What If Scenario

at
Categories
Tags

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions: Please answer the following two questions base on how you would handle a certain situation or circumstance. Please make sure that your response is 150 words.
1. You are the mayor, and your city is suffering from severe economic hardship due to a decrease in the amount of property taxes received from your residents. You must cut the budget of one of your agencies of criminal justice. Which budget would you cut first: police, courts, or corrections? Why?
2. You are a defense attorney and you have been retained to represent a client who is being accused of first-degree murder. The client hands you $100,000 in cash. At the end of your consultation, the client admits to killing his wife but still wants you to represent him. What would you do?

Sample Solution

  1. In a budget crisis, I’d prioritize cutting the corrections budget first. While public safety is paramount, corrections house inmates who have already served their sentencing purpose. Reallocating those funds could bolster the police force’s preventative measures or increase court efficiency to potentially reduce future incarceration needs.

  2. This is a serious ethical dilemma. I would accept the retainer, but then explain to the client that I cannot ethically represent someone who admits guilt of first-degree murder. The goal is to provide a strong defense, and that’s impossible if the client has confessed. I would advise them to seek a different attorney who could represent them for a plea bargain or explore options based on diminished mental capacity. I would also ethically be obligated to report the confession to the authorities.

This question has been answered.

Get Answer