How far can an attorney go in padding his or her resume before it becomes an ethics violation? Where padding crosses the line into lying may be unclear in some situations, but there was no ambiguity in a recent disciplinary action in Massachusetts where an attorney blatantly lied on his resume and in an online professional profile.

While searching for a job, the lawyer claimed to have received an LLM degree in taxation when he had only taken some classes in the program without graduating; altered his grade report to inflate his grades and make it appear he had graduated; lied about where he attended college; lied about having received various awards at the college he never attended; and claimed he had worked at another law firm for over two years when he actually worked there less than a year.

The opinion of the Supreme Judicial Court states that "The respondent's actions constituted dishonesty, fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation in violation of Mass. R. Prof. C. 8.4(c), and constituted conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law in violation of Mass. R. Prof. C. 8.4(h)." As a result, the lawyer's license to practice law was suspended for a period of six months.

Should lawyers face suspension of their law licenses for lying on their resumes? Was this attorney's punishment too severe, or was it too light? Does conduct like this reflect the desperation of unemployed lawyers to find jobs, or is this a sign of a serious ethical flaw in this attorney? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.

Many people post comments on Facebook when they are bored. But what happens when the person posting comments is sitting on a jury in a criminal trial, making remarks like "Can it get any more BORING than going over piles and piles of (cell phone) records?"

This issue is currently being fought in California, where defense counsel learned after a trial was over that one of the jurors was posting comments like that on Facebook during the trial. In response, the lawyers filed a request to obtain copies of everything the juror had posted on Facebook, and the judge ordered that the records be disclosed. However, both the juror and Facebook have refused to comply, arguing that federal law protects them from being compelled to disclose the material, and the issue is now pending before the California appellate courts.

Should criminal defense lawyers have the right to subpoena the Facebook posts made by jurors during a trial? Would that open the door to defendants obtaining copies of juror emails too? How much of a right to privacy does a person have in their Facebook account? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Should "cash for convictions" become the new slogan for prosecutors? In Arapahoe County, Colorado, District Attorney Carol Chambers paid bonuses to her prosecutors based on the number of convictions they obtained at trial, averaging $1,100 in bonuses for felony prosecutions in 2010.

Colorado criminal defense lawyer Stephen McCrohan has objected to the district attorney's policy by filing a motion to have the entire district attorney's office removed from the prosecution of one of his cases, and more motions involving additional defendants are expected to follow from him and from other lawyers. He has also issued subpoenas to compel the district attorney's office to turn over records revealing the details of her controversial compensation program. McCrohan's challenge to the district attorney's office is discussed in more detail in an article in the Denver Post called Defense attorney cites DA bonuses in bid for new prosecutor.

Is it unethical for prosecutors to have a financial interest in the outcome of a criminal trial? Doesn't a "cash for convictions" policy create at least the appearance that the district attorney's office may not be basing their prosecutorial decisions on the right reasons? Does this policy create grounds for having the district attorney's office removed from the prosecution of cases? Should a court or even the Colorado State Bar Association force the district attorney to abandon this policy, or is her assertion that budgetary issues in 2011 will prevent bonuses from being paid sufficient for now? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or discuss the issue in our Forum.

Finally, a law school conference that won't put you to sleep. Bob Dylan and the Law will be the topic of a two-day conference conducted at Fordham University School of Law on April 4-5, 2011. According to the National Law Journal, a 2006 study determined that Bob Dylan is the musician most cited in appellate court opinions. Organizers insist this is a serious academic conference, drawing in legal scholars from all around the country. The folk duo The Kennedys will also perform some of Dylan's music at the conference.

What are your thoughts on Bob Dylan's influence on the legal system? Has his music truly affected our court system in ways that people fail to appreciate? Have you found judges and the court system to be accurately portrayed in Bob Dylan's songs? Share your thoughts about Bob Dylan and the law in the comments section below.