Consider the Commandment, Too
Amber Hollister’s article entitled “Exercising Discretion: The Intersection of Morality and Ethics” (Bar Counsel, February/March 2016) is certainly well written and thought provoking.
I am somewhat disappointed, however, in her lack of acknowledgment of the possible role of moral upbringing or moral training, experience and beliefs from a faith-based standpoint.
Amber states, “A lawyer’s moral reasoning is influenced to a great degree by the lawyer’s intuition and emotionally-based response.” I would hope that most lawyers would be influenced to a large degree by what is known as the Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”
Certainly even in this secular age, we can still acknowledge the role that the Judeo-Christian code has had and ought to continue to have in our moral thinking and acting. Or is it too politically incorrect to say so in the Bulletin?
In my opinion, if the lawyer shalt not steal, she or he should choose the option that stops the client from doing so as well. At least consider the Commandment and its progeny. Perhaps many would add: Pray on it. Then decide.
Allen Reel, Beaverton
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