Ethics

I was disappointed in Leonard Becker?s attitude of acceptance, or resignation, with regard to the failings of defense lawyers, prosecutors, and judges in the administration of criminal justice. (Review of Amy Bach, Ordinary Justice).  For over forty years, every authoritative study has described the criminal justice system as being in a state of crisis.

I would have expected Mr. Becker, a former bar counsel, to insist that all of the participants respect their ethical obligations.  These include refusing to proceed with prosecuting, defending, and adjudicating when to do so requires lawyers and judges to violate their ethical duties as well as the constitutional rights of those who are accused.

Acting like professionals would, at the least, maintain the ethical and constitutional values that we proclaim in Law Day addresses and in after-dinner bar speeches, but that we have been satisfied to ignore in practice.

In addition, as Mr. Becker recognizes, ?the criminal justice system would collapse.?  So much the better.  The fact is that the administration of justice has long been in a state of collapse ? a fact that we lawyers and judges have been covering up by maintaining a pretense of ethical conduct and of due process of law.  As a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice told me, the only way to force real reform is to bring down the system.  Nothing short of that will command the attention of the media, the public, and public officials, and force the allocation of the resources that are necessary if we are to live up to our professional and constitutional claims.