No, defense attorneys have an ethical obligation not to lie to the court or deceive it. They are required to defend their customers, but this doesn't mean they can knowingly manufacture evidence or present false information. Instead, your role is to present a strong defense based on available facts and legal arguments, even if your client is guilty.
Criminal defense
attorneys have an ethical duty to represent all clients, regardless of guilt or innocence, as long as they do not intentionally lie or mislead the court.This means that even if you confess to your lawyer that you committed the crime, you are still allowed to represent you. What defense attorneys can't do is lie to the judge or jury. For example, a lawyer cannot specifically state that the defendant did not do something that the lawyer knows the defendant did. The lawyer also cannot admit guilt against the client's wishes. Instead, the defense attorney will focus his tactics and arguments in the trial on the government's inability to prove all elements of the crime.
Once that line is crossed, it's easier for lies to multiply and for betrayal of trust to worsen. Even if a client admits guilt to their lawyer, the lawyer has an ethical obligation to keep that information private. The Talmud (Jewish law) prohibited the presence of lawyers in its courts of law, based on the logic that lawyers do not promote the search for truth. It goes without saying that no lawyer wants to jeopardize their entire career because of a lack of honesty with a client.
Having an experienced JJWLS criminal defense attorney is important to help you understand the complexities of the South Carolina legal system and ensure that your rights are protected, no matter the circumstances. For these reasons, among others, defense attorneys often don't ask their clients if they committed the crime. This means defending them with passion and diligence, regardless of personal beliefs about their guilt. or innocence.
For the sake of argument, let's suppose that the lawyer can somehow know with 100% certainty that his client committed the crime, so it's not a matter of the lawyer issuing a judgment when there is a possibility of doubt. According to Canon 7 of the ABA Model Code of Responsibility, the defense attorney's duty to his client is to zealously represent the client within the limits of the law, due to their inclusion in a profession whose objective is (to help) members of the public to guarantee and protect available legal rights and benefits. It seems to assume that justice will be served if the defense attorney abandons his client, but the opposite is true. If you have the same concerns, remember that the job of a criminal defense attorney is to defend your guilt or innocence and protect your constitutional rights.
For these reasons, it is likely that the defense attorney will not ask his client if he actually committed the crime or not. However, what your lawyer thinks or believes about your guilt is not necessarily relevant to the defense strategy.
