ambivalent comment

I guess maybe I could imagine if a prosecutor let their emotions get the best of them and said, “I can't let this little girl's killer walk free. I'd rather lose my law license than this case.” Well, sure -- that must happen all the time. Prosecutors have conviction, right? ;-) I just took the MPRE last fall, and no, the law hasn't changed. You're right that prosecutors have the a clear obligation to stand up to supervisors or anyone else who encourages them to act unethically. Of course, don't you think that prosecutors commonly say the same thing about defense attorneys -- that they go too far and stretch or even break the lines of ethical conduct? We had a lifetime prosecutor come speak to a class recently who described this as a universally held attitude in the U.S. Attorney's office -- everyone there thinks the public defenders are a bunch of rule-breaking, unethical zealots who should have their law licenses revoked. My question is: When attorneys (on either side) see other attorneys acting badly, why don't they report it and press for formal discipline for the bar? I know there are reasons, but still, isn't that also one of our professional obligations? Finally, you could use Audioblogger to record and share the sound of your professor saying “dispute!” We would love to hear it!