Ethics of Law

Legal Ethics (LGLS445) – Spring 2015
Take home exam

Answer the questions listed below. For each question, write an answer that is no longer than 2 single-spaced pages (there is no minimum length). Each answer is graded based on the quality of the written product (grammar, readability, structure, citations) and of the background research and/or reflective analysis.

 

 

Answer the following

 

 

1. Whether Edward Snowden is a traitor or a patriot is a highly contested issue. Should he be assured protection under the whistleblower federal protection program or be tried and convicted of treason? Build your argument in reference to the relevant legal provisions.
2. Research the collective action problem associated with Atlantic salmon fisheries in Maine (a common-pool resource) and what governance design principles were adopted to resolve the collection action dilemma (http://geo.coop/node/681#design).

 

 

Answer 2 of the following 3 questions

 

The Boston Marathon trial against convicted terrorist bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is going through the sentencing stage. The US government is seeking the death penalty. Tsarnaev is seeking life in prison without parole. Choose two of the three questions and write separate essays:

 

 

4. Research and discuss the role of crime victims during the sentencing stage in federal criminal trials.
5. Read the Boston Globe editorial To end the anguish, drop the death penalty (http://bit.ly/1DO0det) in which the parents of the boy who was the youngest to die in the attack on the Boston Marathon asked federal prosecutors to abandon their effort to sentence the bomber to death. Provide an assessment of their argument by analyzing, in particular, the notion of “substantial federal interest” that the US Department of Justice assess as prerequisite before prosecutors seek capital punishment in federal cases.
6. Assume that the jury returns the sentence of life in prison without parole. Is this a defeat for the US government? Discuss.