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You are a prominent criminal defense attorney and a past president of your city's bar association. For years, you have represented one of the most

You are a prominent criminal defense attorney and a past president of your city's bar association. For years, you have represented one of the most respected churches in your town, a church at which the family of an American President once worshipped. You belong to the church, your spouse is active in its affairs, and your daughter sings in the choir. Howard Gardiner, the church's choir director, a talented musician, has worked for the church for 30 years. Under his direction the choir has traveled throughout Europe and produced several albums. Two days ago, Gardiner loaned his laptop computer for a few hours to Art Hefferline, another church employee. While he was using Gardiner's computer, Hefferline discovered that it contained hundreds of images of naked boys. Possession of images of child pornography is a federal crime. Hefferline informed the rector. The rector called you. Together, you and the rector confronted Gardiner, who promptly admitted that he owned the computer and resigned. The rector handed you the laptop computer. There has been no publicity about the incident, and the church wants to keep it that way. No charges have been filed against Gardiner. You realize that if the pictures on this computer become public (which might happen if Gardiner is prosecuted), the reputation of the church may be destroyed. What will you do? Some options include the following: Try to erase the files (this might be impossible because you don't have the technical skill to erase all of the images; you suspect that some or all of them would survive in hidden files on the computer's hard disk) Open the back of the computer, smash its hard drive, and discard the pieces Keep the computer in your office Return the computer to Gardiner Deliver the computer to the FBI You may think of other options. Consider the pros and cons of the various options, and then decide what you will do.

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