It is a stressful thing to be a defendant in a criminal case. Your future may hang in the balance, and because of this, you may second guess every decision you make. For instance, you may wonder whether you should be fully honest with your criminal defense attorney. You may fear that if you tell her everything, she will form a negative opinion of you and purposefully undermine your case. Or, you may think she will refuse to represent you altogether. Though these fears are reasonable, they are somewhat misguided. Remember, it is not necessarily your lawyer’s job to directly prove your innocence. Rather, it is her job to show that there is insufficient evidence for proving your guilt. For this reason, the question of your factual guilt is most likely not of primary concern to your attorney.
Reasonable Doubt
It is a fundamental principle of the US criminal justice system that, in order for a person to be found guilty, there must be “proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.” This principle, founded on the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, is meant to prevent the tragic scenario of convicting an innocent person. This is important to remember because your attorney will likely seize on the reasonable doubt standard, leaving aside the question of factual guilt.
Factual Vs. Legal Guilt
At this point, it’s important to highlight the difference between factual and legal guilt. Factual guilt refers to the material fact of your having committed a crime. Legal guilt, on the other hand, refers to your status in the eyes of the law; that is, your legal guilt (or innocence) has more to do with the evidence presented to the court and the reasonable doubt standard than the actual facts as you understand them. Your criminal defense attorney will likely set her sights on legal guilt. This is yet another reason you shouldn’t worry too much about disclosing self-incriminating information to your lawyer. That being said, you should always defer to your attorney, as every lawyer is different.
Strategic Differences
Some attorneys prefer knowing everything about their client’s case, while others would rather stick to the facts as they were presented to the prosecution. Certain lawyers prefer to assume the guilt of their client in order to build a stronger case. Think about it: if your attorney presumes your innocence she may not be as sensitive to the weaknesses of the case. Thus, though it is generally a good idea to tell your attorney the truth, you should first discuss the best course of action with your lawyer.
Cases
Though factual guilt is secondary to legal guilt in building a strong case, a defense lawyer can find herself in a sticky situation if she purposefully misrepresents the facts. Take the case of Steven Feldman, a lawyer in San Diego who represented David Westerfield, a man accused in 2002 of sexually assaulting and killing a young boy named Danielle van Dam. Westerfield told Feldman he was guilty, but Feldman crafted an argument in spite of that fact. After Feldman failed to convince the court that van Dam’s parents had put their child at risk by allegedly having orgy parties, he was virtually ostracized from the legal community. Similarly, in the 19th Century, one of the most famous lawyers in Ireland, Charles Phillips, defended a man convicted of murdering a nobleman named Lord Russell. Following a crushing defeat, word made its way around town that Phillips had known his client was guilty. This nearly ruined his career.
No Lying
It’s important to note that, in the two aforementioned cases, the attorneys may have knowingly lied in court. Allegedly, having been informed of the facts of the case, they purposefully misrepresented the reality of the situation. If they had focused on the weaknesses of the prosecution’s argument, instead of lying, they could have avoided becoming professional outcasts. In the US, an attorney is strictly forbidden from knowingly “making a false statement of fact.”
In short, even if your attorney thinks you’ve committed a crime, it is highly unlikely that she will give up on your case. An attorney’s job is to advocate for you. Full stop. Thus, barring a specific request from your lawyer, it’s a good idea to disclose the facts of the case as you see them.
