IV - Representation in Criminal Cases

[Colt Daniels]

IV - Representation in Criminal Cases

1. An attorney shall undertake the proffered defense of a defendant in criminal cases, regardless of the identity of the accused individual or the nature of the criminal offense.
2. An attorney shall not refuse to render legal assistance in a criminal case because it is difficult to win, because there is some irrefutable evidence that a criminal offense has been committed, because the client has admitted his or her guilt, because of the severity of a particular criminal offense, because of public opinion or in any other similar situation.
3. An attorney shall not cancel his or her legal assistance to a client in a criminal action if as a result the client's position would be endangered or it would be impossible for the client to find another attorney.
4. In a criminal case, an attorney may withdraw from defending a client only if his or her professional conscience does not let him or her carry out the task.
5. An attorney shall not make public statements in the course of a criminal action that may have an impact on the progress and outcome of the proceedings.
6. An attorney shall not defend or free his or her defendant from guilt in such a way as to shift the blame to other co-defendants, or increase their guilt in order to decrease the guilt of his or her defendant. An attorney may do that only if, in his or her justified opinion, the defendant is not guilty and this cannot be proven in any other way except by proving the guilt of a co-defendant. Such evidence must correspond to the facts.
7. If there is more than one defense attorney, they must try to coordinate their work and speak in such a way as not to harm any defendant. The defending attorneys must reach a preliminary agreement regarding their speeches, so that the defending attorneys speaking first do not exhaust the issue to such an extent as to make the duty of other attorneys more difficult.
8. In his or her legal presentations and conclusions, a defending attorney is not bound by the instructions received from the client regarding legal matters. The defending attorney shall have the obligation to abide by the instruction received from the defendant concerning facts only.