What was the lawyers name in to kill a mockingbird

Atticus is portrayed as a good father, in touch with his inner child, and a man of deep humanity and integrity. As a lawyer, Atticus can be regarded as determined to arrive at the just and appropriate outcome. In a boost to Bar morale, he was judged the greatest movie hero of the 20th century by the American Film Institute in ; the legend enhanced by the paragon of American civic decency, Peck playing him. The core of the plot is his representation of Tom Robinson, a Black man on trial for the sexual assault of a white woman in the s in the Southern United States in Maycomb, Alabama.

Although it is clear that the woman is lying, the man is convicted by an all-white jury and is shot while allegedly attempting to escape from custody. The vigilante justice of American South is thoroughly exposed.

As much as he has been sanitised, he was a product of his racist times albeit an enlightened one and in Mockingbird , both he and his family suffer considerable abuse for his representation of Tom. Everyone, he maintains, is entitled to offer his services and representations, to the innocent in particular. His mastery of his brief establishes consent, though conviction follows. The book was written against a backdrop of many racially targeted prosecutions and convictions such as the infamous Scottsboro trial.

An arbitral settlement perhaps exonerates another innocent for de facto murder when the family of the non-victim come after Atticus and his family and Boo kills him. In contrast, the decision of the jurors and the majority of people in Maycomb is the result of prejudice and illustrates the theories of legal realist Jerome Frank. There is no doubt that in finding Tom guilty, the jurors make a decision that reflects their own bias rather than the balance of the evidence.

Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. That the role of the advocate as a just and principled person is one to be cherished. Even shining knights come with blemishes. We are all creatures of upbringing and prejudices still condition our thoughts in this day and age. Such matters as cognitive bias and rushes to judgement have to be resisted at all costs and juries must continue to be warned of the same by judges and advocates.

Above all, it is a plea for tolerance and justice for all. If seeking distraction during these turbulent times, you could turn to Dickens as the supreme chronicler of Christmas, as well as the legal profession. Some of these lawyers even resemble human beings, though not pleasant ones. Lee proves through the telling of the story that she was also once a child. Also significant in understanding the epigraph is Atticus' answer to Jem's question of how a jury could convict Tom Robinson when he's obviously innocent: "'They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it — it seems that only children weep.

The lessons he learns during the course of the story will ultimately shape not only the kind of lawyer he will be, but also the kind of man he will become. Readers see this future lawyer as a child first. Previous Character List. Next Chapter 1. Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title.

M iami L. Even more than mentoring relationships, literature by its very nature translates theory and maxim to concrete application. Luyster, supra note 4 , at 56 arguing that literature shows how abstraction of a legal rule works in the context of the particulars of human lives. Menkel-Meadow argues that the concrete application that occurs in literature is central to the enthusiasm with which her students respond to studying legal ethics in literature, supra note 1 , at — Legal scholars have noted that literature provides an opportunity to study the relationship between the public and private lives of attorneys.

More generally, some argue that literary theory offers legal reasoning a rich resource for understanding how texts mean and how they can legitimately be interpreted. Given these advantages to studying law through fiction, to say nothing of the pleasure thereby afforded, it is not surprising that a literature both deep and wide has developed.

Menkel-Meadow, supra note 1 , at —8. I nterdis. W esleyan L. Caudill, supra note 13 , at 2. Menkel-Meadow, supra note 1 , at Huston, supra note 17 , at Scholarship on the origins of American legal ethics tends to commence with one particular landmark figure, George Sharswood, author of An Essay on Professional Ethics.

Andrews, supra note 26 , at , —19; Pearce, supra note 26 , at , — Andrews, supra note 26 , at , —19 ; Pearce, supra note 26 , at , —45 Andrews, supra note 26 , at —20 Since the adoption of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, legal ethics has seen two additional movements take shape: in addition to the ethics norms found in the professional rules, some jurisdictions have developed professionalism and civility standards.

David A. Disagreement exists over the precise contours of their respective subject areas. Douglas S. Grenardo, supra note 31 , at Richard, supra note 31 , at 18 emphasis added ; see also Lang, supra note 32 , at Richard, supra note 31 , at 18— Grenardo, supra note 31 , at ; but see Amy R.

Grenardo, supra note 31 , at —45; Jonathan J. Despite the efforts at improvement illustrated by this history of near-constant standard scrutiny and rule writing, the bar continues to struggle to maintain ethical, professional, and civil standards of behavior. Kolinsky, supra note 8 , at noting the divergence between how attorneys can and should behave ; Bronson D.

Marvin E. Pearce, supra note 26 , at —50 dating the debate over the role of ethics in practice to the mid-nineteenth century ; Robert Hornstein, The Role and Value of a Shadow Program in the Law School Curriculum, 31 M iss. Even scholars finding distinctive qualities in the contemporary developments faced by the bar admit that the question of the actual decline in attorney behavior is subject to debate. Daicoff, supra note 11 , at ; Sarat, supra note 10 , at —10 ; Campbell, supra note 39 , at Pearce, supra note 26 , at , —72 underscoring the assumption of shared norms in informal nineteenth-century American legal ethics and noting the difficulty of maintaining such norms with a larger, more mobile, and more diverse bar.

Daicoff, supra note 11 , at —61; see also Benjamin V. But scholars focused on the longstanding nature of ethics concerns have pointed to more fundamental, centuries-old tensions within the practice of law in the adversarial system, a system that limits—but also requires—advocacy on behalf of litigants.

Russell G. Pearce, supra note 26 , at —67 ; Andrews, supra note 26 , at — Andrews, supra note 26 , at They can include, for example, the judiciary, justice, and personal integrity.

Indeed, duties owed to the court generally have placed a limit on some duties, like zealous advocacy, owed to the client. Daicoff, supra note 11 , at —63; Andrew L. Pearce, supra note 26 , at — Ronald J. Rational deliberation is at the heart of law, and rational deliberation requires the moderate, civil use of language. Aaronson, supra note 9 , at — Harris, supra note 49 , at — Campbell, supra note 39 , at The thesis of this article is that the rhetoric of Atticus Finch provides an example that meets our expectations for an ethical attorney.

Moreover, because of his particular circumstances, he reveals how the seeming tensions or conflicts among attorney duties can be reconciled through the use of a particular way of employing speech—Attic rhetoric. Before arguing how to become like Atticus, however, I must make the case for why one might wish to do so. Part II, therefore, argues that Atticus is indeed an emulation-worthy example of ethical attorney conduct.

To be more specific, his example shows that it is possible to overcome the tensions and temptations that may cause lesser attorneys to succumb to uncivil, unethical behavior. The preamble then indicates—albeit in germ form—the potential for conflict between duties to client, to court, to society, and also to self—the same conflicts that scholars point to as the source of tension in attorney duties.

The preamble thus provides a standard that is both generally accepted and sensitive to the potential for ethical tensions. From the start Atticus evinces the intent to live up to the zealous advocacy standard by doing everything legally permissible for a client who faces dishonest accusers and a stubbornly prejudiced jury. L ee , supra note 61 , at — Jonathan A. L ee , supra note 61 , at 99— I mean everything. And you know what the truth is.

His sister, Alexandra, and his friend, Miss Maudie Atkinson, discuss how other professionals who agree with Atticus will not take public steps similar to his for fear of losing the business of those who disagree. I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough. Although Atticus retains his calm and courteous manner, his daughter—who has frequently observed him in the courtroom—recognizes the indications of his zeal operating within his characteristic self-control.

Some have argued, on the contrary, that Atticus intentionally disgraces Mayella or that his compassion for her is feigned. A Response to Professor Lubet , 97 M ich. Stone, Atticus Finch, in Context , 97 M ich. Knowing that the success of his appeal is uncertain, Tom is soon killed while attempting to escape from prison. M odel R ules , supra note 6 , at pmbl.

Atticus, an attorney whose client will not prevail despite the justice of his defense, is the most sympathetic of attorneys when it comes to the difficulty of fulfilling the function of an officer of the court. What greater temptation exists for overstepping the bounds of the law and of respect for the law? Nonetheless, Atticus expresses the utmost respect for the court and the judge. Yet he does not gloss over the injustice dealt his client.

Atticus demonstrates respect for the judge and upholds process in the courtroom through his eminently civil bearing and speech. Yet Atticus is not complacent. In his closing, he educates the jury about the critical nature of their role in the workings of the justice system.

Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. L ee , supra note 61 , at Atticus does not lie to save Jem.

He agrees to the proposed deception on his part a deception by silence only after Sheriff Tate convinces him that it is Boo Radley—not Jem—who killed Bob Ewell and thus saved his children. As the scene draws to a close, Lee has made clear that Atticus consents to silence for the sake of Boo Radley, the man who saved his children. As a practical matter, there is little that Atticus can accomplish, and his comportment as an officer of the court remains at least reasonable in its most questionable moment.

L ee , supra note 61 , at 7, , —55, , L ee , supra note 61 , at —19, —