When it comes to government ethics, too often lawyers are nowhere to be
seen, unless they are the ones saying that unethical conduct is legal.
Far too often, lawyers do not use their knowledge, their strong, independent
personalities, and their professional
obligations to stand up to, or at least question, those acting
unethically.
A horrible example of this, a cautionary tale that every law student
should read in the first year, occurred when all the lawyers in the
system (and other professionals, as well) did nothing to stop thousands
of juveniles from being tried without counsel and wrongfully sent to detention centers
in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (see
my blog post on this situation).
The Interbranch Commission
on Juvenile Conduct's final report on the criminal and
unethical conduct of the Luzerne County juvenile court was published a
month
ago, and it is painful, but important reading.