When Politics Tip the Scales of Justice

Emphasis is devoted to legal ethics issues re. pre-trial publicity by both prosecutors and defense counsel – a seemingly increasing phenomena in many jurisdictions. In addition, we raise the issue of where the line is best drawn between unethical and ethical conduct. Finally, consider how this affects conduct unbecoming a professional as opposed to good lawyering. Courts and bar associations have struggled for decades over the extent to which lawyers' extrajudicial speech should be regulated, and over the proper formulation of these regulations. Part of the difficulty is that so many competing legal, ethical, and constitutional values are at stake, including the lawyer's right to free speech and the client's right to a fair trial.