I really enjoyed our mock trial in our labs this week. The last time I did a mock trial was in 8th grade so it was fun being able to do it again. I think ethics and virtue is a touchy subject in court cases because it is do hard to deem the standards of what is right and wrong. Being in the LDS Church we have a clear understanding of these principles, but for people in other faiths (or people who have no faith), there can be a lot of grey area. We do have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to deem what our natural rights are, but specifics such as abortion (life vs. privacy), and free speech (flag burning) can be interpreted either way. I think it is really important for people of the LDS faith to determine what the boundaries are by the Spirit. For I think the Founding Fathers were inspired when they wrote the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
I actually worked in law firm this past summer, and I know that lawyers may have to go against their best judgement and take the guilty side, which is why I could never be a lawyer. The lawyer even told me about some cases (not giving specifics or names) and clients who he absolutely did not like because of their crimes, and he had to defend them! I think lawyers have to have the mentality that it doesn't matter who wins or losses, just that justice is served.
In the case we did in class, I think the witness fell into peer pressure. I am an avid animals right activist, but students should have the opportunity to learn in the best way possible.
I do think that the final decision made in the case was the right one, and I was super excited that my side one! Go Defense!
I probably won't use ethics in my leadership role because being in charge of advertising for Freeze Fest does not involve a lot of controversy. But integrity can be used in every leadership role, and I can use integrity in my leadership role just by putting the most effort I can into that role, and not slacking on the job.
When i was reading your blog i like what you said about lawyer. Sometimes they have to go against their ethics and integrity after all its their profession and on top of that they have to deal with clients who did serious crime and yet lawyer have to defend them. But on the other hand what i thought was lawyer profession is not bad at all because while defending a client, deal with those case which is ethically right. Which will help us to deal with ethics and integrity which may help us to love the profession. Overall good blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Ashley! I like what you said about following the spirit and also mentioning that if you become a lawyer you have to just hope that justice will be served. It's true that we have to have integrity in every leadership position by being honest and putting forth our best effort.
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