Required Reading:
Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. Peter Cannon
Questions:
[a] Why should judges care if attorneys submit plagiarized legal briefs or motions? Please explain your answer.
[b] The Iowa Supreme Court referred to another case involving attorney plagiarism (Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics & Conduct v. Lane). In that case, the punishment for attorney Lane (suspension of his license to practice) was more severe than the punishment imposed on attorney Cannon. What distinction did the court make between these two cases? Do you agree with the court’s reasoning?
Identify the author in your answer, either in the sentence (e.g., “Abraham Lincoln said, …”) or at the end of the sentence in parenthesis.
Use quotation marks or block indentation when you incorporate any language from any source, including all seminar readings. Cite the source immediately thereafter. Also, even if you don’t use a direct quotation, immediately identify the source if you use an author’s core ideas or phraseology. Just mention the author’s name when you do so (for example, “As Greenspan suggested . . . “)
If in doubt, it’s always prudent to include quotation marks and a citation.
