Prosecutorial Ethics: The Case for the Per Se Rule

“The integrity of the legal system is essential to public confidence in government. Without public confidence, the rule of law loses its meaning. The prosecutor is often the most visible participant in the criminal justice system, and thus, even the appearance of impropriety in the prosecutor\u27s behavior erodes the public trust. He has a duty to seek justice and truth, not only to convict. This duty creates a dual role for the prosecutor: he is both an advocate seeking to obtain convictions and a minister of justice attempting to discover the truth. The public expects him to fulfill these functions to the best of his ability and to act fairly in executing all of his responsibilities. There are, however, instances where the prosecutor\u27s conduct prevents a fair trial. This Note will discuss the ethical problems faced by the prosecutor who litigates both civil and criminal cases arising out of the same dispute or set of facts. These ethical issues arise in two situations: where the prosecutor\u27s prior private practice conflicts with his current position or where the prosecutor simultaneously maintains a private practice that conflicts with his position as prosecutor. In either situation, the prosecutor confronts ethical considerations bearing directly on his impartial role as minister of justice. Part II of this Note discusses the obligations of the prosecutor and the professional standards that govern his conduct. Part III examines some of the factors that can generate prosecutorial misconduct, and Part IV presents the case law governing such ethical dilemmas. Part V considers the shortcomings in the present case law and argues that the existing law inadequately deters unethical behavior. In order to deter unethical behavior, Part VI recommends the adoption of a per se rule, which would prohibit a prosecutor\u27s involvement in criminal cases that overlap with cases from their private practices.

Moths and How to Rear Them. Paul Villiard. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1969. xiv, 242 pp. $10.00.

Excerpt: W.J.B. Crotch\u27s A Silkmoth Rearer\u27s Handbook (1956) and Wild Silk Moths of the United States by Michael Collins and Robert Weast (1961) have been standard rearers\u27 manuals for some time, but both are limited to one group of large moths, and there has been a decided need for a low-priced guide covering rearing procedures for a much wider range of Lepidoptera. For a number of reasons, Villiard\u27s book falls short of this goal

Multilateralism cursed by bilateralism: Japan’s Role at the International Whaling Commission

We propose a new categorization of international organizations to account for the fact that within multilateral international organizations, states may engage in “enticement” strategies in order to advance their policy preferences. Thus, to the traditional multilateral/bilateral categorizations we substitute a hard multilateral/soft multilateral and reciprocal bilateral/bilateral taxonomy. For illustration purposes, we use the well-known case study of Japan and the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Using a modified gravity model to analyze Japan’s Official Development Assistance from 1973-2005, we find that Japan has a very traditional – and generous – assistance policy broadly defined, but when it comes to the IWC, some of the general principles driving the aid policy are put aside to possibly influence vote outcomes. Given this finding, we conclude that the IWC is best categorized as a soft multilateral organization.

THE NORTHERN SEA ROUTE AND RUSSIAN STRATEGY

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) has been important to Russian strategy since the 1930s. Climate change has increased average global temperature and caused sea ice to melt. Access to the NSR has been steadily increasing, creating new potential for the route. This thesis seeks to determine Russia’s primary aim for developing the NSR. It first analyzes Russia’s stated objectives for the NSR and identifies three main potential incentives: international transportation route development, natural resource development, and national security. Next, the thesis analyzes the actions that Russia has actually taken to develop the NSR in each of these categories. It finds that there is evidence to support both an economic incentive of natural resource development and a strategic incentive of national security development for the NSR. The thesis did not find support for the incentive of an alternate global trade route. The evidence suggests that Russia is taking steps to propel itself both economically and strategically on a global scale. The study recommends follow-on research to determine whether resource development or national security is more important to the Russian government.Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

VC-dimension of short Presburger formulas

We study VC-dimension of short formulas in Presburger Arithmetic, defined to have a bounded number of variables, quantifiers and atoms. We give both lower and upper bounds, which are tight up to a polynomial factor in the bit length of the formula

A Linguist Looks at Tolkien\u27s Elvish

A somewhat playful look at Tolkien’s invented languages, deducing some of the rules for evolution from Proto-Eldarian to Quenya then Sindarin and offering possible derivations for a number of hobbit words and names. Donahue’s conclusion is that Tolkien’s inventive sense was “puckish” and sprang from “a penchant for drollery.” Followed by Comments by Paul Nolan Hyde rebutting a number of Donahue’s points, a Reply by Donahue, and a Rejoinder by Hyde