Lawyers and ‘guilty’
Occasionally family and friends ask me, ‘how do you represent someone when you know they’re guilty?’
The first point I make when responding is that I am yet to be asked to actively defend a charge for a client when I know they are guilty. However, if I was, I would refuse.
As a solicitor, I must act in accordance with strict ethical rules known as solicitor conduct rules. One of these rules – rule 20.2 – prohibits me stating to the court that my client did not commit an offence if a client has advised me that they have committed the offence.
Occasionally I have acted for clients that I suspect might have committed the offence despite their instructions that they are innocent.
However, I remind myself that it is not my job to judge whether a client committed the offence they have been charged with; that is a job for the decision maker – judge, magistrate or jury.
The prosecutor must present the case against the defendant and the defence lawyer acts on behalf of the defendant. The system cannot ensure justice if any of these participants – defence lawyer, prosecutor or decision maker – fails to adequately fulfil their role.
Historical cases provide me with evidence that I could be wrong in suspecting a client is guilty.
Sometimes a person who seems to have obviously committed the offence, based on initial media reports or gossip, are later cleared of the offence and are shown to have been innocent.
In 2005 as a year-11 student at Horsham College, my legal studies teacher Rob Blakeley impressed on our class the importance of a fair trial and vital role defence lawyers played through analysis of the Lindy Chamberlain murder trial – otherwise known as ‘the dingo ate my baby’ case.
Many readers will recall that in 1982 Ms Chamberlain was found guilty of murdering her nine-week-old daughter Azaria.
It would have been hard to believe her innocence when expert analysis led by the prose- cution concluded that blood was found in the Chamberlains’ car.
Ms Chamberlain spent more than three years in prison before new evidence was found leading to her release. It was later found that the stain believed to have been blood in the Chamberlains’ car was most likely a sound-deadening compound from a manufacturing overspray.
For those who subscribe to Netflix, the documentary ‘Central Park Five’ provides a United States example of how individuals who appear clearly guilty can be innocent.
The documentary details the conviction of five teenagers of African-american and Hispanic descent for the rape and attempted murder of a 28-year-old white female jogger in Central Park, New York, in 1989.
The recorded confessions from the accused obviously made them look guilty.
However, their claims they had been intimidated into making false confessions were shown to be true when in 2002 a convicted murderer and serial rapist in prison – Matias Reyes – confessed to raping the victim, and DNA evidence confirmed his guilt.
The above cases, and others, remind me to ensure I do not pre-judge my clients.
Competent legal advice can make a significant difference when a person’s liberty is at stake through the possibility of imprisonment.
If you or a family member are charged with a criminal offence, I recommend engaging a solicitor as soon as possible to ensure your rights are protected and that you receive the best possible outcome.