Bennett L Gershman

June 02, 2008 | National Law Journal

In attacks on the prosecutor in the Sean Bell case for not trying hard enough to win, media and "trial experts" have characterized his effort as incompetent. But blaming the acquittal of three police officers for killing Sean Bell outside Club Kalua in Queens, N.Y., on prosecutorial ineptness is misdirected. It ignores crucial considerations that no fair-minded prosecutor could avoid. A prosecutor's legal and ethical duty is not only to win, but to win while also serving the cause of justice.

By Bennett L. Gershman & Joel Cohen / Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

November 10, 2006 | National Law Journal

In September, the chief judge presiding at a different Hussein trial from the one that reached the verdict was unceremoniously thrown off the case by the prime minister of Iraq�not even a courtroom participant�for having stated to Hussein in the middle of the trial on the record: �You were not a dictator.�

By Joel Cohen & Bennett L. Gershman/Special to the NLJ

5 minute read

July 21, 2003 | National Law Journal

The attorney's role goes well beyond the courtroom. It includes, for better or worse, defending his or her client's reputation and seeking vindication in the court of public opinion. To achieve this end, should an attorney's confidential communications to a public relations consultant-let's be straight, a spin doctor-retained by the lawyer be protected under the attorney-client and work-product privileges from compelled disclosure to an adverse party or investigating grand jury?

By Joel Cohen and Bennett L. Gershman

5 minute read

February 15, 2007 | National Law Journal

The rape prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players has exposed to a national audience an unbridled abuse of prosecutorial power. From the outset, the Durham County, N.C., district attorney, Michael B. Nifong, violated so many legal and ethical rules that the case has become a national scandal.

By Bennett L. Gershman and Joel Cohen/Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

August 09, 2004 | National Law Journal

To hear federal prosecutors tell it, since the Blakely decision, the sky has been falling in on the federal criminal justice system. Yet the possible demise of the federal sentencing guidelines means renewed hope for fairness in federal criminal sentencing.

By Bennett L. Gershman Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

May 22, 2006 | National Law Journal

Each year, more than 10,000 judicial opinions from the federal circuits contain one of the following directives: "Not to be Cited," "Not for Publication," "Unpublished" or "May Not Be Cited as Precedential Authority to This or Any Other Court." Why do courts forbid lawyers to refer to these cases?

By Bennett L. Gershman/Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

March 22, 2004 | National Law Journal

Martha Stewart stands convicted primarily of lying to federal officials in informal interviews about a matter that did not result in her prosecution for substantive criminal wrongdoing. As a result of her lies, she will lose her liberty, her reputation and her financial empire. One lesson from this case is that it's bad to lie, particularly to a federal prosecutor, because he will catch you and punish you. But many will appreciate the irony in such a prosecution.

By Bennett L. Gershman and Joel CohenSpecial to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

January 28, 2008 | National Law Journal

The Mitchell Report's public identification of 85 baseball players as illegal drug users is a dangerous practice. U.S. history is replete with public accusations, often false, of people being witches and communists. While the Mitchell Report may seem to continue this prejudicial behavior, the report would have appeared less credible and received less attention if players hadn't been named.

By Joel Cohen Bennett L. Gershman / Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

October 08, 2007 | National Law Journal

The news of presidential candidate Fred Thompson's involvement in the legal representation of two Libyans charged in the Pan Am 103 bombing is not about a lawyer's ethical choice to defend an unpopular client. The real question is whether Thompson and his partners had any affirmative obligation to represent the terrorists, and whether the public has a right to consider that choice of representation � and subsequent justification � in evaluating Thompson's character and fitness to be president.

By Joel Cohen & Bennett L. Gershman / Special to The National Law Journal

5 minute read

October 12, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

The public has a right to consider Fred Thompson's that choice of representation of two Libyans in eh Pan Am 103 bombing in evaluating his judgment and fitness to be president.

By Joel Cohen and Bennett L. Gershman

5 minute read