Methods of Ethical Decision Making
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Methods of Ethical Decision Making
Natural law refers to a theory in ethics and philosophy, indicating that human beings own intrinsic values capable of governing their reasoning and behavior. Natural law emphasizes that the rules of right and wrong are natural in people without being created by society or court judges. Ethical formalism is an ethical theory defining judgment in terms of their logical form instead of their content. The two decision-making methods are very important because they determine how the judgment of individuals should be conducted. The two methods will guide attorneys in decision making regarding the case of their clients effectively.
Defense attorneys should not act against their clients’ wishes even though they think it’s in the client’s best interest. The defense attorneys are the clients’ representatives, and they can illustrate why the clients should or should not do something (Flower, 2018). However, they have no right to do things that are against the wishes of the clients. Based on the method of ethical formalism, it is unethical for attorneys to go against the clients’ wishes. Attorneys would rather fire their clients rather than do things that are against their wish because they can be charged with unethical claims and be handed for investigation. The rule can be excluded based on the natural law indicated that clients own some values that might interfere with their reasoning and behaviors. The decision can only be made by defense counsel only if it is considered better than the wishes made by the clients. The decision can be made if the client has underlying health conditions, and they will have to be treated first before following their wishes. If the attorneys do not evaluate the client’s health status before making a decision, it falls under reversible error under the 6th Amendment right. The two method of decision making will require the attorney not to object to the client’s wish unless if the client has unstable health condition.
The third parties may contain several parties, including funders, a board of directors, employee unions, family members, adversaries, allies, and many other parties (Pena, 2017). The hurt experienced due to the decision made by defense attorney depends on the exact third party affected. The hurt may be determined on whether the defense attorney is in the public or private sector and the existing relationship between the attorney of defense and the third party. The funder may influence the representation by putting restrictions on funding. When the defense attorney makes a decision based on the client’s wishes and fails to consider the funders’ offer, the funder’s ends up being hurt, and they might withdraw from funding the case. The restriction laid down by the funders may limit the number of people who can be served or limit the extent of representation. The third-party has a major influence in the attorney of defense’s ruling but can be hurt though not illegally, when their representation in the ruling is not carried out as expected. Family members may want to be represented in a certain way, but if the clients wish they do not accommodate them, they will be hurt by the defense attorneys ruling.
It is important to maintain a good relationship between the defense attorney and client because the attorney must preserve the client’s confidences (Moore et al., 2020). Despite the nature of criminal offense conducted by the client, the defense attorney must be confidential on the client’s information. Sometimes the relationship between the defense attorneys and the clients may be threatened by Legal Services Corporation trying to interfere with the client’s confidentiality. The conversations between the defense attorney and the client are considered confidential. Therefore, the defense attorneys should not expose the clients both oral and written conversations to anyone without the client’s permission. Confidentiality is not defined by whether the client confesses to being guilty or innocent. Despite their accusations, the clients are obliged to confidentiality. All the appointed lawyers and defense attorneys are required to maintain the client’s confidence. However, client confidentiality can be denied when they have a conversation with the defense attorney in a public place and in loud voices that might attract attention from other people present in the public place. The conversation held by the defense attorney and the client should be held in a private place and should be conducted with low voices to ensure the information is only known to them. Therefore, the information regarding the client’s criminal activity should be held confidential, even if it’s dangerous or not.
Methods of ethical decision making are very important. Natural law is an ethical decision-making method that indicates that human beings own intrinsic values capable of governing their reasoning and behavior. Ethical formalism is an ethical theory defining judgment in terms of their logical form instead of their content. When defense attorneys are making a judgment on their clients using these two methods, they are obliged to follow the client’s wish unless if the client has an underlying condition that should be treated. The conversation between the defense attorney and the clients should be held confidential.
References
Flower, L. (2018). Doing loyalty: Defense lawyers’ subtle dramas in the courtroom. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 47(2), 226-254.
Moore, J., Plano Clark, V. L., Foote, L. A., & Dariotis, J. K. (2020). Attorney–client communication in public defense: A qualitative examination. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 31(6), 908-938.
Pena, M. (2017). The Role of Intermediaries and Third Parties in Victim Participation. In Victim Participation in International Criminal Justice (pp. 81-109). TMC Asser Press, The Hague.