Prosecutor v. Defense Attorney
PROSECUTOR V. DEFENSE ATTORNEY 2
Prosecutor v. Defense Attorney � Boundaries of Advocacy
As stated in the Lecture Note for this module/week, the prosecutor is charged with finding and pursuing
justice. Conversely, the defense attorney is to zealously advocate on behalf of his/her client and to ensure
the Constitutional rights of the accused. However, the Lecture Note and the textbook confirm that each
side can lose their way in the search for justice and exceed the boundaries of advocacy. The most
common boundary violations are prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence and defense attorneys
manipulating the system in an effort to thwart justice, but let us look at the issue from another angle.
Thread: Drawing from the textbook, the lecture note, Scripture, and your scholarly research, answer the
following question and provide the rationale for your position:
Would it be acceptable for a prosecutor to destroy evidence of a defendant�s guilt? Is there a moral
justification for a defense attorney to ignore a law enforcement officer�s violation of the client�s
constitutional rights? Could such actions not be a violation of the public�s trust in the criminal justice
system (Whether you agree or disagree, you must support your opinions with scholarly sources)?
Replies: Evaluate the impact of a classmate�s decision on future cases. For example, if the
prosecutor�s/defense attorney�s actions are acceptable to your classmate in Case A, what could that
mean in Cases B and C? Since you must post 2 replies, you may choose to analyze the prosecutor and
defense attorney decision of a single classmate or the prosecutor�s actions from 1 classmate and the
defense attorney�s actions from another classmate. Whether you agree or disagree, you must support
your opinions with scholarly sources.
Prosecutor v. Defense Attorney
According to the law, the prosecutor and the entire system of judiciary should administer
justice as per the requirement of the constitution. It is not suitable for the prosecutor to destroy
PROSECUTOR V. DEFENSE ATTORNEY 3
the evidence of the suspected defendant. It is because all people including the defendant are
being represented by the attorney general of the state. He has to ensure justice and to secure
convictions for all the people. The prosecutor’s role is to seek justice. Also, he is responsible for
protecting the community, victims, entitlement to fair opportunities for every vindication of the
defendant to state the fair and efficient needs for the justice system of criminals. The prosecutor
should try to secure the guilt of the defendant once he is convinced rather than throwing the
evidence. He has to evade misconduct, partiality and partnership of violence that may deny the
defendant his entitled fair trial (Malone, 2008).
The Moral justification for the defense of attorney, to ignore the violation of the
constitutional rights by officers of law enforcement exists. It leads to the maintenance of the
conviction by the use of harmless error doctrine. It is also as a result of the prosecutor wanting to
attain the typical decision that suits the public demand and is allowed by the law.The defendant
should not have necessarily legal training in order to be able to assert his rights and represent
himself in the court. It Entails the violation of the trust of the public it the system of justice of
criminals (Frost, 2010). It is because the citizens have their rights of being subjected to justice
safeguarded by the attorney general. The rights of the constitution enable the defendant of being
subjected to fair trials, and the attorney general has to obtain justice in each and every case.
PROSECUTOR V. DEFENSE ATTORNEY 4
References
Frost, P. (2010, Jan 07). Norfolk commonwealth’s attorney’s office to investigate longshoreman’s
dec. 22 death. McClatchy – Tribune Business News
Malone, P. (2008, Sep 06). The role of Prosecutors in raids questioned: DA and assistant DA are
under subpoena to testify in poker cases. McClatchy – Tribune Business News
