Judge Calabresis Flagrant Ethical Violation

Judge Calabresis Flagrant Ethical Violation

The purpose or rather logos of this memo on Judge Calabresi is to inform the public of
Canon 3A(6) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. Which states, A judge
should not make public comment on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any
court. Ed -Whelan wrote that Judge Guido Calabresi has failed to live up to his duty to
take particular care to avoid denigrat[ing] public confidence in the judiciarys integrity
and impartiality.
Given that Whelan wants to prove the point that judge Calabresi was in the wrong and
broke the law by opening his mouth in an interview, I think it is safe to say just what Ed
did, In the interest of completeness, Ill note that Canon 3A(6) also states: The
prohibition on public comment on the merits does not extend to public statements made in
the course of the judges official duties, to explanations of court procedures, or to scholarly
presentations made for purposes of legal education. I dont see any plausible argument
that his interview falls within any of these exceptions. He couldnt have said it better.
Having addressed some opposing arguments, Whelan made a great decision in the way he
wrote this and added these divergent views on the matter.
While understanding the ethos/genre of this short memo it is also important to establish
credibility. Ed Whelans Judge Calabresis Flagrant Ethical Violation attempts to evaluate
the judges comments made about a pending or impending court matter. He says in his
writing Calabresi, a former Yale law school dean, has been on the Second Circuit since
1994. Surely he ought to be familiar with the basic provisions of the Code of Conduct by
now. Yet what we have here is not an inadvertent remark, but an extensive interview, about
a pending case. By stating this Ed is explaining how competent Judge Calabresi is in the
security protocol and how he should have known better.

Judge Calabresis Flagrant Ethical Violation

The author has established a fabulous persona and knowledge of the subject. He has
provided readers with examples straight out of the Code handbook and has shown the
mistakes Judge Calabresi has made within the public. Whelan made a great decision in the
way he wrote this. He didn't pretend to know all about the court system without providing
examples and proof.
With considering the primary audience and or the pathos of this memo we need to
understand the back ground of the intended audience and whether they know about the
Code of Conduct that the United States judges are upheld to or not. In my opinion I feel
that the writer wrote this memo for a specific audience. That audience being lawyers,
judges, authority, or anyone interested in the criminal system who would want to hear
about this mishap. For example the author also writes, The admonition against public
comment about the merits of a pending or impending matter continues until the appellate
process is complete. If the public comment involves a case from the judges own court, the
judge should take particular care so that the comment does not denigrate public confidence
in the judiciarys integrity and impartiality, which would violate Canon 2A. Informing the
audience about another one of the Codes that the judges are held up to.
In my example given I feel that it grabs the audiences attention by informing them about the
codes that the judges are upheld to and need to follow. The way the author wrote this makes
your eyes pop so to speak. Many readers will realize that this is a major issue. The law has
been broke by a judge who has made his own personal comments about a case that was
supposed to be kept out of the publics eye Therefore Ed wrote this with an intent to make a
wide variety of people read it, mainly those who are interested in the law and or who are
involved with it professionally somehow. His thought process was on point and really grabs the
readers attention.

Judge Calabresis Flagrant Ethical Violation

Works Cited:

http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memosn