Duty of Candor to the Court and Fairness to Your Adversary Flashcards
(36 cards)
Attorneys cannot engage in conduct involving…
dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation. These duties trump the conflicting duties of confidentiality and loyalty to your client.
You must not make a false statement of material fact or offer evidence you know is false to a tribunal, or…
fail to correct any false evidence you have offered.
If you only reasonably believe evidence is false, you may…
refuse your client’s instruction to use it.
You must not knowingly facilitate…
perjury.
In a civil case, you must refuse to call a witness, including your client, if you know he intends to perjure himself. However, criminal defendants…
have a Constitutional right to testify on their own behalf.
You know your client intends to lie on the stand in his criminal trial. What do you do? _
- Counsel your client to testify truthfully or not take the stand.
- If that fails, you should try to withdraw from the case.
- If that fails, tell the judge to avoid assisting in a criminal act.
The right to counsel and the duty of confidentiality do not…
shield perjury.
If you have information clearly establishing that a non-client has perpetrated a fraud on a tribunal where you are appearing, you must…
promptly reveal it to the tribunal, even if that requires disclosing confidential information.
You must not counsel or assist a witness to testify falsely or to…
become “unavailable.”
Attorneys may pay basic expenses of a witness and reasonable fees for expert witnesses, as long as…
payment is not contingent on the content of the testimony.
If you do not know, but only reasonably believe, that testimony is false, telling the judge is…
permissive.
You must not obstruct access to evidence, or…
cause potential evidence to be altered or concealed, regardless of your duty of loyalty.
Erik brings you a shotgun saying he killed his father with it. He is charged with murder, and you are subpoenaed for the production of physical evidence received from your client. Must you turn over the gun?
Yes, it is not insulated by confidentiality or privilege.
May you disclose what Erik told you about the gun?
No.
You must draw a line between…
physical evidence and confidential information.
What if Erik told you he threw the emptied gun into the bushes behind his house? Your investigator finds it but leaves it untouched. May you be compelled to tell the authorities about it?
No, You can look, but don’t touch.
If your investigator retrieved the gun and examined it, could she then be compelled to produce it for the authorities? Tell where she found it?
Yes and yes.
An attorney or her agent may be compelled to testify as to the _______________________ or ____________________ of evidence that she moved or altered.
original location or condition
May you reveal the source of the information about the gun’s location?
No.
“_____________” proceedings are communications with the judge without your adversary present.
ex parte
Your ethical duties of candor to the court and fairness to your (absent) adversary require you to…
volunteer material information, trumping the normal presumption that you not reveal facts harmful to your client.
Before an ex parte proceeding, you must promptly give…
notice and copies of the proceeding to other parties.
____________ have higher ethical obligations than other lawyers.
Prosecutors
The basic duty of a prosecutor is to seek justice, not just to…
win cases.