Appeal Attorneys

Can a defense attorney quit a case because their defendant admits guilt to them?

I don't know anything about law. If you admit guilt to a defense attorney, I believe that they are legally obliged not to disclose that information. Can they choose not to represent you, if they're already agreed to be your attorney? Contracts signed, and such.. Ok. So they can claim ethical problems and ask to be removed from the case. But wouldn't this be a big signal to the judge/ other prosecutors that the defendant is GUILTY? Thank you guys. Ok. So they can claim ethical problems and ask to be removed from the case. But wouldn't this be a big signal to the judge/ other prosecutors that the defendant is GUILTY? Thank you guys.

Public Comments

1. They can ask the court to appoint a new attorney and argue emotional ties and conflict with the case making it so they don't feel the can defend you to the best of their ability. So yes contracts are signed but they can still get out of it with the courts permission. You also WANT them out of it if they want because if they disagree with your actions and it causes personal moral conflict they will not be able to do a very good job defending you and your case will likely be lost.
2. yes, they can ask to be removed but they cannot disclose any information the defendant provided without facing serious ethics violation that could and in most cases would affect their ability to continue being a lawyer
3. Well, yes they can if you are going to lie under oath that you did not commit the crime. They have an obligation to the client, but they also have an obligation to the court. If the defendant admits guilt to them they need to go to the judge and petition to remove as council due to an ethical conflict. That gets them off of the case, preserves the attorney/client privilege and allows the defendant to obtain untainted council.
4. Years ago, I took a "Citizen and the Law" class that was taught by a lawyer who had worked for some years as a public defender. He was asked how a defense lawyer could defend a person who admitted that they'd committed a crime they were charged with. His answer: First of all, he said that most public defenders don't ask their clients if they are guilty, if they did the crime, and most clients don't admit they did the crime. The defense attorney isn't interested in whether his client is factually guilty or not. His job is only to defend his client from the specific charges brought against the client, and he doesn't have to prove the client is innocent. All he has to do is convince the jury that the prosecution hasn't proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The guy who taught this course said that most of the time, the defense attorneys concern themselves with issues about whether the police and the DA's office have followed the law in investigating the crime (i.e., haven't violated their client's Constitutional rights), and as a practical matter in getting their client the best possible deal they can. A client can fire his attorney and an attorney can ask to be taken off the case, and neither client nor attorney has to cite a specific reason for the split. Public defenders don't have a contract with the client. They are appointed by the court and paid by the government for their services. In the case of private attorneys who may have a contract with the client, the contract is usually going to have a clause that allows the attorney to opt out. If you remember the Robert Blake murder trial, Blake had several attorneys who quit his case before he went to trial, mostly because Blake wouldn't take the attorney's advice to not give interviews.
5. Out of all my clients, 2 have admitted guilt to me and it did not affect my representation one bit. My clients did not testify in their own defense and my job was mainly to test the credibility of the witnesses against them. Sure, a defense attorney can ask to be removed from a case citing a conflict of interest, but that conflict can stem from many reasons. A judge wouldn't necessary guess why you are asking to be removed. And honestly, it doesn't matter anyway, since the judge does not determine a defendant's innocence or guilt - -that's for the jury.