The Disciplinary Commission has also determined that these obligations apply equally to prosecutors in a criminal case. Just as a defense attorney would have an obligation to disclose perjury committed by a criminal defendant, a prosecutor would have a duty to disclose perjury committed by a prosecution witness during direct examination.
A Florida case, Haskell Co. v. Georgia Pacific Corp., 684 So. 2d 297 (Fla. 5th D.C.A. 1996), holds that communications between a client and counsel during a break in a civil deposition are protected by the attorney-client privilege, but it does not address the question of whether such communications may be restricted by the trial court.
A Direct Examination is where an attorney conducts an examination of their own witnesses to bring out the facts of the case. An effective direct examination should isolate exactly what information each witness can contribute to proving the case. It should be posed as a series of clear, simple questions designed to obtain that information.
by Jack E. Call, Professor of Criminal Justice, Radford University, E-mail: [email protected] In a recent Louisiana case, Warren Demesme was arrested for raping a juvenile.[1] During his interrogation, Demesme told the detectives who were questioning him, “This is how I feel, if y’all think I did it, I know that I didn’t do it so why don’t you just give me a lawyer dog ’cause this is ...
Noble County Courthouse, Albion, Indiana, 1887, Richardson Romanesque style, red brick with limestone trim.
A Direct Examination is where an attorney conducts an examination of their own witnesses to bring out the facts of the case.
Legal malpractice is when an attorney makes a grievous error in handling a case. Lawyers are held to a general standard and codes of ethical and professional conduct. Depending on the severity, when they break these rules they may be guilty of medical malpractice.
Lawyers are not perfect. They can and do make mistakes. However, there is a serious issue when that mistake is so severe that it hinders you from filing or possibly winning your case. Legal malpractice cases can be lengthy and expensive. It is advised to make the claims quickly if you feel like you have been wronged.
They break their fiduciary duty to a client: A lawyer’s main job is to protect and advocate for their client.
Defense counsel should consider the impact of these duties at all stages of a criminal representation and on all decisions and actions that arise in the course of performing the defense function. These duties include:
Such steps may include: filing motions, including motions for reconsideration, and exhibits; making objections and placing explanations on the record; requesting evidentiary hearings; requesting or objecting to jury instructions; and making offers of proof and proffers of excluded evidence.
(a) When a representation ends, if the client requests the client’s file, defense counsel should provide it to the client or, with the client’s consent, to successor counsel or other authorized representative. Defense counsel should provide the client with notice of the file’s disposition. Unless rules or statutes in the jurisdiction require otherwise, defense offices may retain clients’ files unless a client requests the file. If the client’s file remains with defense counsel, counsel should retain copies of essential portions until the client provides further instructions or for at least the length of time consistent with statutes and rules of the jurisdiction.
When defense counsel is aware of facts that would affect scheduling, defense counsel should advise the court and, if the facts are case-specific, the prosecutor.
Copyright by the American Bar Association. This work (Crimina l Justice Standards) may be used for non-profit educational and training purposes and legal reform (legislative, judicial, and executive) without written permission but with a citation to this source. Some specific Standards can be purchased in book format.
(a) The community of criminal defense attorneys, including public defense offices and State and local Bar Associations, should develop and maintain programs of training and continuing education for both new and experienced defense counsel. Defense offices, as well as the organized Bar or courts, should require that current and aspiring criminal defense counsel attend a reasonable number of hours of such training and education.
When before a jury, defense counsel should not knowingly refer to, or argue on the basis of, facts outside the record, unless such facts are matters of common public knowledge based on ordinary human experience or are matters of which a court clearly may take judicial notice, or are facts that counsel reasonably believes will be entered into the record at that proceeding. In a nonjury context counsel may refer to extra-record facts relevant to issues about which the court specifically inquires, but should note that they are outside the record.