While it's true that defense attorneys occasionally distort the truth, it's also true that prosecutors are equally guilty of sometimes distorting the truth to win a case. Most defense and prosecution misconduct are an unfortunate by-product of the contentious process. There is a fine line between lying and perjury. Some lawyers lie to their clients and file not-so-truthful statements in court.
But that's not lying, according to Newt Gingrich. If the client admits to her lawyer that she killed the man, but describes a tremendous physical and emotional trauma she previously suffered at the hands of him, the lawyer can present a convincing defense based on the history of abuse. Otherwise, the lawyer cannot effectively advise the client on the feasibility of going to trial and any defense theory (for example, self-defense or someone else being held accountable). In fact, that is the duty of criminal defense counsel to always protect the constitutional rights of the accused so that those who are truly innocent are not convicted.
That's the answer you most often hear from practicing lawyers as to why any system that limits their defense doesn't make sense. The explanation offered by academics for the “different mission of criminal lawyers that allows them such freedom with truth is the adversarial justice system. The court said there is a tradition here of lawyers participating in or supervising investigators to engage in a certain amount of deception to obtain information to identify ongoing irregularities that may be relevant to litigation, Hyland said, adding that this is a generally accepted practice. Up to this point, the lawyer doesn't lie, he's just applying the rules of logic to make his case, and more importantly, a lawyer is expected to show the highest form of honesty and integrity in any given circumstance, so the stereotype that lawyers are liars is quite ridiculous.
For a layman, all lawyers are liars; they tell lies, they misrepresent the truth, they take shortcuts and do all kinds of unethical things just to present and win their case. Now see why lawyers and the court don't care about the truth; because truth is subjective and based on a person's perspective. Most defendants are lucky if their lawyer has time to investigate possible true defenses, let alone mount false defenses. The defense lawyer's job is to ensure that the accuser or the prosecution proves that the suspect committed the crime of which he is accused, when the accuser cannot prove it, the defense lawyer will ask the court to discharge and acquit the suspect, since the accuser cannot present his case, this general principle of law is called” the one who claims must prove.
A will will be discharged and acquitted, the defense attorney did not lie or misrepresent the truth in order for his client to be discharged, rather Mr. That's why when lawyers argue, they can be accused of lying by laymen because they try to present their argument from a different perspective that may be totally different from what the public may consider true. With client information and prosecution discovery, the lawyer can begin to develop a strategy.
