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Heaven Help The Lawyer For A Civil Liar, Steven H. Goldberg
Heaven Help The Lawyer For A Civil Liar, Steven H. Goldberg
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
In April of 1987, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 87-353. Influenced by the problem of a criminal defendant's potential perjury, as discussed in Nix v. Whiteside, the Formal Opinion focuses on subsection 3.3(a)(2) of Model Rule 3.3, rather than on subsection 3.3(a)(4). As a result, the Opinion advises all lawyers — civil and criminal — who know that their clients will lie to the jury, to “disclose the client's intention to testify falsely to the tribunal,” unless they can withdraw from the representation or prohibit the prospective lie. It advises lawyers …
Reflections On Client Perjury, Bennett L. Gershman
Reflections On Client Perjury, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Most experienced prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys would probably agree that perjury in the criminal justice system occurs often. Although the frequency of perjury has never empirically been demonstrated, it is not surprising that with so much at stake, prosecution and defense witnesses would be tempted to fabricate testimony to meet the exigencies of the case. Detecting and dealing with perjurious testimony, however, is another matter. Implicated are complex legal and ethical problems for both prosecutors and defense attorneys. The judiciary's response to these problems, moreover, has largely been formalistic, without enunciating sufficiently clear standards to guide future behavior.
Attorney Loyalty And Client Perjury - A Postscript To Nix V. Whiteside, Bennett L. Gershman
Attorney Loyalty And Client Perjury - A Postscript To Nix V. Whiteside, Bennett L. Gershman
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
How much, if at all, can a criminal defense lawyer cooperate in his or her client's decision to commit perjury? Courts, commentators, and bar committees have grappled with this question for years without offering clear or consistent guidelines. Any principled response must take into account some very hard questions. Under what circumstances, for instance, does the lawyer ever really "know" that his client's proposed testimony is false? Is it sufficient if the lawyer simply disbelieves his client's story, or that of his client's witnesses? Does it make any difference if the attorney learns of a plan to perjure during the …