Defense Attorneys (Essay Sample)

Defense Attorneys
Name
Institution
Defense Attorneys
Qualifications Required for a Defense Attorney
` The journey to become a defense attorney begins a four year undergraduate degree in a college or university. Notably, some colleges have a curriculum for people aspiring to become lawyers in the future, but in practice, the profession does not have specifications on bachelor’s degree, however, potential lawyers take classes in several disciplines such as sociology, public speaking, economics, history, or government. On the same note, law schools are very selective in admissions; therefore, aspirants have to complete well-rounded undergraduate programs and attain high grades. After the bachelor’s degree, aspiring criminal lawyers must apply and attend American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law schools. However, state bar authorities have the right to accredit law schools to ensure that students from the institutions are admitted to the bar. Students face several requirements to be admitted to law schools, which include personal interview, recommendation letter, work experience, undergraduate transcripts, and high Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores. At the law schools, students take three year courses where they take specialized training on criminal and practical experiences. Further, the learners engage in writing and researching criminal law, evaluating evidence, litigation strategies and criminal law ethics. After finishing their course, the students earn Juris Doctor (J.D), which allows them to sit for state bar exam. Ideally, the profession demands lawyers to sit for and pass the bar exam before they get an opportunity to practice law. Individual state agencies administer the bar exams where the agencies license individuals in that state only. Typically, background tests and evaluation on character are done on students before their admission to the bar. Further, the majority of states in the US require lawyers to learn new developments in the field to improve their skills. Notably, the internet, state and national bar associations offer these courses to ensure that lawyers stay abreast with what is happening in the field (Brookshire et al., 2011).
The US law schools wishes to develop the best skills in criminal lawyers to ensure that they meet their objective after graduation. In essence, students have to pass through different levels to ascertain their credibility to represent people. Further, the law schools encourage students to take position in their institution’s legal clinic where they provide free legal advice to fellow students. In this manner, the law schools believe that they produce the best in the field who can offer the best services to non-professionals in the field especially in a court of law (Brookshire et al., 2011). The background checks ensure that the students are of high moral standards to protect the interests of their clients once they become practicing attorneys.
Interactions the Defense Attorney Has With Other Criminal Justice Professions Involved With the Court System `
Defense Witnesses
Even though lawyers are not allowed to direct what defense witnesses say in court, they are allowed to meet with the witnesses to study their testimonies before the trial begins. However, lawyers are prohibited from directing witnesses on what to say. At the same time, defense attorneys are not allowed to ask leading questions in cases where witnesses testifies directly to the court. For instance, the attorney can ask a witness, at what time did you arrive home? However, the lawyer cannot ask the witness; did you arrive home at 10 PM? In this way, the attorney helps the witness to provide truthful testimonies that are essential in the determination of a case. Importantly, defense lawyers have the right to remind defense witnesses of something they seem to forget. For example, the lawyer could show the witness and object such as a letter or document that would help the witness to remember some important details (Heumann, 2012).
Prosecution Witnesses
As same case to that of defense witnesses, lawyers cannot ask leading questions during direct examinations. Further, attorneys cannot ask argumentative questions. They should leave the witnesses to give their versions to the courts. All the questions should aim to seek information that would provide facts on the case at hand. Although defense lawyers are not expected to be cordial with prosecution witnesses, they cannot question on inadmissible evidence, curse, or scream to the witness. In practice, many lawyers find out that being too aggressive could deter witnesses from providing important information about the case especially when the witness is a bully (Heumann, 2012).
Prosecutors
The primary role of a prosecutor is to provide evidence that convicts an accused person of the charges before a court. Therefore, as the representative of the defendant, the defense attorney must ensure that the prosecutor provides only admissible evidence. Further, the defense lawyer should question the prosecutor if the latter is suppressing evidence that favors the defense. Even though a defense lawyer does not cross-examine the prosecutor, the defense attorney uses the presiding judge to demand the prosecutor to produce any suppressed evidence that would prove the accused person’s innocence (Heumann, 2012).
Potential Ethical Concerns or Issues That the Defense Attorney Might Encounter During the Course of Its Court Duties
Defense lawyers represent their clients’ best interests. As such, it is imperative to engage in ethical behaviors throughout the case. Importantly, the defense lawyer must stay in touch with the client and explain any information that demands the client’s consent. However, in some cases, lawyers could have strained relationships with their clients especially when the lawyers feel that the defendants are hiding some important information. A defense lawyer uses the available information to seek for the best sentence for the committed offense. However, in situations where the accused does not provide adequate and accurate information concerning the case in question, the lawyer is fails to provide the best legal advice that suits the circumstances (Nasheri, 2013). In such situations, the lawyer would be obliged to enter into pleas that would have otherwise improved if the client provided accurate information.
ABA requires lawyers not accept or agree to collect unreasonable fees when representing a criminal case. Further, a defense lawyer should not agree to collect contingent fee to represent an accused person in criminal proceedings. However, in some instances, defendants offer their defense attorneys large amounts of money to get favorable sentences. Ideally, a defense uses the facts at hand to get the best deal out of a criminal case. However, some people wish to have their lawyers to lie on their behalf to evade harsh sentences (Cole, 2014). In such instances, the defense lawyers are torn between accepting the client’s demands to act illegally and obeying the law...