Lets say someone is on trial for murder...and they plead not guilty...and they tell their own lawyer that they did murder. What does the lawyer do? Do they still defend them? Do most lawyers really know whether or not their client committed the crime, even though they may plead otherwise? Or do defense lawyers discourage their client from telling them whether they did it or not?
2007-03-23 07:44:27 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The answer to your question will depend on many factors. First, any criminal defendant is entitled to a reasonable defense, whether they are guilty or not. A lawyer might know the client is guilty and still defend the client because he or she thinks that a jury will feel sorry for the client, or give a lesser sentence than the judge would. There are many strategy issues to consider when deciding how to proceed with a case, and many times the client has no control over much of the process.
There are some issues, however, that may cause problems for a lawyer, if he knows the client is guilty, but the client wants to say that he or she didn't do it. That is why most criminal defense lawyers will not ask if the client did it. For the lawyer, it really doesn't matter if the client is guilty or not, the question is, can the client get a fair trial or a fair deal. It is up to the jury to decide guilty or not guilty, not the lawyer. If the client is guilty, and the lawyer makes sure that the client gets a fair trial, and the client is convicted, then the client got what he or she deserved. It is as simple as that.
The problem comes when the client is innocent, but convicted anyway.
2007-03-23 08:10:04 · answer #1 · answered by www.lvtrafficticketguy.com 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2016-06-02 20:58:18 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most defense attorneys I know basically assume the guilt of their client, but still seek to force the DA to prove that guilt, which is the defendant's right.
Everyone has a right to a fair trial, and that includes being proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
At the same time, most of those same attorneys would tell a defendant not to say one way or the other to them. That is because the attorney can't knowingly suborn perjury. That is, if they know you robbed the store because you told them you did, they can't ask you on the stand "did you rob that store?" So, they'd rather be kept in the dark and defend you to the best of their ability.
2007-03-23 22:56:24 · answer #3 · answered by Robert L 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I happen to have a family member who works in our local DA office. She is an assistant to the defense attorneys. This is what she told me. By following the constitution, every person has the right to a trial by their peers. Depending on the evidence and/or admission of guilt, there job is NOT to get a guilty person off, it is to get the "best" sentence possible. So yes they defend the guilty and thinking about it in layman's terms, the are seeking justice for the criminal. Her office actually worked on the Dennis Rader (BTK) and the Carr brothers case. In the case of the BTK, she actually had to go and interview the man, and hear all the "gory" details. The job of the DA's office was not to prove him innocent but to investigate and prove he committed no murders here past 1991 so he could be saved from the Death Penalty. "Fitting" for a man that killed 8 from 1978-1989!!!! She doesn't agree with this part of her job, but she upholds the constitution in that she follows "right to a trial by their peers". It is unfair and unjust, to the victims but at the same time, its not perfect. We let admitted killers recant their confessions and then we stand back and listen to what they have to say about all the "wrong" done to them. The system however is not failing, we are failing the system. We are sitting by and complaining about BTK got saved from Death because he didn't kill anyone after 1991, or the death penalty is inhuman punishment, its ridiculous, and then we do nothing about it. Whatever happened to an eye for eye, do unto others, we've made the justice and prison system a place where criminals WANT to be. "3 Hots and a Cot" is more than what some of them get out a prison. Yard time, TV time, free gym time...come on, life is better for them in there than what a lot of them could get out it. Maybe if that money we're putting in to the jails was put somewhere else and we made being in prison actually BEING IN PRISON, there would be more of a deterrent from going there.
2007-03-23 08:10:58 · answer #4 · answered by swee_pea630 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The client needs to tell the attorney everything. So, generally, yes, the attorney knows. Since the attorney can not be compelled to tell anyone what their client has told them, it's perfectly safe for the accused to tell everything.
Understand that for a criminal defense attorney, most people they represent are guilty. It's just part of the job.
2007-03-23 07:53:15 · answer #5 · answered by Teekno 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋