Perhaps the biggest and most important ethical conflict that the assistant district attorney (ADA) will experience is whether he will be able to continue his job or even remain a lawyer after serving his time. Under American Bar Association’s (ABA) Standards for Criminal Justice; a district attorney is an officer of the court who has the duty to seek and administer justice, avoid conflicts of interest, and respond to misconduct within their place of work when they encounter it (ABA, 1992). Consequently, from the point of view of the district attorney’s office, it is questionable that an ADA that has been arrested, served time and completed probation would, at least in the eyes of the community, be able to satisfy these standards. For example, it would be difficult for the ADA to show that he is seeking and administering justice when he himself was found guilty of injustice. Moreover, it would be difficult for the ADA to illustrate that he has no conflicts of interest in prosecuting defendants, especially those defendants suspected of engaging in acts of child exploitation; since he was once himself a defendant as well.
Secondly, in addition to the special ethical standards of a prosecutor, the ADA is also expected to comply with the normal ethical standards that all lawyers are subject to follow. For example, under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers, attorneys are expected to “maintain high standards of professional conduct”, as well as refrain from “all illegal and morally reprehensible conduct” (ABA, 2013). More specifically, the model rules state that an attorney shall no “engage in illegal conduct involving moral turpitude” (ABA, 2013). While the definition of what conduct is considered as violation of the moral turpitude prohibition; in some states such as California relevant conduct includes “attempted lewd acts on a minor” and “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” (In re Lasansy, 2001). Although, each state has its own means to disciple an attorney that violates the ethical code of its bar association, many if not most states allow for the disbarment of an attorney that is found guilty of violating the moral turpitude standards. Consequently, in the case of the ADA in question, there is a substantial chance that he will be disbarred and forbidden from the practice of law for his conviction.
Assuming for argument that the ADA is allowed to keep his job as a prosecutor and that he is not disbarred; there are still a number of ethical challenges that he will face. First and foremost, he will be challenged by the fundamental power of a prosecutor to decide on which charges to file. If, for instance, the case that is presented to him is represented by his former defense attorney in his own case, he will face questions of whether he filed the appropriate charge depending on his relationship with the attorney. Moreover, regardless to the defense counsel, he will also be confronted on whether he files appropriately if the case involved his former cellmate or others that he met while in custody or on probation. A second ethical challenge will be illustrated in the ADA’s relationship with police. Under the ABA model rules for prosecutors, a district attorney is expected to provide legal advice to police authorities as well as work with them in a cooperative manner to allow for the effective administration of the criminal justice system. However, in this case, it will mean working with some police officers that had investigated the ADA’s case and most likely provided the evidence that lead to his conviction. Third, the attorney’s duties to the court and to the community will also be an ethical challenge in those case where he might have to appear before a judge that was involved in his case or victims and witnesses that might have played a role in his case. For most of these interactions, the ADA would be better served by recusing himself if possible. On the other hand, because of the small size of the jurisdiction this may not be a possibility.
References
American Bar Association (ABA). (2013). Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/model_rules_of_professional_conduct_table_of_contents.html
American Bar Association (ABA). (1992). Standards of Criminal Justice: Prosecution Function. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/publications/criminal_justice_section_archive/crimjust_standards_pfunc_toc.html
In re Lesansky, 25 Cal.4th 11 (2001). Retrieved from http://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/re-lesansky-32127
