Public Service Flashcards
7 cards from real MPRE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Public Service flashcards as text
Under Model Rule 6.2, a lawyer may seek to avoid court appointment to represent a client in which of the following situations?
Answer: The representation would result in a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Rule 6.2(a) permits declining an appointment when representation would violate the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Attorney Reyes is court-appointed to represent an indigent defendant whom Reyes finds morally reprehensible. Under Rule 6.2, Reyes:
Answer: Must accept the appointment; moral disagreement alone is not good cause to decline.
Personal moral disagreement with a client or cause is not listed as good cause to avoid appointment under Rule 6.2.
Which scenario would constitute 'good cause' to avoid a court appointment under Rule 6.2?
Answer: The case involves a subject matter outside the lawyer's expertise with no time to prepare adequately.
Rule 6.2(c) recognizes that a significantly unreasonable financial burden or incompetence that cannot be remedied constitutes good cause to decline appointment.
A lawyer accepts a court appointment to represent an indigent client. The lawyer later learns the representation will cause an unreasonable financial burden that was not foreseeable at appointment. Under Rule 6.2, the lawyer should:
Answer: Seek leave of court to withdraw, demonstrating the financial hardship.
Rule 6.2(b) permits seeking to avoid or withdraw from an appointment when it would impose an unreasonable financial burden, but court permission is typically required.
The commentary to Rule 6.2 states that a lawyer should not seek to avoid appointment merely because the client or cause is:
Answer: Unpopular or the client's views are regarded by many as repugnant.
The comment to Rule 6.2 explicitly states that avoiding appointment is not justified simply because the client or cause is unpopular or the client's views repugnant.
An attorney is appointed by the court to represent a defendant in a capital case. The attorney has never handled a capital case and lacks training in capital defense. Under Rule 6.2 and the competence obligations, the attorney should:
Answer: Seek to decline the appointment or move for associate counsel with capital experience.
Lack of competence to handle a specialized matter like capital defense can constitute good cause under Rule 6.2(c) and implicates the duty of competence under Rule 1.1.
Rule 6.2's underlying policy is best described as reflecting which principle?
Answer: Access to justice requires lawyers to share the burden of representing those who cannot afford counsel.
Rule 6.2 reflects the principle that lawyers, as officers of the legal system, bear a civic responsibility to help ensure access to justice for those who cannot afford representation.