Question on criminal defense law.?

Question

Every time I bring up an interest in pursuing Law School and a career in criminal law, I hear the same broken record. People seem fixated on the idea that criminal defense lawyers rigorously try acquit people they know are guilty. I've never taken an ethics class and I don't know the laws, but is this true?

Are lawyers supposed to receive admissions of guilt from their client? If a client confesses to his/her representation, wouldn't that make it unethical to submit a plea of not guilty? For some reason, I have it in my head that clients, if guilty, are supposed to tell everything BUT the dirty deed for best representation. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

I'm not biased for/against defense lawyers. It's not my area of interest, but it is interesting area of ethics nonetheless!

So the concept of a "plea of not guilty" is that simply a lack of a "plea of guily" which would otherwise be a waiver of jury trial?

I ask because otherwise it seems akin to perjury, hence my confusion over the ethics of an attorney submitting a plea. Who is responsible for the plea? Attorney or client? For instance who decides to plea not guilty by mental defect?

Answer 1

There's an old adage that the first client of the criminal defense attorney is the US Constitution.

Most criminal defense lawyers don't care whether their clients are guilty or not. They just want to ensure that the police and the prosecutors have done their jobs properly and ensure the criminal justice system is working. If they lose at trial, but are satisfied the the police and prosecutors did everything by the book, they generally don't take it too hard. If the defense thinks a conviction is imminent, they will generally try a plea bargain to receive a lesser sentence for their client. Before anyone makes any judgment's about the criminal defense attorney "trying to get his client off with a slap on the wrist", they should also realize that the prosecutor has to agree to the deal, and the judge has to approve it. So if anyone is ever upset with a plea bargain, they need to realize that if the judge and prosecutor went along with it, its probably in the state's best interest as well.

But to answer your question, see below.

ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3 Candor Toward The Tribunal
(a) A lawyer shall not knowingly:

(1) make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer;

(2) fail to disclose to the tribunal legal authority in the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the client and not disclosed by opposing counsel; or

(3) offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false. If a lawyer, the lawyer’s client, or a witness called by the lawyer, has offered material evidence and the lawyer comes to know of its falsity, the lawyer shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal. A lawyer may refuse to offer evidence, other than the testimony of a defendant in a criminal matter, that the lawyer reasonably believes is false.

(b) A lawyer who represents a client in an adjudicative proceeding and who knows that a person intends to engage, is engaging or has engaged in criminal or fraudulent conduct related to the proceeding shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal.

(c) The duties stated in paragraphs (a) and (b) continue to the conclusion of the proceeding, and apply even if compliance requires disclosure of information otherwise protected by Rule 1.6.
...

So if a client confesses guilt to his lawyer, the above rule prohibits the lawyer from putting the client on the stand (refered to as "subornation of perjury"). If the lawyer knows the client is guilty, and the client doesn't plead guilty, the case goes to trial. At trial, the lawyer can't put the client on the stand, because the lawyer knows the client will lie about his or her innocence once they are on the stand. This is why defense lawyers don't care whether their clients are guilty or not, and why they specifically tell their clients not to tell them if they are guilty or not. They don't want to know, so they can put them on the stand.

Believe it or not, this rule is almost never violated. No lawyer would ever risk losing his license because his or her client is a liar.

And remember, OJ didn't take the stand. Draw your own conclusion....

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Although it sometimes happens that a truly innocent person is accused of a crime, the percent of those accused who are guilty is very nearly 100%. So, yes, criminal defense attorneys spend virtually all their time representing the guilty. In the vast majority of those cases, however, the lawyer's objective is not to secure an acquittal, but to negotiate the most favorable sentence he can--probation instead of prison, three years instead of five, etc. The reason is simple--most criminal defendants are so obviously guilty and the evidence against them so overwhelming that there is no hope of an acquittal.

Confession is irrelevent to the lawyer's duty to represent his client. It matters not one bit whether the client admits to his lawyer that he did the dirty deed, the lawyer's duty is the same--to give his client the best representation possible. The totallity of the evidence will normally tell the lawyer whether his client is guilty, with or without a confession--remember, a confession is merely one more piece of evidence, it is not dispositive, people falsely confess to crimes every day.

There are certain exceptions, but most of what a criminal defendent tells his lawyer, including a confession, is priviledged. It cannot be revealed to others. The lawyer is not certifying his client's innocence when he assists him in entering a plea of not guilty. He is merely requiring the state to offer proof of guilt.

Guilt is irrelevent.to the lawyer's duty to represent his client. In a very real sense, the lawyer doesn't care whether his client is guilty. He only cares whether the state can prove it. The state must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense lawyer's duty is to make them do that--even if he knows his client is guilty.

Answer 4

As someone who has practiced criminal defense work I can say that most of your clients WILL be guilty and the best way to represent them is to get the entire story out of them.

You're going to settle the vast majority of your cases (just like in civil law) and you're going to need to present a story of who the person is, why the crime was done, and how they are sorry/will not do it again/have atoned, etc. There's nothing wrong with this. The guilty need representation too. It's not all about guilty/not guilty. Lawyers get you less jail time IF you deserve less. It's a lot more fair than most people think.

Answer 5

It is the attorney's job to give the accused a vigorous defense. The prosecutor's job is to put together a case that removes any reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused. It is up to the jury or a judge as to the guilt or innocence of the accused after hearing the evidence. There is the attorney/client privilege which bars an attorney from discussing private conversations with clients and once they agree to accept a case they are required to provide the best defense within the scope of the law which may or may not directly involve the question of guilt or innocence but whether the evidence at hand contains a reasonable doubt of guilt.

Answer 6

Your job as a criminal defense attorney is not to represent only innocent people, it is to ensure that the people that are guilty have their due process and that the state has met their burden of proof before sending someone to prison. You will get confessions out of them and it is your ethical duty to still enter not guilty if you think the state has a weak case.

When you plead not guilty, you are not saying the defendant didn't do it, you are saying the state does not have enough evidence to meet their burden of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) or defendant doesn't meet a certain element required for the crime. That is why they find people "not guilty" and not "innocent". It means that you cannot be found guilty according to the law, even though you did it.

Answer 7

If a lawyer who knows his client is guilty he tries to get his client to take a deal. Sometimes clients do not tell the truth to their lawyers. If a lawyer feels his client is guilty but his client does not say he is guilty the only thing the lawyer can do is obey the clients wishes by going through a trial. The only time I have ever heard of a lawyer trying to acquit a client who he knows for absolute sure that the client is guilty( because of client confession) is when the police screw up and do illegal activity like house searches without a warrent. etc.

Answer 8

There is more to vigorous defense then getting a "not guilty verdict"!
A good lawyer, knowing that his client will get convicted if the case goes to trial can still try to arrange a plea bargain or work out some kind of other deal , to minimize the punishment the defendant will receive.

Answer 9

If you qualify, the best criminal defense attorneys around will be the public defender. They are the most experienced trial attorneys money can't buy

Answer 10

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