Do lawyers knowningly defend guilty murderers?
Rafferty is correct and I would add ; “what do you mean by ‘defend””? Most criminal defense attorneys do not ask “did you do it” because they cannot defraud the court or offer false evidence. Every case is unique. That is why plea bargains exist and nolo contendre’s. ( no contest). If you remember that movie “criminal law’ the attorney was cognizant through the movie , he would lose his law license for what he was doing. That is the ultimate betrayal of the sacred attorney client relationship. Actually, a lawyer betrayal, as in the movie, would be a slam dunk for appeal for “ineffective assistance of counsel”. If a client just can’t help himself, and confesses and still wants to “create” a defense, the lawyer would have to withdraw as counsel, but could never reveal what the client told him. Or convince the client to enter into a plea bargain and get a just sentence for the client.
