Criminal justice system

1.  What factors hinder a defense attorney in his or her attempt to protect the rights of the defendant? Think of both system factors and individual ones

2.  What are the major contrasts in the workaday world of private defense attorneys and court-appointed lawyers?

Should all attorneys be required to provide pro bono defense for indigents? Would such activities improve the image of the bar?

Would such activities be in the best interests of the defendants?

1.  Of the three political styles—office conservator, courthouse insurgent, and policy reformer—which best describes your local prosecutor?

2.  Community prosecution stresses the need for the prosecutor to reach out to the community, but what does “community” mean? Is this reform based on a naive assumption that all members of the same geographic entity share similar views? How might different communities within the same city (or perhaps county) stress different law-enforcement priorities?

1.  The public generally views defense attorneys as too zealous in their advocacy of obviously guilty clients, while many scholars portray an image of defense attorneys, particularly public defenders, as too willing to plead their clients guilty. What do you think?

What evidence would you cite for either position?

2.  In what ways have contemporary decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court modified the original meaning of the Sixth Amendment?

Is the original intent of the Sixth Amendment relevant in today’s world?

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