Legal Question in Technology Law in Minnesota

Re: Is it Always Best to Tell Your Lawye the Truth if you are Guilty?

First, it is important to note that your question transcends matters of computer technology and implicates issues of criminal law, legal ethics and legal strategies.

As Mr. Anderson has already informed you, there can be advantages of being entirely truthful with the lawyer. A fully informed lawyer who has been told the whole truth, is better able to analyze potential problems in your defense, what legal stategies to employ and what legal strategies to avoid, and how to prepare a proactive defense plan against any evidence agqainst any that may be uncovered.

However, there can also be disadvantages which should be weighed in the balance against full disclosure. Such truthfulness can impose limits under the law as to how your attorney can defend you. Note that under the law, that if a lawyer knows that the client is guilty, then that lawyer is not allowed to help the client to conceal evidence or to falsify evidence or to commit perjury. Thus, for example, if your lawyer knows you are guilty, then he will not allow you to testify on the stand as to your innocence or to offer any other trestimony which your lawyer knows is perjury. If the lawyer knows that the client his guilty, then under the law, the lawyer must not allow the client to testify to perjury under oath and falsify the facts.

Note also that a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case, Nix v. Whiteside,475 US 157,ruled that a lawyer is allowed to notify the court of his client's perjury. In fact, many states require the lawyer to notify the court of the client's perjury, although I am not sure of the applicable New York law on this, and cannot speak on the applicable Minnesota law.

Note also that the lawyer is required by law to inform police law enforcement agencies of any future crimes the client is planning: future criminal acts are not protected by attorney-client confidentiality.

That said, in the real world, many lawyers do violate these rules, especially if they know there will be no proof afterward that the client admitted guilt to them and that they knowingly helped the client to commit perjury or to conceal or falsify evidence.

The questions arise as to how do you find out whether the lawyer "plays by the rules" or not before being entirely truthful with him and whether you can trust an attorney who breaks the rules of law and ethics of the legal profession.

Re: Is it Always Best to Tell Your Lawye the Truth if you are Guilty?

When I practiced criminal defense, I really did not care if the client did or didn't commit the crime. What I cared about were the events surrounding the incident.

For example, on a prior DWI case my client blew a 1.1, being legally intoxicated. His guilt or innocence was irrelevent. What was relevent was his past medical history (a diabetic may have false positive reading), how the police questioned him, what he ate that day, whether he consumed alcohol and how much, etc.

So to answer your question, trust your attorney. He has expertise in criminal matters (not you). Follow his lead.

Mike.

Re: Is it Always Best to Tell Your Lawye the Truth if you are Guilty?

You should always be truthful with your attorney.

That being said, sometimes your attorney will not ask you questions he or she does not want the answer to.

The key is, you never want your attorney to be in the dark about questions that are important.

Because, the surprise may come at a time when it is too late for the attorney to do anything about it, like in trial.