Does a defendant have full disclosure with his/her lawyer?

Question

Lets say I'm a defendant in a murder case and I know I'm guilty but I'm going to hire a lawyer to defend myself. Is it common practice to confess to my lawyer that I am guilty and or do I lie to the lawyer and tell him/her I'm innocent? Which is more common and does it matter one way or the other?

I realize that clients have full confidentiality with their lawyers.

Answer 1

It's a very touchy issue. The question isn't necessarily "does" a defendant have full disclosure with his/her attorney, the question is "should" the defendant have full disclosure with his/her attorney.

As you correctly noted, there is such a thing as attorney/client privilege. Attorney/client privilege covers almost any statements made by a client to his attorney while in the course of legal representation (seeking advice from an attorney, preparing for trial, etc.). This privilege is strictly protected.but it is not limitless. For instance, if I tell my attorney, "I killed a guy and I threw the gun in the river." The attorney cannot be compelled to repeat what I told him; in fact, he has a duty not to repeat those statements. However, this privilege does not extend to physical evidence. So if I handed my attorney the murder weapon, I would not be allowed to claim attorney/client privilege to keep the evidence from being collected / used against me.

Another exception to the attorney client/privilege is the threat of future harm. If you tell your attorney, "I'm going to kill Bob." Or, "I'm going to rob a bank.", the attorney is under a duty to take steps to prevent any serious physical or finanical harm from occurring. That is another case where a client's statements will not be protected. (There are also issues, depending on each individual state, whether an attorney has a duty to call the police regarding less serious future crimes, or whether the attorney is 'permitted' to call the police.)

Should you confess to your lawyer that you are guilty. ABSOLUTELY NOT. An attorney is an officer of the court. An attorney cannot (should not) offer into evidence anything that he/she knows is false. For example, you confess to your attorney, "I killed my wife. It happened at 9 pm. I shot her with a gun." You've now really made it difficult for your attorney to defend you without breaking his oath of truth to the court. The attorney can no longer honestly say things like, "The defendant did not kill his wife." He'd have to say, "The state has not proven that the defendant killed his wife." He wouldn't be able to offer an alibi for you at the time o fthe crime. He wouldn't be able to put on testimony that you've never fired a gun before, etc.

Defense attorneys are in between a rock and a hard place, and the judges know it. As long as the attorneys make a good faith effort to not put on evidence or elicit testimony that the attorney knows is false, the court will allow the defense to do the best job it can. For example, your client has told you that he has committed the crime. You have done your best to poke holes in the state's case and have made sure that you haven't put any untruthful evidence before the court. Now your client wants to take the stand so that he can tell the jury that he didn't do it. But you know he did it? What do you do? You basically have two choices - 1) quit the case - if you are at trial, the judge isn't going to let you quit; or 2) put the client on the stand and let him tell his own story without eliciting asking him any substantive questions. For example, the defendant gets on the stand after having confessed committing the crime to his attorney. Questions the defense attorney can ask: "What happened the day of the alleged crime?" "Tell me your story." "Is there anything you wanted to say to the jury." Things of that nature. Questions the attorney should not ask if he knows his client is guilty, "Did you commit this crime?" "Are you innocent?", etc.

It's a VERY fine line and attorneys cross it all the time. Just remember, you do not have to tell your attorney one way or the other. If you do confess to your attorney, realize that you are putting your attorney in a very difficult ethical situation while hurting your defense.

Answer 2

You can do either one. The lawyer cannot disclose either way. It is most common (~ 90 percent) for the defendant to claim he/she is innocent)

There is also the issue of being innocent and not guilty.

You can be not guilty of the crime but not really innocent. (For example, you did go into the room and kill the guy but he pulled the gun on you first and you killed him with your bare hands in self-defense. Or, so you say. So something happened in that room... it is up to the jury to determine what.)

Anyway, the lawyer cannot disclose what he knows.

Answer 3

Your lawyer is bound by his oath (a promise) to defend you to the best of their ability.
This oath is in effect weather you did the crime or not.
Your lawyer will not be able to defend you to the best of their ability, if you lie to him (her).
Your lawyer will not tell anyone what you said to him as it pertains to the charges.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Confidentiality and trust are two pillars of seasoned lawyer, therefore, you must reveal everything truthfully before your lawyer.

Answer 6

A lawyer will never ask about your guilt. He'll only ask what's your version of what happened.

Most honorable lawyers will dismiss themselves if they know you're guilty.

Answer 7

You have full confidentiality. Youve hired him to defend you, that's what he must do, regardless.