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Law & Policy

The relationship between ethics, the legal system, and government policy is complex. The legal right to do something does not mean an action is ethical.

Overview

There is a complex (and sometimes obscure) relationship between ethics, our legal system, and local, state, and federal policy. Extensive scholarship on this relationship already exists.

These resources are focused on the ways in which behavioral ethics and applied ethics interact with, and may influence, law and policy. For instance, a person may have the legal right to do something, such as protest at a funeral, but is that course of action itself ethically justifiable? Conversely, on rare occasions, a course of action may be ethical but not legal.

Topics introduced here relate to the relationship between ethics and the law, such as conflict of interest, justified harm, and moral agency. Some video and case study resources describe the behavioral ethics biases and social and organizational pressures that can cause us to violate the law and act unethically. Other resources include pragmatic approaches to understanding contemporary legal and social issues, such as free speech, copyright protection, and the act of appropriation versus attribution. Additionally, these curated resources also include examples of how law and policy may affect particular populations in regards to religion, race, class, speech, and freedom of choice.

Start Here: Videos

Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest

Conflict of interest arises when we have incentives that conflict with our professional duties and responsibilities in ways that harm others and society.

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Loss Aversion

Loss Aversion

We hate losses about twice as much as we enjoy gains, meaning we are more likely to act unethically to avoid a loss than to secure a gain. This phenomenon is known as loss aversion.

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Start Here: Cases

Cheney v. U.S. District Court

Cheney v. U.S. District Court

A controversial case focuses on Justice Scalia’s personal friendship with Vice President Cheney and the possible conflict of interest it poses to the case.

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Snyder v. Phelps

Snyder v. Phelps

Freedom of speech was put on trial in a case involving the Westboro Baptist Church and their protesting at the funeral of U.S. Marine Matthew Snyder.

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Teaching Notes

Begin by viewing the “Start Here” videos. They introduce key topics such as conflict of interest, legal rights versus ethical responsibilities, and justified harm. Read through these videos’ teaching notes for details and related ethics concepts. Watch the “Related Videos” and/or read the related Case Study. “Additional Resources” offer further reading, a bibliography, and (sometimes) assignment suggestions.

Show a video in class, assign a video to watch outside of class, or embed a video in an online learning module such as Canvas. Then, prompt conversation in class to encourage peer-to-peer learning. Ask students to answer the video’s “Discussion Questions,” and to reflect on the ideas and issues raised by the students in the video. How do their experiences align? How do they differ? The videos also make good writing prompts. Ask students to watch a video and apply the ethics concept to course content.

Case studies are an effective way to introduce the relationship between ethics and the law, too, and for students to learn how to spot ethical issues. Select a case study from the Cases Series or ask students to read a video’s “Case Study” and answer the case study “Discussion Questions.” Then, ask students to reason through the ethical dimensions presented, and to sketch the legal and ethical decision-making processes outlined by the case. Then, challenge students to develop strategies to avoid the ethical pitfalls. Suggest students watch the case study’s “Related Videos” and “Related Terms” to further their understanding.

Ethics Unwrapped blogs are also useful prompts to engage students. Learning about ethics in the context of real-world (often current) events can enliven classroom discussion and make ethics relevant and concrete for students. Share a blog in class or post one to the class’s online learning module. To spur discussion, ask students to identify the ethical issues at hand and to name the ethics concepts related to the blog (or current event in the news). Dig more deeply into the topic using the Additional Resources listed at the end of the blog post.

Remember to review video, case study, and blogs’ relevant glossary terms. In this way, you will become familiar with all the ethics concepts contained in these material. Share this vocabulary with your students, and use it to expand and enrich ethics and leadership conversations in your classroom. To dive deeper in the glossary, watch “Related” glossary videos.

Many of the concepts covered in Ethics Unwrapped operate in tandem with each other. As you watch more videos, you will become more fluent in ethics and see the interrelatedness of ethics concepts more readily. You also will be able to spot ethical issues more easily – at least, that is the hope! As your students watch more videos, it will be easier for them to recognize and understand ethical issues and their relationship to the law and government policy. Hopefully, they will also come to realize the interconnectedness of ethics and leadership, and the essential role ethics plays in developing solid leadership skills.

Additional Videos

Additional Cases