Case Study Assignment

To demonstrate what you have learned this week, you will write and submit a 2–3 page paper designed to give you experience with formulating and writing down your thoughts in a problem-solving, ethical-choice context.

Consider again the “Betrayal” hypothetical:

Your client Jane is accused of her husband’s murder. An eye-witness who will not be shaken on cross-examination mistakenly identifies Jane as the killer. Jane was at a hotel out of town at the time of the murder but paid in cash, did not sign the hotel register, and the clerk does not remember seeing her.

Your state has the death penalty. Jane will be acquitted if you forge her signature on the register. Putting forged documents into evidence is a felony. But it is the only way to save her. You do it.

Assignment:

Write a 2–3 page paper that in simple language translates and applies the major philosophical and ethical concepts identified in this unit, including:

Teleology
Deontology
Relativism
Virtue
Justice
In your paper, you are expected to:

Address each of the major concepts.
For each concept, explain what would result by its application to the facts.
Consider the questions: Was it right for you to forge your client’s signature on the register? Would your answer be the same if the client was your child, spouse, or parent?
Articulate both the positive and negative outcomes of each solution. What is gained in the real world? What is lost? Does any solution satisfy all competing interests?
Apply the arguments advanced in the video “To Defend a Killer” to justify one solution or another.
Paper Format:

Your essay should be typed, double-spaced on standard sized paper with 1" margins on all sides
Use 10-12 point Times New Roman or similar font.
Include a page header in the upper right-hand of every page. To create a page header , click on "Insert" in Microsoft Word and then "Header." Your header should contain the first 2–3 words of the title of the paper, insert five spaces, then give the page number, e.g., Ethics - Client Representation 1.
Your title page should already include the page header (described above). In the upper half of the title page, type your full title, your byline (names[s] and affiliation (university, etc.) centered on separate lines.
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, e.g., (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
Submit your Assignment to the Dropbox by the end of Unit 1.