Politics, Justice, and Ethics

Model Rule 3.6 prohibits lawyers from making extrajudicial public statements that have a "substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing" an adjudicative proceeding. In this course, Mr. O'Donnell addresses Trial Publicity and its origins. He will explain why many lawyers will decide that public silence is the best response and how it minimizes the lawyer's likelihood of committing an ethical violation. Furthermore, Mr. O'Donnell will interpret real-life cases to explain the high price of violating the trial publicity rule. Lastly, he will delve into a discussion on Model Rule 4.4: Respect for Rights of Third Persons and how these two Rules overlap.