networks.
What will be an ideal response?
The seller might offer a(n) ________to a buyer that is not satisfied with the goods received.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Kimberly starts a presentation on child safety by sharing that "more than 200 million children today are child laborers, and 73 million of these children are below 10 years. Can we do anything about these numbers?" This makes the audience attentive and responsive throughout the presentation. In the given scenario, which of the following types of hooks does Kimberly use to open her presentation?
A. A simile B. An engaging question C. An anecdote D. A startling statistic