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Case Studies

More than 70 cases pair ethics concepts with real world situations. From journalism, performing arts, and scientific research to sports, law, and business, these case studies explore current and historic ethical dilemmas, their motivating biases, and their consequences. Each case includes discussion questions, related videos, and a bibliography.

A Million Little Pieces

James Frey’s popular memoir stirred controversy and media attention after it was revealed to contain numerous exaggerations and fabrications.

Abramoff: Lobbying Congress

Super-lobbyist Abramoff was caught in a scheme to lobby against his own clients. Was a corrupt individual or a corrupt system – or both – to blame?

Apple Suppliers & Labor Practices

Is tech company Apple, Inc. ethically obligated to oversee the questionable working conditions of other companies further down their supply chain?

Approaching the Presidency: Roosevelt & Taft

Some presidents view their responsibilities in strictly legal terms, others according to duty. Roosevelt and Taft took two extreme approaches.

Appropriating “Hope”

Fairey’s portrait of Barack Obama raised debate over the extent to which an artist can use and modify another’s artistic work, yet still call it one’s own.

Arctic Offshore Drilling

Competing groups frame the debate over oil drilling off Alaska’s coast in varying ways depending on their environmental and economic interests.

Banning Burkas: Freedom or Discrimination?

The French law banning women from wearing burkas in public sparked debate about discrimination and freedom of religion.

Birthing Vaccine Skepticism

Wakefield published an article riddled with inaccuracies and conflicts of interest that created significant vaccine hesitancy regarding the MMR vaccine.

Blurred Lines of Copyright

Marvin Gaye’s Estate won a lawsuit against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for the hit song “Blurred Lines,” which had a similar feel to one of his songs.

Bullfighting: Art or Not?

Bullfighting has been a prominent cultural and artistic event for centuries, but in recent decades it has faced increasing criticism for animal rights’ abuse.

Buying Green: Consumer Behavior

Do purchasing green products, such as organic foods and electric cars, give consumers the moral license to indulge in unethical behavior?

Cadavers in Car Safety Research

Engineers at Heidelberg University insist that the use of human cadavers in car safety research is ethical because their research can save lives.

Cardinals’ Computer Hacking

St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa hacked into the Houston Astros’ webmail system, leading to legal repercussions and a lifetime ban from MLB.

Cheating: Atlanta’s School Scandal

Teachers and administrators at Parks Middle School adjust struggling students’ test scores in an effort to save their school from closure.

Cheating: Sign-Stealing in MLB

The Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scheme rocked the baseball world, leading to a game-changing MLB investigation and fallout.

Cheating: UNC’s Academic Fraud

UNC’s academic fraud scandal uncovered an 18-year scheme of unchecked coursework and fraudulent classes that enabled student-athletes to play sports.

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.

Christina Fallin: “Appropriate Culturation?”

After Fallin posted a picture of herself wearing a Plain’s headdress on social media, uproar emerged over cultural appropriation and Fallin’s intentions.

Climate Change & the Paris Deal

While climate change poses many abstract problems, the actions (or inactions) of today’s populations will have tangible effects on future generations.

Cover-Up on Campus

While the Baylor University football team was winning on the field, university officials failed to take action when allegations of sexual assault by student athletes emerged.

Covering Female Athletes

Sports Illustrated stirs controversy when their cover photo of an Olympic skier seems to focus more on her physical appearance than her athletic abilities.

Covering Yourself? Journalists and the Bowl Championship

Can news outlets covering the Bowl Championship Series fairly report sports news if their own polls were used to create the news?

Cyber Harassment

After a student defames a middle school teacher on social media, the teacher confronts the student in class and posts a video of the confrontation online.

Defending Freedom of Tweets?

Running back Rashard Mendenhall receives backlash from fans after criticizing the celebration of the assassination of Osama Bin Laden in a tweet.

Dennis Kozlowski: Living Large

Dennis Kozlowski was an effective leader for Tyco in his first few years as CEO, but eventually faced criminal charges over his use of company assets.

Digital Downloads

File-sharing program Napster sparked debate over the legal and ethical dimensions of downloading unauthorized copies of copyrighted music.

Dr. V’s Magical Putter

Journalist Caleb Hannan outed Dr. V as a trans woman, sparking debate over the ethics of Hannan’s reporting, as well its role in Dr. V’s suicide.

East Germany’s Doping Machine

From 1968 to the late 1980s, East Germany (GDR) doped some 9,000 athletes to gain success in international athletic competitions despite being aware of the unfortunate side effects.

Ebola & American Intervention

Did the dispatch of U.S. military units to Liberia to aid in humanitarian relief during the Ebola epidemic help or hinder the process?

Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?

Was Edward Snowden’s release of confidential government documents ethically justifiable?

Ethical Pitfalls in Action

Why do good people do bad things? Behavioral ethics is the science of moral decision-making, which explores why and how people make the ethical (and unethical) decisions that they do.

Ethical Use of Home DNA Testing

The rising popularity of at-home DNA testing kits raises questions about privacy and consumer rights.

Flying the Confederate Flag

A heated debate ensues over whether or not the Confederate flag should be removed from the South Carolina State House grounds.

Freedom of Speech on Campus

In the wake of racially motivated offenses, student protests sparked debate over the roles of free speech, deliberation, and tolerance on campus.

Freedom vs. Duty in Clinical Social Work

What should social workers do when their personal values come in conflict with the clients they are meant to serve?

Full Disclosure: Manipulating Donors

When an intern witnesses a donor making a large gift to a non-profit organization under misleading circumstances, she struggles with what to do.

Gaming the System: The VA Scandal

The Veterans Administration’s incentives were meant to spur more efficient and productive healthcare, but not all administrators complied as intended.

German Police Battalion 101

During the Holocaust, ordinary Germans became willing killers even though they could have opted out from murdering their Jewish neighbors.

Head Injuries & American Football

Many studies have linked traumatic brain injuries and related conditions to American football, creating controversy around the safety of the sport.

Head Injuries & the NFL

American football is a rough and dangerous game and its impact on the players’ brain health has sparked a hotly contested debate.

Healthcare Obligations: Personal vs. Institutional

A medical doctor must make a difficult decision when informing patients of the effectiveness of flu shots while upholding institutional recommendations.

High Stakes Testing

In the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act, parents, teachers, and school administrators take different positions on how to assess student achievement.

In-FUR-mercials: Advertising & Adoption

When the Lied Animal Shelter faces a spike in animal intake, an advertising agency uses its moral imagination to increase pet adoptions.

Krogh & the Watergate Scandal

Egil Krogh was a young lawyer working for the Nixon Administration whose ethics faded from view when asked to play a part in the Watergate break-in.

Limbaugh on Drug Addiction

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh argued that drug abuse was a choice, not a disease. He later became addicted to painkillers.

U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte’s “over-exaggeration” of an incident at the 2016 Rio Olympics led to very real consequences.

Meet Me at Starbucks

Two black men were arrested after an employee called the police on them, prompting Starbucks to implement “racial-bias” training across all its stores.

Myanmar Amber

Buying amber could potentially fund an ethnic civil war, but refraining allows collectors to acquire important specimens that could be used for research.

Negotiating Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy lawyer Gellene successfully represented a mining company during a major reorganization, but failed to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Pao & Gender Bias

Ellen Pao stirred debate in the venture capital and tech industries when she filed a lawsuit against her employer on grounds of gender discrimination.

Pardoning Nixon

One month after Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency, Gerald Ford made the controversial decision to issue Nixon a full pardon.

Patient Autonomy & Informed Consent

Nursing staff and family members struggle with informed consent when taking care of a patient who has been deemed legally incompetent.

Prenatal Diagnosis & Parental Choice

Debate has emerged over the ethics of prenatal diagnosis and reproductive freedom in instances where testing has revealed genetic abnormalities.

Reporting on Robin Williams

After Robin Williams took his own life, news media covered the story in great detail, leading many to argue that such reporting violated the family’s privacy.

Responding to Child Migration

An influx of children migrants posed logistical and ethical dilemmas for U.S. authorities while intensifying ongoing debate about immigration.

Retracting Research: The Case of Chandok v. Klessig

A researcher makes the difficult decision to retract a published, peer-reviewed article after the original research results cannot be reproduced.

Sacking Social Media in College Sports

In the wake of questionable social media use by college athletes, the head coach at University of South Carolina bans his players from using Twitter.

Selling Enron

Following the deregulation of electricity markets in California, private energy company Enron profited greatly, but at a dire cost.

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.

Something Fishy at the Paralympics

Rampant cheating has plagued the Paralympics over the years, compromising the credibility and sportsmanship of Paralympian athletes.

Sports Blogs: The Wild West of Sports Journalism?

Deadspin pays an anonymous source for information related to NFL star Brett Favre, sparking debate over the ethics of “checkbook journalism.”

Stangl & the Holocaust

Franz Stangl was the most effective Nazi administrator in Poland, killing nearly one million Jews at Treblinka, but he claimed he was simply following orders.

Teaching Blackface: A Lesson on Stereotypes

A teacher was put on leave for showing a blackface video during a lesson on racial segregation, sparking discussion over how to teach about stereotypes.

The Astros’ Sign-Stealing Scandal

The Houston Astros rode a wave of success, culminating in a World Series win, but it all came crashing down when their sign-stealing scheme was revealed.

The Central Park Five

Despite the indisputable and overwhelming evidence of the innocence of the Central Park Five, some involved in the case refuse to believe it.

The CIA Leak

Legal and political fallout follows from the leak of classified information that led to the identification of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

The Collapse of Barings Bank

When faced with growing losses, investment banker Nick Leeson took big risks in an attempt to get out from under the losses. He lost.

The Costco Model

How can companies promote positive treatment of employees and benefit from leading with the best practices? Costco offers a model.

The FBI & Apple Security vs. Privacy

How can tech companies and government organizations strike a balance between maintaining national security and protecting user privacy?

The Miss Saigon Controversy

When a white actor was cast for the half-French, half-Vietnamese character in the Broadway production of Miss Saigon , debate ensued.

The Sandusky Scandal

Following the conviction of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky for sexual abuse, debate continues on how much university officials and head coach Joe Paterno knew of the crimes.

The Varsity Blues Scandal

A college admissions prep advisor told wealthy parents that while there were front doors into universities and back doors, he had created a side door that was worth exploring.

Providing radiation therapy to cancer patients, Therac-25 had malfunctions that resulted in 6 deaths. Who is accountable when technology causes harm?

Welfare Reform

The Welfare Reform Act changed how welfare operated, intensifying debate over the government’s role in supporting the poor through direct aid.

Wells Fargo and Moral Emotions

In a settlement with regulators, Wells Fargo Bank admitted that it had created as many as two million accounts for customers without their permission.

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Home > Ethics > Ethics Case Studies

Ethics Ethics Case Studies

The SPJ Code of Ethics is voluntarily embraced by thousands of journalists, regardless of place or platform, and is widely used in newsrooms and classrooms as a guide for ethical behavior. The code is intended not as a set of "rules" but as a resource for ethical decision-making. It is not — nor can it be under the First Amendment — legally enforceable. For an expanded explanation, please follow this link .

For journalism instructors and others interested in presenting ethical dilemmas for debate and discussion, SPJ has a useful resource. We've been collecting a number of case studies for use in workshops. The Ethics AdviceLine operated by the Chicago Headline Club and Loyola University also has provided a number of examples. There seems to be no shortage of ethical issues in journalism these days. Please feel free to use these examples in your classes, speeches, columns, workshops or other modes of communication.

Kobe Bryant’s Past: A Tweet Too Soon? On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area. While the majority of social media praised Bryant after his death, within a few hours after the story broke, Felicia Sonmez, a reporter for The Washington Post , tweeted a link to an article from 2003 about the allegations of sexual assault against Bryant. The question: Is there a limit to truth-telling? How long (if at all) should a journalist wait after a person’s death before resurfacing sensitive information about their past?

A controversial apology After photographs of a speech and protests at Northwestern University appeared on the university's newspaper's website, some of the participants contacted the newspaper to complain. It became a “firestorm,” — first from students who felt victimized, and then, after the newspaper apologized, from journalists and others who accused the newspaper of apologizing for simply doing its job. The question: Is an apology the appropriate response? Is there something else the student journalists should have done?

Using the ‘Holocaust’ Metaphor People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is a nonprofit animal rights organization known for its controversial approach to communications and public relations. In 2003, PETA launched a new campaign, named “Holocaust on Your Plate,” that compares the slaughter of animals for human use to the murder of 6 million Jews in WWII. The question: Is “Holocaust on Your Plate” ethically wrong or a truthful comparison?

Aaargh! Pirates! (and the Press) As collections of songs, studio recordings from an upcoming album or merely unreleased demos, are leaked online, these outlets cover the leak with a breaking story or a blog post. But they don’t stop there. Rolling Stone and Billboard often also will include a link within the story to listen to the songs that were leaked. The question: If Billboard and Rolling Stone are essentially pointing readers in the right direction, to the leaked music, are they not aiding in helping the Internet community find the material and consume it?

Reigning on the Parade Frank Whelan, a features writer who also wrote a history column for the Allentown, Pennsylvania, Morning Call , took part in a gay rights parade in June 2006 and stirred up a classic ethical dilemma. The situation raises any number of questions about what is and isn’t a conflict of interest. The question: What should the “consequences” be for Frank Whelan?

Controversy over a Concert Three former members of the Eagles rock band came to Denver during the 2004 election campaign to raise money for a U.S. Senate candidate, Democrat Ken Salazar. John Temple, editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, advised his reporters not to go to the fundraising concerts. The question: Is it fair to ask newspaper staffers — or employees at other news media, for that matter — not to attend events that may have a political purpose? Are the rules different for different jobs at the news outlet?

Deep Throat, and His Motive The Watergate story is considered perhaps American journalism’s defining accomplishment. Two intrepid young reporters for The Washington Post , carefully verifying and expanding upon information given to them by sources they went to great lengths to protect, revealed brutally damaging information about one of the most powerful figures on Earth, the American president. The question: Is protecting a source more important than revealing all the relevant information about a news story?

When Sources Won’t Talk The SPJ Code of Ethics offers guidance on at least three aspects of this dilemma. “Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error.” One source was not sufficient in revealing this information. The question: How could the editors maintain credibility and remain fair to both sides yet find solid sources for a news tip with inflammatory allegations?

A Suspect “Confession” John Mark Karr, 41, was arrested in mid-August in Bangkok, Thailand, at the request of Colorado and U.S. officials. During questioning, he confessed to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Karr was arrested after Michael Tracey, a journalism professor at the University of Colorado, alerted authorities to information he had drawn from e-mails Karr had sent him over the past four years. The question: Do you break a confidence with your source if you think it can solve a murder — or protect children half a world away?

Who’s the “Predator”? “To Catch a Predator,” the ratings-grabbing series on NBC’s Dateline, appeared to catch on with the public. But it also raised serious ethical questions for journalists. The question: If your newspaper or television station were approached by Perverted Justice to participate in a “sting” designed to identify real and potential perverts, should you go along, or say, “No thanks”? Was NBC reporting the news or creating it?

The Media’s Foul Ball The Chicago Cubs in 2003 were five outs from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945 when a 26-year-old fan tried to grab a foul ball, preventing outfielder Moises Alou from catching it. The hapless fan's identity was unknown. But he became recognizable through televised replays as the young baby-faced man in glasses, a Cubs baseball cap and earphones who bobbled the ball and was blamed for costing the Cubs a trip to the World Series. The question: Given the potential danger to the man, should he be identified by the media?

Publishing Drunk Drivers’ Photos When readers of The Anderson News picked up the Dec. 31, 1997, issue of the newspaper, stripped across the top of the front page was a New Year’s greeting and a warning. “HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR,” the banner read. “But please don’t drink and drive and risk having your picture published.” Readers were referred to the editorial page where White explained that starting in January 1998 the newspaper would publish photographs of all persons convicted of drunken driving in Anderson County. The question: Is this an appropriate policy for a newspaper?

Naming Victims of Sex Crimes On January 8, 2007, 13-year-old Ben Ownby disappeared while walking home from school in Beaufort, Missouri. A tip from a school friend led police on a frantic four-day search that ended unusually happily: the police discovered not only Ben, but another boy as well—15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, who, four years earlier, had disappeared while riding his bike at the age of 11. Media scrutiny on Shawn’s years of captivity became intense. The question: Question: Should children who are thought to be the victims of sexual abuse ever be named in the media? What should be done about the continued use of names of kidnap victims who are later found to be sexual assault victims? Should use of their names be discontinued at that point?

A Self-Serving Leak San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams were widely praised for their stories about sports figures involved with steroids. They turned their investigation into a very successful book, Game of Shadows . And they won the admiration of fellow journalists because they were willing to go to prison to protect the source who had leaked testimony to them from the grand jury investigating the BALCO sports-and-steroids. Their source, however, was not quite so noble. The question: Should the two reporters have continued to protect this key source even after he admitted to lying? Should they have promised confidentiality in the first place?

The Times and Jayson Blair Jayson Blair advanced quickly during his tenure at The New York Times , where he was hired as a full-time staff writer after his internship there and others at The Boston Globe and The Washington Post . Even accusations of inaccuracy and a series of corrections to his reports on Washington, D.C.-area sniper attacks did not stop Blair from moving on to national coverage of the war in Iraq. But when suspicions arose over his reports on military families, an internal review found that he was fabricating material and communicating with editors from his Brooklyn apartment — or within the Times building — rather than from outside New York. The question: How does the Times investigate problems and correct policies that allowed the Blair scandal to happen?

Cooperating with the Government It began on Jan. 18, 2005, and ended two weeks later after the longest prison standoff in recent U.S. history. The question: Should your media outlet go along with the state’s request not to release the information?

Offensive Images Caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad didn’t cause much of a stir when they were first published in September 2005. But when they were republished in early 2006, after Muslim leaders called attention to the 12 images, it set off rioting throughout the Islamic world. Embassies were burned; people were killed. After the rioting and killing started, it was difficult to ignore the cartoons. Question: Do we publish the cartoons or not?

The Sting Perverted-Justice.com is a Web site that can be very convenient for a reporter looking for a good story. But the tactic raises some ethical questions. The Web site scans Internet chat rooms looking for men who can be lured into sexually explicit conversations with invented underage correspondents. Perverted-Justice posts the men’s pictures on its Web site. Is it ethically defensible to employ such a sting tactic? Should you buy into the agenda of an advocacy group — even if it’s an agenda as worthy as this one?

A Media-Savvy Killer Since his first murder in 1974, the “BTK” killer — his own acronym, for “bind, torture, kill” — has sent the Wichita Eagle four letters and one poem. How should a newspaper, or other media outlet, handle communications from someone who says he’s guilty of multiple sensational crimes? And how much should it cooperate with law enforcement authorities?

A Congressman’s Past The (Portland) Oregonian learned that a Democratic member of the U.S. Congress, up for re-election to his fourth term, had been accused by an ex-girlfriend of a sexual assault some 28 years previously. But criminal charges never were filed, and neither the congressman, David Wu, nor his accuser wanted to discuss the case now, only weeks before the 2004 election. Question: Should The Oregonian publish this story?

Using this Process to Craft a Policy It used to be that a reporter would absolutely NEVER let a source check out a story before it appeared. But there has been growing acceptance of the idea that it’s more important to be accurate than to be independent. Do we let sources see what we’re planning to write? And if we do, when?

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Find case studies and scenarios on a variety of fields in applied ethics.

Cases can also be viewed by the following categories:

For permission to reprint cases, submit requests to [email protected] .

Looking to draft your own case studies?  This template provides the basics for writing ethics case studies in technology (though with some modification it could be used in other fields as well).

A fitness tracker aimed at children raises issues of design ethics, incentives, and more.

Six case studies explore how accessibility intersects with health care, education, and workplace ethics. The cases serve as a foundation for difficult dialogues, in-class discussions, or workshops and should be used by stakeholders involved in disability advocacy, education, health care, and policy-making.

AI-generated text, voices, and images used for entertainment productions and impersonation raise ethical questions.

The importance of academic institutions in shaping the societal narrative is increasingly showcased by constant media exposure and continuous requests for social commentary. This case study outlines effective methodologies of leadership, ethics, and change management within an organization, for the purpose of motivating and engaging stakeholders to empathize with and carry out a shared directive.

How might news platforms and products ensure that ethical journalism on chronic issues is not drowned out by the noise of runaway political news cycles?

Ethical questions arise in interactions among students, instructors, administrators, and providers of AI tools.

In water rights discussions, there is an ethical responsibility to include Indigenous people in both conversations and legislation decisions.

In this business ethics case study, Swedish multinational company IKEA faced accusations relating to child labor abuses in the rug industry in Pakistan which posed a serious challenge for the company and its supply chain management goals.

A dog may be humanity’s best friend. But that may not always be the case in the workplace.

A recent college graduate works in the finance and analytics department of a large publicly traded software company and discovers an alarming discrepancy in sales records, raising concerns about the company’s commitment to truthful reporting to investors. 

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• Topic 1. Contemporary issues relating to conditions conducive both to the spread of terrorism and the rule of law
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• Teaching Methods
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introducing United Nations Standards & Norms on CPCJ vis-à-vis International Law
• 2. Scope of United Nations Standards & Norms on CPCJ
• 3. United Nations Standards & Norms on CPCJ in Operation
• 1. Definition of Crime Prevention
• 2. Key Crime Prevention Typologies
• 2. (cont.) Tonry & Farrington’s Typology
• 3. Crime Problem-Solving Approaches
• 4. What Works
• United Nations Entities
• Regional Crime Prevention Councils/Institutions
• Key Clearinghouses
• Systematic Reviews
• 1. Introduction to International Standards & Norms
• 2. Identifying the Need for Legal Aid
• 3. Key Components of the Right of Access to Legal Aid
• 4. Access to Legal Aid for Those with Specific Needs
• 5. Models for Governing, Administering and Funding Legal Aid
• 6. Models for Delivering Legal Aid Services
• 7. Roles and Responsibilities of Legal Aid Providers
• 8. Quality Assurance and Legal Aid Services
• 1. Context for Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officials
• 2. Legal Framework
• 3. General Principles of Use of Force in Law Enforcement
• 4. Use of Firearms
• 5. Use of “Less-Lethal” Weapons
• 6. Protection of Especially Vulnerable Groups
• 7. Use of Force during Assemblies
• 1. Policing in democracies & need for accountability, integrity, oversight
• 2. Key mechanisms & actors in police accountability, oversight
• 3. Crosscutting & contemporary issues in police accountability
• 1. Introducing Aims of Punishment, Imprisonment & Prison Reform
• 2. Current Trends, Challenges & Human Rights
• 3. Towards Humane Prisons & Alternative Sanctions
• 1. Aims and Significance of Alternatives to Imprisonment
• 2. Justifying Punishment in the Community
• 3. Pretrial Alternatives
• 4. Post Trial Alternatives
• 5. Evaluating Alternatives
• 1. Concept, Values and Origin of Restorative Justice
• 2. Overview of Restorative Justice Processes
• 3. How Cost Effective is Restorative Justice?
• 4. Issues in Implementing Restorative Justice
• 1. Gender-Based Discrimination & Women in Conflict with the Law
• 2. Vulnerabilities of Girls in Conflict with the Law
• 3. Discrimination and Violence against LGBTI Individuals
• 4. Gender Diversity in Criminal Justice Workforce
• 1. Ending Violence against Women
• 2. Human Rights Approaches to Violence against Women
• 3. Who Has Rights in this Situation?
• 4. What about the Men?
• 5. Local, Regional & Global Solutions to Violence against Women & Girls
• 1. Understanding the Concept of Victims of Crime
• 2. Impact of Crime, including Trauma
• 3. Right of Victims to Adequate Response to their Needs
• 4. Collecting Victim Data
• 5. Victims and their Participation in Criminal Justice Process
• 6. Victim Services: Institutional and Non-Governmental Organizations
• 7. Outlook on Current Developments Regarding Victims
• 8. Victims of Crime and International Law
• 1. The Many Forms of Violence against Children
• 2. The Impact of Violence on Children
• 3. States' Obligations to Prevent VAC and Protect Child Victims
• 4. Improving the Prevention of Violence against Children
• 5. Improving the Criminal Justice Response to VAC
• 6. Addressing Violence against Children within the Justice System
• 1. The Role of the Justice System
• 2. Convention on the Rights of the Child & International Legal Framework on Children's Rights
• 3. Justice for Children
• 4. Justice for Children in Conflict with the Law
• 5. Realizing Justice for Children
• 1a. Judicial Independence as Fundamental Value of Rule of Law & of Constitutionalism
• 1b. Main Factors Aimed at Securing Judicial Independence
• 2a. Public Prosecutors as ‘Gate Keepers’ of Criminal Justice
• 2b. Institutional and Functional Role of Prosecutors
• 2c. Other Factors Affecting the Role of Prosecutors
• Basics of Computing
• Global Connectivity and Technology Usage Trends
• Cybercrime in Brief
• Cybercrime Trends
• Cybercrime Prevention
• Offences against computer data and systems
• Computer-related offences
• Content-related offences
• The Role of Cybercrime Law
• Harmonization of Laws
• International and Regional Instruments
• International Human Rights and Cybercrime Law
• Digital Evidence
• Digital Forensics
• Standards and Best Practices for Digital Forensics
• Reporting Cybercrime
• Who Conducts Cybercrime Investigations?
• Obstacles to Cybercrime Investigations
• Knowledge Management
• Legal and Ethical Obligations
• Handling of Digital Evidence
• Digital Evidence Admissibility
• Sovereignty and Jurisdiction
• Formal International Cooperation Mechanisms
• Informal International Cooperation Mechanisms
• Data Retention, Preservation and Access
• Challenges Relating to Extraterritorial Evidence
• National Capacity and International Cooperation
• Internet Governance
• Cybersecurity Strategies: Basic Features
• National Cybersecurity Strategies
• International Cooperation on Cybersecurity Matters
• Cybersecurity Posture
• Assets, Vulnerabilities and Threats
• Vulnerability Disclosure
• Cybersecurity Measures and Usability
• Situational Crime Prevention
• Incident Detection, Response, Recovery & Preparedness
• Privacy: What it is and Why it is Important
• Privacy and Security
• Cybercrime that Compromises Privacy
• Data Protection Legislation
• Data Breach Notification Laws
• Enforcement of Privacy and Data Protection Laws
• Intellectual Property: What it is
• Types of Intellectual Property
• Causes for Cyber-Enabled Copyright & Trademark Offences
• Protection & Prevention Efforts
• Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
• Cyberstalking and Cyberharassment
• Cyberbullying
• Gender-Based Interpersonal Cybercrime
• Interpersonal Cybercrime Prevention
• Cyber Organized Crime: What is it?
• Conceptualizing Organized Crime & Defining Actors Involved
• Criminal Groups Engaging in Cyber Organized Crime
• Cyber Organized Crime Activities
• Preventing & Countering Cyber Organized Crime
• Cyberespionage
• Cyberterrorism
• Cyberwarfare
• Information Warfare, Disinformation & Electoral Fraud
• Responses to Cyberinterventions
• Framing the Issue of Firearms
• Direct Impact of Firearms
• Indirect Impacts of Firearms on States or Communities
• International and National Responses
• Typology and Classification of Firearms
• Common Firearms Types
• 'Other' Types of Firearms
• Parts and Components
• History of the Legitimate Arms Market
• Need for a Legitimate Market
• Key Actors in the Legitimate Market
• Authorized & Unauthorized Arms Transfers
• Illegal Firearms in Social, Cultural & Political Context
• Supply, Demand & Criminal Motivations
• Larger Scale Firearms Trafficking Activities
• Smaller Scale Trafficking Activities
• Sources of Illicit Firearms
• Consequences of Illicit Markets
• International Public Law & Transnational Law
• International Instruments with Global Outreach
• Commonalities, Differences & Complementarity between Global Instruments
• Tools to Support Implementation of Global Instruments
• Other United Nations Processes
• The Sustainable Development Goals
• Multilateral & Regional Instruments
• Scope of National Firearms Regulations
• National Firearms Strategies & Action Plans
• Harmonization of National Legislation with International Firearms Instruments
• Assistance for Development of National Firearms Legislation
• Firearms Trafficking as a Cross-Cutting Element
• Organized Crime and Organized Criminal Groups
• Criminal Gangs
• Terrorist Groups
• Interconnections between Organized Criminal Groups & Terrorist Groups
• Gangs - Organized Crime & Terrorism: An Evolving Continuum
• International Response
• International and National Legal Framework
• Firearms Related Offences
• Role of Law Enforcement
• Firearms as Evidence
• Use of Special Investigative Techniques
• International Cooperation and Information Exchange
• Prosecution and Adjudication of Firearms Trafficking
• Teaching Methods & Principles
• Ethical Learning Environments
• Overview of Modules
• Module Adaption & Design Guidelines
• Table of Exercises
• Basic Terms
• Forms of Gender Discrimination
• Ethics of Care
• Case Studies for Professional Ethics
• Case Studies for Role Morality
• Additional Exercises
• Defining Organized Crime
• Definition in Convention
• Similarities & Differences
• Activities, Organization, Composition
• Thinking Critically Through Fiction
• Excerpts of Legislation
• Research & Independent Study Questions
• Legal Definitions of Organized Crimes
• Criminal Association
• Definitions in the Organized Crime Convention
• Criminal Organizations and Enterprise Laws
• Enabling Offence: Obstruction of Justice
• Drug Trafficking
• Wildlife & Forest Crime
• Counterfeit Products Trafficking
• Falsified Medical Products
• Trafficking in Cultural Property
• Trafficking in Persons
• Case Studies & Exercises
• Extortion Racketeering
• Loansharking
• Links to Corruption
• Bribery versus Extortion
• Money-Laundering
• Liability of Legal Persons
• How much Organized Crime is there?
• Alternative Ways for Measuring
• Measuring Product Markets
• Risk Assessment
• Key Concepts of Risk Assessment
• Risk Assessment of Organized Crime Groups
• Risk Assessment of Product Markets
• Risk Assessment in Practice
• Positivism: Environmental Influences
• Classical: Pain-Pleasure Decisions
• Structural Factors
• Ethical Perspective
• Crime Causes & Facilitating Factors
• Models and Structure
• Hierarchical Model
• Local, Cultural Model
• Enterprise or Business Model
• Groups vs Activities
• Networked Structure
• Jurisdiction
• Investigators of Organized Crime
• Controlled Deliveries
• Physical & Electronic Surveillance
• Undercover Operations
• Financial Analysis
• Use of Informants
• Rights of Victims & Witnesses
• Role of Prosecutors
• Adversarial vs Inquisitorial Legal Systems
• Mitigating Punishment
• Granting Immunity from Prosecution
• Witness Protection
• Aggravating & Mitigating Factors
• Sentencing Options
• Alternatives to Imprisonment
• Death Penalty & Organized Crime
• Backgrounds of Convicted Offenders
• Confiscation
• Confiscation in Practice
• Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA)
• Extradition
• Transfer of Criminal Proceedings
• Transfer of Sentenced Persons
• Module 12: Prevention of Organized Crime
• Adoption of Organized Crime Convention
• Historical Context
• Features of the Convention
• Related international instruments
• Conference of the Parties
• Roles of Participants
• Structure and Flow
• Recommended Topics
• Background Materials
• What is Sex / Gender / Intersectionality?
• Knowledge about Gender in Organized Crime
• Gender and Organized Crime
• Gender and Different Types of Organized Crime
• Definitions and Terminology
• Organized crime and Terrorism - International Legal Framework
• International Terrorism-related Conventions
• UNSC Resolutions on Terrorism
• Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols
• Theoretical Frameworks on Linkages between Organized Crime and Terrorism
• Typologies of Criminal Behaviour Associated with Terrorism
• Terrorism and Drug Trafficking
• Terrorism and Trafficking in Weapons
• Terrorism, Crime and Trafficking in Cultural Property
• Trafficking in Persons and Terrorism
• Intellectual Property Crime and Terrorism
• Kidnapping for Ransom and Terrorism
• Exploitation of Natural Resources and Terrorism
• Review and Assessment Questions
• Research and Independent Study Questions
• Criminalization of Smuggling of Migrants
• UNTOC & the Protocol against Smuggling of Migrants
• Offences under the Protocol
• Financial & Other Material Benefits
• Aggravating Circumstances
• Criminal Liability
• Non-Criminalization of Smuggled Migrants
• Scope of the Protocol
• Humanitarian Exemption
• Migrant Smuggling v. Irregular Migration
• Migrant Smuggling vis-a-vis Other Crime Types
• Other Resources
• Assistance and Protection in the Protocol
• International Human Rights and Refugee Law
• Vulnerable groups
• Positive and Negative Obligations of the State
• Identification of Smuggled Migrants
• Participation in Legal Proceedings
• Role of Non-Governmental Organizations
• Smuggled Migrants & Other Categories of Migrants
• Short-, Mid- and Long-Term Measures
• Criminal Justice Reponse: Scope
• Investigative & Prosecutorial Approaches
• Different Relevant Actors & Their Roles
• Testimonial Evidence
• Financial Investigations
• Non-Governmental Organizations
• ‘Outside the Box’ Methodologies
• Intra- and Inter-Agency Coordination
• Admissibility of Evidence
• International Cooperation
• Exchange of Information
• Non-Criminal Law Relevant to Smuggling of Migrants
• Administrative Approach
• Complementary Activities & Role of Non-criminal Justice Actors
• Macro-Perspective in Addressing Smuggling of Migrants
• Human Security
• International Aid and Cooperation
• Migration & Migrant Smuggling
• Mixed Migration Flows
• Social Politics of Migrant Smuggling
• Vulnerability
• Profile of Smugglers
• Role of Organized Criminal Groups
• Humanitarianism, Security and Migrant Smuggling
• Crime of Trafficking in Persons
• The Issue of Consent
• The Purpose of Exploitation
• The abuse of a position of vulnerability
• Indicators of Trafficking in Persons
• Distinction between Trafficking in Persons and Other Crimes
• Misconceptions Regarding Trafficking in Persons
• Root Causes
• Supply Side Prevention Strategies
• Demand Side Prevention Strategies
• Role of the Media
• Safe Migration Channels
• Crime Prevention Strategies
• Monitoring, Evaluating & Reporting on Effectiveness of Prevention
• Trafficked Persons as Victims
• Protection under the Protocol against Trafficking in Persons
• Broader International Framework
• State Responsibility for Trafficking in Persons
• Identification of Victims
• Principle of Non-Criminalization of Victims
• Criminal Justice Duties Imposed on States
• Role of the Criminal Justice System
• Current Low Levels of Prosecutions and Convictions
• Challenges to an Effective Criminal Justice Response
• Rights of Victims to Justice and Protection
• Potential Strategies to “Turn the Tide”
• State Cooperation with Civil Society
• Civil Society Actors
• The Private Sector
• Comparing SOM and TIP
• Differences and Commonalities
• Vulnerability and Continuum between SOM & TIP
• Labour Exploitation
• Forced Marriage
• Other Examples
• Children on the Move
• Protecting Smuggled and Trafficked Children
• Protection in Practice
• Children Alleged as Having Committed Smuggling or Trafficking Offences
• Basic Terms - Gender and Gender Stereotypes
• International Legal Frameworks and Definitions of TIP and SOM
• Global Overview on TIP and SOM
• Gender and Migration
• Key Debates in the Scholarship on TIP and SOM
• Gender and TIP and SOM Offenders
• Responses to TIP and SOM
• Use of Technology to Facilitate TIP and SOM
• Technology Facilitating Trafficking in Persons
• Technology in Smuggling of Migrants
• Using Technology to Prevent and Combat TIP and SOM
• Privacy and Data Concerns
• Emerging Trends
• Demand and Consumption
• Supply and Demand
• Implications of Wildlife Trafficking
• Legal and Illegal Markets
• Perpetrators and their Networks
• Locations and Activities relating to Wildlife Trafficking
• Environmental Protection & Conservation
• CITES & the International Trade in Endangered Species
• Organized Crime & Corruption
• Animal Welfare
• Criminal Justice Actors and Agencies
• Criminalization of Wildlife Trafficking
• Challenges for Law Enforcement
• Investigation Measures and Detection Methods
• Prosecution and Judiciary
• Wild Flora as the Target of Illegal Trafficking
• Purposes for which Wild Flora is Illegally Targeted
• How is it Done and Who is Involved?
• Consequences of Harms to Wild Flora
• Terminology
• Background: Communities and conservation: A history of disenfranchisement
• Incentives for communities to get involved in illegal wildlife trafficking: the cost of conservation
• Incentives to participate in illegal wildlife, logging and fishing economies
• International and regional responses that fight wildlife trafficking while supporting IPLCs
• Mechanisms for incentivizing community conservation and reducing wildlife trafficking
• Critiques of community engagement
• Other challenges posed by wildlife trafficking that affect local populations
• Global Podcast Series
• Apr. 2021: Call for Expressions of Interest: Online training for academics from francophone Africa
• Feb. 2021: Series of Seminars for Universities of Central Asia
• Dec. 2020: UNODC and TISS Conference on Access to Justice to End Violence
• Nov. 2020: Expert Workshop for University Lecturers and Trainers from the Commonwealth of Independent States
• Oct. 2020: E4J Webinar Series: Youth Empowerment through Education for Justice
• Interview: How to use E4J's tool in teaching on TIP and SOM
• E4J-Open University Online Training-of-Trainers Course
• Teaching Integrity and Ethics Modules: Survey Results
• Grants Programmes
• E4J MUN Resource Guide
• Library of Resources
• Integrity & Ethics

Module 14: Professional Ethics

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University Module Series: Integrity & Ethics

  This module is a resource for lecturers  

A.  case studies for professional ethics, back to top, supported by the state of qatar, 60 years crime congress.

AEPP Ethics Case Archive

Welcome to the previously published cases of the Applied Ethics in Professional Practice Program (formerly known as the AEPP Case of the Month Club)!

Permission for Free Use of Our Cases

The following cases may be reprinted if provided free of charge to the engineer or student. Written permission is required if the case is reprinted for resale. All cases should be attributed to National Institute for Engineering Ethics (NIEE), Purdue University, www.niee.org.

The first 28 case studies available were published during the early years by Dr. Ron Bucknam at the University of Washington. Dr. Bucknam’s original program was called the Case of the Month Club. His cases are based on real world situations and, for the most part, reflect his experiences during more than 40 years of consulting engineering experience. Ideas for other cases came from the program’s Board of Review which consists of practicing engineers and faculty throughout the country.

Each case begins with a set of  Facts  for the case, followed by  Alternate Approaches  to resolving the issues presented and  Survey Results  from individuals who have offered an opinion on one or more alternate approaches, and a  Forum  consisting of other opinions on the issues submitted by respondents; some cases conclude with an  Epilogue .

Facts:  The cases contain information (facts) about actual ethical issues. The cases have been “sanitized” to obscure the names of the individuals involved, as well as the locations and dates of the occurrences. By agreement, the sources of the case histories are confidential.

Alternate Approaches:  The alternate approaches provided with each of the case histories have been selected to represent a spectrum of solutions to the stated problem. While not all of the alternate approaches are ethical, they are nonetheless typical of those encountered in professional practice. Additionally, there may be more than one ethical approach to solving the situation described.

Who Responds?:  In addition to practicing engineers who access the site, vote and return comments, a relatively large number of engineering students from more than 100 schools also vote and contribute comments. It is not generally possible to separate the respondent sources and the results shown are therefore reflective of the combined opinions of these two groups, except as otherwise noted.

Survey Results:  The survey results are taken from the electronic responses received when the case history was posted on the Applied Ethics in Professional Practice internet program.

Forum:  In addition to voting for one or more of the suggested alternate approaches, many respondents contributed opinions, often based on their individual opinions and experiences with similar ethical situations. For the most part, these comments came from the practicing engineering sector. Finally, the forum often includes comments from the program’s Board of Review members.

Epilogue:  In some of the cases the approaches taken to attempt to solve the ethical dilemma, and the results of these approaches were known and presented in the Epilogue section. This provides an interesting counterpoint in some cases to the voting results and general tenor of the Forum comments.

Case Numbers, Titles and a Brief Synopsis of Each Case

Notes: + indicates the case was developed under the direction of Dr. Ron Bucknam at the University of Washington. ** indicates that a dramatization of the case may be available from Professor Brian Brenner at Tufts University, Medford, MA.

• Case 1001 – The Leaning Tower: A Timely Dilemma  + An out-of-state engineering expert provides services to preclude an imminent disaster, and is fined for his efforts.
• Case 1002 – Where the Green Grass Grows  + An employee from one firm moonlights for a second firm, then moves to it, taking most of the original firm’s staff with him over a weekend.
• Case 1003 – The Joy of Being Wanted  + While interviewing for a job in a distant city at the expense of the prospective employer, you also arrange interviews with others in that area and are faced with the problem of what to tell the first firm and how to handle their advanced expense allowance.
• Case 1004 – Expert Impartiality: A Thing of the Past? + An engineering consultant for a plaintiff is found to be cohabiting with the plaintiff’s attorney, and alleging to be an impartial expert witness.
• Case 1005 – The Peter/Paul Dilemma  + You are told by your boss to work on one project, and to charge the time spent to another client’s project.
• Case 1006 – The Coercive Contribution Conundrum  + Given an unexpected bonus before a local election, it is suggested strongly that you contribute the money to a candidate likely to provide contracts to the firm you work for if elected.
• Case 1007 – The Fetid Favor Fiasco  + An architect in a state college town hears that a local contractor working on a project at the university is using men and materials from that project to build a garage at the home of one of the project managers employed by the university.
• Case 1008 – To Flush or Not to Flush: That’s the Question  + Putting the final touches on a toxic contaminant study report, you visit the site being monitored one more time unannounced, only to find the owner flushing some of the monitoring wells.
• Case 1009 – The Plagiarized Proposal  + You are requested to submit a proposal for a site investigation, and find later that a competitor has used the scope of work you developed to obtain the job for slightly less money.
• Case 1010 – What’s the Angle?  + While doing a structural survey for the owner of a building which is about to be sold, it is inadvertently discovered that a clip holding the granite facing in place is almost rusted through, but contract for the survey does not include evaluation of such items.
• Case 1011 – An Engineering Exercise  + You are contacted by a developer who wants you to step into a project in place of another engineer whose recommendations the developer does not like.
• Case 1012 – Priming the Town Pump  +, ** Pumps purchased and installed by a municipality against your better advice at the time have failed and your firm is now expected to stand behind the original decision of the municipality’s project manager.
• Case 1013 – Hearsay: What’s it Worth?  + While a subsurface investigation at the site of an alleged abandoned creosote plant shows no buried toxic materials, a chance remark in the coffee shop by a neighbor adjacent to the site indicates otherwise.
• Case 1014 – Water, Water Everywhere  + You are requested by a vice-president in your firm to make the results of a study for a public agency available to other interested private parties before the report is made public by the agency.
• Case 1015 – An Unsettling Situation  + Soils and foundations analyses indicate a proposed building complex will undergo excessive settlements unless supported on piles. The developer wants to use cheaper footings in hopes that detrimental effects will not occur during his ownership of the complex.
• Case 1016 – Now You Have It, Now You Don’t  + Your firm is selected for a municipal design project, however instead of awarding you the contract the city council politicians give the project to a firm with “connections.”
• Case 1017 – Paying Attention to the Details  +, ** You are asked to approve use of structural details which were designed for a different project by another firm without that firm’s knowledge or approval.
• Case 1018 – Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Will the Real Culprits Please Stand Up?  + The instructor in a graduate class discovers several students cheating on the final project, but is directed to be generous in grading the students since support for scholarships, assistantships, faculty salaries and research is dependent on keeping up the number of graduate students in the program.
• Case 1019 – It’s Just the Nearness of Who?  + A engineer employee under your supervision on a construction project develops an apparently very close relationship with the contractor’s daughter and it falls to you to handle the situation without creating obstacles to your rapid advancement in the company.
• Case 1020 – An Invitation You Can’t Refus e  + You are demanded to attend a mediation hearing and bring your company’s checkbook to remedy a problem which occurred during construction, even though your firm was not hired to inspect the work, and was not responsible for the problem taking place.
• Case 1021 – When in Rome…  +,** Due to a serious decline in your local project backlog, you decide to open a new office in a foreign country, with the aid of an “associate” in that country, in hopes of making a lot of money.
• Case 1022 – The Second Time Around  + You have an opportunity to use a specific construction technology developed for a previous client’s project on a new project for a different client, but need to assess what fee to charge for its use.
• Case 1023 – All Trussed Up and No Place to Go  +,** Your firm is on a professional team selected to design a major project, but when it comes time to perform the work, the prime designer elects to use their own in-house staff to do your scope of work for the project.
• Case 1024 – Santa in the Summer  + As a student engineer on a construction project, you happen to see several of the contractors placing items in the back of the resident engineer’s pickup at the end of work on Fridays.
• Case 1025 – Don’t Bank On It!  +,** Even though you recommend in writing that your client, a bank, obtain permission from the adjacent land owner to use his property for the installation of tiebacks for a retaining wall for a new building, your firm is included in a law suit when the bank neglects to contact the land owner for that permission.
• Case 1026 – Holey Smoke!!  +,** The report you are writing for the design of a proposed structure is due in a few days when you visit the site and discover the subsurface explorations for the project made by your staff either were made on the wrong site, or not at all!
• Case 1027 – One Good Turn Deserves Another  + Due to several requests from your client, a developer, you have provided additional services for a project but did not obtain authorization to charge for the additional effort involved. Now your accountant informs you that the budget for the project has been overrun. In addition your client has just called and wants you to submit a cost proposal for a new, but nearly identical, project.
• Case 1028 – Long Distance Operator(s)  + The Executive Secretary of your national professional organization has negotiated a deal with a long-distance telephone provider which will allow you to accumulate all long distance calls, charge them to respective projects and give you the option to add a surcharge in whatever percentage amount you choose.
• Case 1029 – Between A Buck and a Hired Place   The executive secretary of a Public Works department has worked above and beyond the requirements of her job for many years, but due to personal and health problems is no longer fulfilling her position responsibilities. The Director has been instructed to let her go, but he feels the department owes her some help, at least until she is eligible to collect her pension.
• Case 1030 – Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell   An engineer is designing an equalization tank for an “explosion proof” wastewater treatment plant. A fire code official states that the existing room is already explosion proof, but the engineer suspects the fire code official could be wrong.
• Case 1031 – Was That “Piracy” or “Privacy”?   A manager suspects that employees are using company email in inappropriate ways. The manager instructs the system engineer to give him access to all email files on company PCs. The system engineer feels this may be viewed as a breach of trust, and that employees may feel this is an intrusion of privacy.
• Case 1032 – Plains, Prairies and Porches   The City Engineer in a small town notices that a planned development may adversely affect several of the town’s poorer families. He realizes the economic benefits of progress, but he feels sympathy for the impacted community downstream. If the leaders of the anti-development faction somehow were to learn of the potential adverse secondary impacts, they could raise such a fuss that development would surely halt.
• Case 1033 – Ye Olde Water Main   A small town needs to replace its existing water main, but cannot raise the funds. The State Department of Transportation (DOT) is planning a highway reconstruction project in the town. Because of personal reasons, the DOT engineer would like to route the DOT project such that the state pays most of the replacement of the water main even though this would not be in keeping with DOT policy. The DOT engineer “pressures” his young engineer about to sit for the PE exam that she should change her design so that the old water main would be impacted.
• Case 1034 – A Fair Deal in Fairview?   A medium-sized city has established a Community Service Corporation (CSC) for the purpose of revitalizing the City’s downtown area. A principal in a local engineering firm was elected president of the city’s CSC, receiving no compensation for any of his services. Larger design firms are contacting smaller local consulting firms, including the CSC president’s firm, soliciting participation in the design work. Although the CSC President has transferred leadership of his firm to his son, the CSC president remains a principal stockholder. A competitor engineer has written letters to the editor of the local newspaper suggesting involvement in the projects by the firm headed by the son of the CSC president is a conflict of interest.
• Case 1035 – You Might Be a Redneck Engineer If…   A project engineer for a geotechnical consulting firm is retained to help with some soil testing before construction of a facility. The designer for the new facility has suggested that soil testing is necessary. Under pressure, the engineer briefly outlines the necessary testing and provides an estimated cost and the project is approved. After his testing and geotechnical report is submitted and the project proceeds, it becomes apparent that apart from his verbal earthwork recommendations, his geotechnical report has largely gone unused. A good ole’ boy design/construction team of questionable expertise designs and constructs the facility. The geotechnical engineer becomes concerned about potential liability that might come back on his firm if the buildings do not perform.
• Case 1036 (Part 1) – In-Line Engineering—A Study in Creative Corporate Financing   In-Line Engineering has been in business in the Midwestern United States for over 30 years, and the company’s owner, Sam Sliderule, P.E., wants to sell the business to his employees and gracefully retire. This is challenge enough, but to complicate matters, In-Line Engineering is now facing stiff competition from a new firm in town, FBN Engineering Services. In just a few short months, In-Line’s backlog of work has plummeted and it has become clear to Sam that unless he quickly sells out to one of FBN’s competitors, say, Nemesis Engineering, he will have to release all of In-Line’s employees and close the doors. Desperate to stave off financial ruin, Sam and one of his engineer employees draft a transition plan consisting of several components, all geared toward improving In-Line’s financial situation for the short term. Though Sam feels the plan might accomplish a buy-out by Nemesis, he is uncomfortable with parts of it. Sam has sought your opinion as to whether the various components of the plan are legal and ethical.
• Case 1036 (Part 2) – In-Line Engineering—A Study in Creative Corporate Financing   Part 1 of this case presented the full text of the case study and a summary of the results from an online opinion survey about Sam’s potential actions. Noting that differences exist in respondent opinion about the legality and ethicality of the various components of Sam’s transition plan, Part 2 further analyzes those differences. It also presents comments and observations about the case from survey respondents and from selected members of the Applied Ethics Case of the Month Board of Review.
• Case 1037 – What’s Love Got to Do with It?   You are a P.E. enlisted as an engineering consultant for a company which is the defendant in a legal dispute. After completing your evaluation you attend the deposition of an engineer offering testimony on behalf of the plaintiff. You later learn that this engineer is in a romantic relationship with the lead counsel for the plaintiff. You have also heard that an arrangement has been worked out between the plaintiff and the counsel such that the counsel will receive 40% or more of the award if the court finds the defendant at fault. What should you do?
•   Case 1038 – This Land is Your Land, It’s Right by My Land You are a licensed engineer who retains the services of a joint venture engineering-construction management firm to work on a subdivision with a high public profile. Despite an accelerated/high pressure timetable, things are moving along nicely until the joint venture firm notes that a second, previously unanticipated, access road will be needed for the sub-division. As you begin to work out the details of this new road, you discover that the principals of the joint venture firm own land along the proposed route of this new road. The value of this property will increase dramatically with the addition of the road. Is this important?
• Case 1039 – I’d Rather Be Fishing   A field technician, working for an environmental engineering firm, is sent out to conduct preliminary evaluation of a site. He takes samples from two drums on the property and calls his boss to give a preliminary report. The technician is confident, based on experience, that the contents of the drums are toxic and will thus require special disposal. However, his boss advises the technician to merely document the existence of the samples and nothing else. Several days later, the technician is in the area of the site and notices a truck and crew from a remediation firm (his former employer). The technician stops to talk to members of the crew. The technician learns that the remediation firm was told that the content of the drums had been tested and were shown to be clean. The technician is confident that not enough time has elapsed for a second set of samples to have been taken and tested. What should you do?
• Case 1040 – Design/Build a TE/STE Relationship   You are the principal of a design firm recently paired with an out-of-state construction firm to work on an intelligent design transportation system. You are unaccustomed to your current joint-venture design-build (D/B) contract. Historically you have been involved in design-bid-build (D/B/B) contracts in which you have a more direct relationship with the client. This unfamiliarity turns to discomfort when you learn of some of the field changes made by the principal of the construction firm. You think that the suggested changes, while economically advantageous to your partnership, represent a noteworthy compromise in quality. You are now torn between your financial/contractual obligations to your construction firm partner and your sense of obligation to inform the client of problematic ambiguities in the performance specs (given by the client) that allow for the use of such low quality parts. What should you do?
• Case 1041 – Engineering Ethics in Spain—The Risky Tank   A young engineer is assigned to a project that must be completed in less than a month. The final phase of the project requires completion of a concrete storage tank, but none of the workers have experience with concrete. Also, the workers are all in Spain illegally and have no medical/workers compensation coverage. The engineer’s attempts to increase safety measures on the project are met with resistance. The engineer will receive a permanent contract upon completion of the project. What should he do?
• Case 1042 – Roman Holiday   A recent graduate is hired by a general construction firm to oversee the construction of an office building. Design specs call for a protective coating to be applied to the building’s steel beams. The graduate observes that some beams are covered by walls before the coating is applied. The project superintendent informs the building inspector that the walled-in beams were coated and the inspector moves on. The graduate is concerned about this issue, but is told by the superintendent to leave the issue alone.