Term Paper on "Ethics and the Administration of Justice"

Term Paper 5 pages (1817 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

film a Few Good Men (Rob Reiner, 1992) is set in the world of military justice, which is not as familiar to most people as the civilian court system. The ethical issues are usually the same, though the emphasis in a military court is more on adherence to the military and its culture and especially to the greater expectation of conformity and loyalty. Still, the ethical concerns for lawyers and judges should be much the same as in a civilian courtroom, with concern for fairness, the rule of evidence, and adherence to justice over expediency.

The crime in the film occurs outside the United States when Private Willie Santiago, a marine at Guantanamo, Cuba, offers to snitch on a fellow marine who had fired a shot over the dividing line into Cuba proper. That marine, Corporal Dawson, and another, a Private Downey, stick a rag down Santiago's throat and accidentally choke him to death. They are then charged with murder. Both Santiago and the two marines could be considered acting in an unethical manner. Santiago has no sense of civic duty but only wants to get a pass. The way the other two react is a clear threat to Santiago's life and well-being. As the story unfolds, it is clear that the marines recognized this possibility before it happened and that Colonel Jessup, the base commander, claims to have ordered protection for Santiago and also ordered Santiago transferred to the United States right away. Jessup produces the transfer order, though Santiago was killed the night before it could be put into effect.

In truth, though, this crime was not committed by angry marines on their own but was instead carried out at the instigation of Jessup and his underlings. He told them to run what is called a Code Red on Santiago, which would mean a form of hazing that would get him to recant. The two marines get the assignment, which then goes awry. They are being tried not just for committing the act but for thinking it up themselves, which they did not.

As is noted by Thomson (2005) when referring to the legal requirements, the prosecutor is supposed to seek justice and not merely a conviction. The defense attorney has the primary job of defending the client and is expected to do all in his or her power to do this. In this film, the general view taken of military justice is that the system protects the leadership against any accusation of wrongdoing without absolute proof, while it may respond to only indications of proof against lower personnel accused by the system. Jessup is an officer at a high level, and anyone making an accusation against him has an extraordinary task proving such an accusation. The system differs from the civilian system in the way it places special burdens on the defense attorney. If a civilian defense attorney were to accuse someone else of instigating a crime, he or she would have to prove it to prevail. However, there is no penalty on the attorney for simply raising the issue. The attorney might prove the case or might not, and he or she would be subject to court rulings in doing so. In the case of a military court martial, though, the defense attorney is in a different position because he or she is also an office in the military and may be punished for even raising the issue without proving it. His or her career can be damaged beyond repair by such an action. The law does not clearly state that this will occur, and the system is meant to be free from that sort of pressure. In reality, though, the attorney knows that there may be retaliation against him or her as well as the client. This is discussed in the film, and it is evident that if Jessup is not shown to be ling and to be responsible for what has happened, then the lawyers defending the two soldiers will be ruined along with the clients.

Essentially, then, the ethical responsibilities for both sides in the court are supposed to be the same as in a civilian court, but in practice, the lawyers know that they are expected to protect not only the client but the military if possible. Accusing Jessup is like accusing the entire military establishment of having committed a wrong, and this is only accepted if thoroughly proven. From the point-of-view of the prosecution, defense attorneys are only throwing up a smokescreen if they present evidence that someone else caused the crime to be committed, which is certainly a possibility. In a civilian court, such evidence is weighed by the jury when it is allowed in by the judge, but in the military, the judges are the jury. This fact should give them a greater responsibility to remain objective, but in practice, this is not likely to be true. As the ABA Code indicates, "Judges should not let their personal prejudices influence their decisions" (Thomson, 2005, p. 277). What is made clear in the film, though, is that the judges are generally inclined to believe an officer like Jessup because he is one of them, so they expect that his veracity should not be questioned. They thus want more evidence than they might otherwise to show that they have to question his word as well. Other witnesses might be judged by considering what they say, how they say it, and testing all on the basis of other evidence. An officer like Jessup is simply assumed to be telling the truth because he is an officer and so adheres to the military code they follow as well.

The primary attorney for the defense is Lt. Kaffee, and he is shown in the film to have a different kind of attitude than some of the other officers on his own team. For one thing, he is not a career officer and so may not be as concerned about what goes on his record for the future. He might not be promoted, but he does not want to b e promoted. The implication is that the normal career office would not rock the boat the way he does out of fear of the outcome, while it is also made evident that the only the attorney ready to rock the boat can be an effective representative for the client. Kaffee is not a career officer, so he is better able to challenge a superior officer like Jessup. Such a view of the way the military court operates is damning, suggesting that the career officers who serve as defense lawyers cannot be the best defense lawyers.

In the military system, the lawyers on both sides are part of the Judge Advocate General's office and in fact can be either prosecutors or defense attorneys, depending on how they are assigned. This really makes them more loyal to the system than to the defendant in this sort of case. Again, Kaffee is less affected by this because his intention is to leave the military and become a lawyer in a civilian firm. Lt. Commander Galloway is a military lawyer who was not wanted on this case because her superiors had not been happy with her performance on another case. It was not that they wanted the case thrown or that they did not want an assiduous defense, though, but only that she took too long to try a very simple case and so might stretch this case beyond limits. She goes outside the command structure to get herself on the case and to get Kaffee on the case as well, and this is a selfish rather than a heroic act and also raises questions about her judgment. She makes objections that are frivolous at times, and this also suggest that she is not as good a lawyer as she may think. For the most part, the attitude of her superiors is supported as the trial progresses.

How they might view Kaffee is another matter. The prosecuting attorney, Captain Ross, is a career officer and so has a somewhat biased view of Kaffee and anyone like him. He sees his role as defending the Corps. As much as prosecuting a wrongdoer, and he therefore also sees his role as protecting Jessup from any accusation that might bring disrepute to the Corps. Capt. Ross indeed warns Kaffee about how much trouble he will be bringing on his own head if he subpoenas Jessup and cannot prove the accusations he is making against him. This warning is not a ploy to keep Kaffee from presenting his case but a real warning about the way the system works. Indeed, Capt. Ross throughout has been fair to the process and to the defendants and first offered them a very fair deal if they would plead guilty. Kaffee would have accepted it, but Dawson refuses, believing the system is unfair and that Jessup has created a situation that is now damaging those… READ MORE

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