Lawyers' character, moral insight and ethical blindness

Article

Mortensen, Reid. 2002. "Lawyers' character, moral insight and ethical blindness." Queensland Lawyer. 22, pp. 166-179.
Article Title

Lawyers' character, moral insight and ethical blindness

ERA Journal ID36803
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorMortensen, Reid
Journal TitleQueensland Lawyer
Journal Citation22, pp. 166-179
Number of Pages14
Year2002
Place of PublicationSydney, Australia
ISSN0312-1658
Abstract

In admission and disciplinary proceedings, directed by the overarching principle of securing the protection of the public, judges sometimes have to decide whether a person is morally qualified to practise law. Framing the discussion with an analysis of three of the Court of Appeal's decisions in 2001, this article addresses the judges' focus on the 'intrinsic character' of candidates for legal practice, and evidence that they use to measure it. Specifically, it considers the relevance of the moral judgments that candidates make about their own conduct during the investigations and proceedings, and attitudes that they show towards the proceedings themselves.

Keywordslawyers; character; morals; ethics
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020480505. Legal practice, lawyering and the legal profession
500105. Legal ethics
500202. History and philosophy of law and justice
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Queensland
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