Ethical
Ethical Dilemmas
1)
You are a prosecutor in a jurisdiction that does not use the grand jury system. An elderly man has administered a lethal dose of sleeping tablets to his wife ,who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He calmly turned himself in to the police department, and the case is on the front page of the paper. It is entirely up to you whether to charge him with murder. What would you do? What criteria did you use to arrive at your decision?
2)
You are a probation officer and have a specialized sex-offender caseload. The judge disagrees with a recommendation for a prison sentence and places an offender on probation. This man was convicted of molesting his four year old niece. One of the conditions of his probation is that he notify you whenever he is around children. He becomes engaged and moves in with a woman who has three children under the age of twelve .You believe that the man is not repentant and that there is good chance he will molest these children .Although the woman knows his criminal history. she does not seem to care and in fact, allows him to baby-sit the young girls. The judge has indicated that he will not entertain new conditions or a revocation unless there is evidence of a crime, but you understand from the offender’s counselor that he continues to be sexually aroused by children .What can you do? What should you do?
3)
You are a police officer testifying about a particular crime. It is a case where you honestly don’t know whether or not the suspect is guilty. While on the witness stand, you answer all the prosecutor’s and defense attorney’s questions. You complete your testimony and exit the courtroom, knowing that you have specific knowledge that may help the defense attorney’s case. You have answered all questions truthfully ,but the specific question needed to help the defense was not asked .What should you do?
4)
You are a prosecutor trying your first case. You are thrilled with how well it is going .Every
1)
You are a prosecutor in a jurisdiction that does not use the grand jury system. An elderly man has administered a lethal dose of sleeping tablets to his wife ,who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He calmly turned himself in to the police department, and the case is on the front page of the paper. It is entirely up to you whether to charge him with murder. What would you do? What criteria did you use to arrive at your decision?
2)
You are a probation officer and have a specialized sex-offender caseload. The judge disagrees with a recommendation for a prison sentence and places an offender on probation. This man was convicted of molesting his four year old niece. One of the conditions of his probation is that he notify you whenever he is around children. He becomes engaged and moves in with a woman who has three children under the age of twelve .You believe that the man is not repentant and that there is good chance he will molest these children .Although the woman knows his criminal history. she does not seem to care and in fact, allows him to baby-sit the young girls. The judge has indicated that he will not entertain new conditions or a revocation unless there is evidence of a crime, but you understand from the offender’s counselor that he continues to be sexually aroused by children .What can you do? What should you do?
3)
You are a police officer testifying about a particular crime. It is a case where you honestly don’t know whether or not the suspect is guilty. While on the witness stand, you answer all the prosecutor’s and defense attorney’s questions. You complete your testimony and exit the courtroom, knowing that you have specific knowledge that may help the defense attorney’s case. You have answered all questions truthfully ,but the specific question needed to help the defense was not asked .What should you do?
4)
You are a prosecutor trying your first case. You are thrilled with how well it is going .Every