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Rolling Stone: Chris Christie Has Disqualified Himself From Being Trump's Attorney General
Chris Christie Has Disqualified Himself From Being Trump's Attorney General
Christie's RNC speech was an open rejection of ethical norms for lawyers
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/chris-christie-has-disqualified-himself-from-being-trumps-attorney-general-w430078
Chris Christie appealed to his authority as a former prosecutor in a speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday. He purported to "present the case on the facts" against Hillary Clinton to "a jury of her peers," calling for the amped-up GOP crowd to judge her guilty of various allegations, amid chants of "Lock her up!" Some observers took Christie to be auditioning for an attorney general appointment in the potential Trump administration, but in fact the speech was an open rejection of ethical norms for lawyers that disqualifies him to be a prosecutor of any kind, let alone the nation's top one.
Under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers, drafted by the American Bar Association and adopted in various forms by the states, it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to "engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" or to "engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice" whether or not they are in court. Lawyers must refrain from knowingly or recklessly making false statements to tribunals as well as third parties. Prosecutors have special responsibilities that include the obligation to refrain from making public statements likely to prejudice the accused. But the New Jersey governor, who was recently spurned when Trump picked Mike Pence as running mate, apparently had no qualms about accusing a political opponent of various things he implied are criminal. His speech functioned as a mock trial — one riddled with false statements and omissions that kept the fact-checkers writing all night.
Now, of course, Christie isn't himself prosecuting Hillary Clinton for anything. He isn't even a practicing attorney, so he isn't at risk of being sanctioned by the bar for violating these ethics rules. But presenting himself as a lawyer to a mob calling for the imprisonment of Hillary Clinton — who hasn't been charged with any crime, after multiple politically motivated investigations — is an ethical problem nonetheless.
Scholars have argued that the professional responsibility rules should apply to politicians who are lawyers, even when they aren't acting as attorneys representing clients. The spectacle of Christie claiming to act "as a former federal prosecutor" to hold Clinton accountable is a starker than usual illustration of how lawyer-politicians can undermine respect for the rule of law.
Christie's RNC speech was an open rejection of ethical norms for lawyers
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/chris-christie-has-disqualified-himself-from-being-trumps-attorney-general-w430078
Chris Christie appealed to his authority as a former prosecutor in a speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday. He purported to "present the case on the facts" against Hillary Clinton to "a jury of her peers," calling for the amped-up GOP crowd to judge her guilty of various allegations, amid chants of "Lock her up!" Some observers took Christie to be auditioning for an attorney general appointment in the potential Trump administration, but in fact the speech was an open rejection of ethical norms for lawyers that disqualifies him to be a prosecutor of any kind, let alone the nation's top one.
Under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers, drafted by the American Bar Association and adopted in various forms by the states, it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to "engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" or to "engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice" whether or not they are in court. Lawyers must refrain from knowingly or recklessly making false statements to tribunals as well as third parties. Prosecutors have special responsibilities that include the obligation to refrain from making public statements likely to prejudice the accused. But the New Jersey governor, who was recently spurned when Trump picked Mike Pence as running mate, apparently had no qualms about accusing a political opponent of various things he implied are criminal. His speech functioned as a mock trial — one riddled with false statements and omissions that kept the fact-checkers writing all night.
Now, of course, Christie isn't himself prosecuting Hillary Clinton for anything. He isn't even a practicing attorney, so he isn't at risk of being sanctioned by the bar for violating these ethics rules. But presenting himself as a lawyer to a mob calling for the imprisonment of Hillary Clinton — who hasn't been charged with any crime, after multiple politically motivated investigations — is an ethical problem nonetheless.
Scholars have argued that the professional responsibility rules should apply to politicians who are lawyers, even when they aren't acting as attorneys representing clients. The spectacle of Christie claiming to act "as a former federal prosecutor" to hold Clinton accountable is a starker than usual illustration of how lawyer-politicians can undermine respect for the rule of law.
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