Conflicts Over Conflicts: Challenges in Redrafting the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice on Conflicts of Interest

Abstract:     
Currently, an ABA Task Force faces the considerable challenge of redrafting the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice. Prosecutors and defense counsel need clear guidance on how to handle conflicts of interest rules. However, the initial challenge is in identifying those questions a code of ethics should answer when it comes to conflict situations. With the help of prominent lawyers, academics and judges who participated in a series of roundtables on the new ABA standards, this article identifies forty of the key questions to ask about conflicts of interests. These questions allow real progress to be made toward creating a code that will direct the bench and the bar in the handling of criminal cases.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 30

Accepted Paper Series