Protecting fair trials in high profile criminal cases was the focus of a panel discussion Thursday, March 2, co-hosted by Cardozo Law’s Jacob Burns Center for Ethics and the ABA Criminal Justice Section. The panel celebrated the ABA’s recent publication focusing on the newest standards for fair trials and free press, which Professor Jessica Roth helped draft.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, United States District Judge Valerie Caproni, legendary criminal defense attorney Ted Wells, NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller, and Erica Orden of The Wall Street Journal were among the participants who engaged in a wide-ranging discussion using a hypothetical fact pattern as a launching point. Professor Roth said the event gave the audience an “unparalleled opportunity to observe some of the sharpest and more experienced legal and journalistic minds grapple with difficult ethical and strategic choices in real time. It also showcased the value of the ABA Standards, which provides guidance for situations that attorneys regularly face in these kinds of cases where the ethics rules leave a considerable gray area about the right course of conduct.”
