Law and Social Order: Legal Roles, Privileges, and Systems

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering solicitor-client privilege, obstruction of justice, defence attorney duties, plea bargaining, and theories of social order based on the lecture notes.

Solicitor-Client Privilege

A common law protection and quasi-constitutional right that protects confidential communications indefinitely between a lawyer and client when seeking legal advice.

Evidentiary Rule of Privilege

The legal rule that protects confidential lawyer-client communications from being compelled to be disclosed.

Substantive Rule of Privilege

The rule that protects lawyer-client confidentiality outside and beyond the courtroom.

Exceptions to Solicitor-Client Privilege

Circumstances where privilege does not apply or can be broken: communications not seeking legal advice, communications not intended to be confidential, public safety concerns, an 'innocent at stake' situation, or communications outlining an intended crime or fraud.

Inculpatory Evidence

Evidence that points towards guilt or suggests the accused is guilty.

Exculpatory Evidence

Evidence that supports innocence.

Obstruction of Justice

Willfully interfering, hindering, or preventing the administration of justice or evidence, punishable by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

Silence (Obstruction of Justice)

A conduct that is generally not considered obstruction and does not equal guilt, except when an individual is legally required to provide information (such as during lawful traffic stops).

Lawyers' Three Competing Duties

A lawyer's professional duties to their client (to advocate), to the public (as a citizen), and to the administration of justice (as an officer of the court).

Fiduciary Duty

A legal duty of loyalty and good faith owed by a lawyer to their client, requiring them to act in the client's interests, safeguard confidential information, avoid conflicts of interest, and deliver competent representation.

Advocate (Role of Defence Attorney)

The defence role dedicated to protecting client rights, securing the best possible legal outcome, and challenging unreliable evidence.

Intermediary (Role of Defence Attorney)

The defence role focused on negotiating with the legal system, including discussing plea agreements with the Crown prosecutor.

Counsellor (Role of Defence Attorney)

The defence role that entails explaining legal options, consequences, and risks, as well as advising whether accepting a plea offer is beneficial.

Ken Murray Case

A case addressing whether defending a client's legal interests justifies concealing physical evidence; Murray was acquitted because the Crown could not prove mens rea (that he willfully intended to obstruct justice).

Plea Bargain

An agreement in which the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a smaller punishment or lesser penalty.

Charge Bargaining

A form of plea negotiation where the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for facing fewer charges.

Sentence Bargaining

A form of plea negotiation focused on agreeing to a recommended sentence.

Fact Bargaining

A form of plea negotiation involving agreements over which facts will be presented as relevant to the case.

Trial Penalty

The risk or difference between the lighter punishment offered in a plea agreement and the harsher penalty received through a trial, creating pressure to plead guilty.

Repudiation

An act where a party seeks to withdraw from or refuses to honor a plea agreement, which remains subject to limitations.

Primary Socialization

The initial learning process through which an individual internalizes norms and values from their family.

Secondary Socialization

The learning of societal expectations through secondary institutions like schools and workplaces.

Legal Pluralism

A condition in which multiple legal systems co-exist within the same society.

Consensus Model

A conservative theory of social order asserting that society is held together by shared values, common beliefs, socialization, and conformity.

Pluralist / Interest Model

A liberal theory of social order proposing that society consists of competing interests that are continually negotiated.

Conflict / Coercion Model

A radical theory of social order arguing that society is structured by unequal power distributions and competing classes or groups.

Reasonableness Standard

A standard of administrative judicial review determining whether an agency's or tribunal's decision was justified, transparent, and reasonable.

Correctness Standard

A standard of administrative judicial review assessing whether an agency's or tribunal's decision was legally correct.