AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I have been a practicing civil trial attorney since 1989 and have a master's degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy in comparative ethics of law, medicine and business.
I am Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and am Certified as a Specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation by the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization.
Experience Experience in the area I have been a practicing trial attorney since 1989 and I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics.
Organizations belong to State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice
Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
Question Is it unethical for a public defender (who also has a private practice) to petition the court to have a mental health evaluation performed (on the public defender's client in a criminal case) by a client she is representing in a custody matter? (Her client in the custody case is a clinical psychologist, but not the only one available)(The PD case is in one county, the custody case in a different county.) (This is in Pennsylvania)
Answer Ann,
It is probably not unethical, however, it is legally not a good idea to do so. The psychologist can easily be cross-examined and the bias shown. There is also an appearance of impropriety which is discouraged by both the state bar and board of psychology.
