Homicide, Murder, Manslaughter Question of curiosity re: Kohberger type cases

[KrunchTime]

I'm curious if some of you murder defense lawyers have an estimate as to what percentage of defendants tell the truth to their lawyers about what happened. I'll bet that this Kohberger guy told his lawyer that he's innocent.

 

[justblue]

I'm curious if some of you murder defense lawyers have an estimate as to what percentage of defendants tell the truth to their lawyers about what happened. I'll bet that this Kohberger guy told his lawyer that he's innocent.

It doesn't matter.

 

[Zigner]

I'm curious if some of you murder defense lawyers have an estimate as to what percentage of defendants tell the truth to their lawyers about what happened. I'll bet that this Kohberger guy told his lawyer that he's innocent.

I don't believe there are any "murder defense lawyers" who post here.

 

[zddoodah]

some of you murder defense lawyers

To my knowledge, no one fitting this description posts here regularly.

 

[Redemptionman]

and most criminal defense attorneys don't ask and do not want to know about their client's innocence or quilt. This mans attorney is probably just trying to save him from the death penalty.,

 

[Tax Counsel]

I'm curious if some of you murder defense lawyers have an estimate as to what percentage of defendants tell the truth to their lawyers about what happened. I'll bet that this Kohberger guy told his lawyer that he's innocent.

There are no independent statistics to tell us that because those attorney-client privilege and duty of confidentiality don't allow attorneys to spill the beans on those conversations. I don't do murder cases, but I can tell you that I emphasize to my clients that I need for them to give me the truth about what they did — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Knowing that information greatly helps in figuring out what the government may find, what theories it may be working on, etc., allowing the attorney to better plan his/her client's defense. I've been in court watching cases where the client didn't tell his lawyer everything, and when the government brought up damaging information that the lawyer's client should have told him, the attorney is caught flat footed and unprepared, giving the government a good hit against the defendant. Had the defendant disclosed everything to his lawyer the lawyer could have been ready for it and done something to mitigate the damage.

and most criminal defense attorneys don't ask and do not want to know about their client's innocence or quilt.

I disagree. Most lawyers I know do ask their clients to tell them the truth of what happened because knowing that tells the lawyer what the government may find out, what obstacles the lawyer will face, and in forming the best strategy to minimize the damage to their client. A lawyer caught unprepared with the facts is going to have a much harder time. As a lawyer, in any case I have I want as much relevant information as I can get to plan out the best case possible. When I've had clients who lied or failed to tell me something important it did not go well for the client if the government was able to find that information and bring it out in court, leaving me without the chance to have prepared to counter it.

 

[Redemptionman]

I disagree. Most lawyers I know do ask their clients to tell them the truth of what happened because knowing that tells the lawyer what the government may find out, what obstacles the lawyer will face, and in forming the best strategy to minimize the damage to their client. A lawyer caught unprepared with the facts is going to have a much harder time. As a lawyer, in any case I have I want as much relevant information as I can get to plan out the best case possible. When I've had clients who lied or failed to tell me something important it did not go well for the client if the government was able to find that information and bring it out in court, leaving me without the chance to have prepared to counter it.

depends on the attorney but for the most part good criminal defense attorneys will represent people who commit crimes regardless of their guilt or innocence. So if the percentages hold true that a 1/3rd of the people in prison are there for crimes they didn't commit. Roughly 70-80 percent of the criminal defense attorneys clients are guilty.

 

[army judge]

I can't speak for all jurisdictions, but in most locales attorneys are forced/coerced/encouraged to defend the indigent. Granted a publicly underfunded public defender office does exist, but most are underfunded and understaffed.

Hence, the creation of what is termed "the list", which creates an obligation among verious attorneys and firms to be appointed to take up slack for the public defender.

 

[Tax Counsel]

depends on the attorney but for the most part good criminal defense attorneys will represent people who commit crimes regardless of their guilt or innocence.

Absolutely! If they only represented saints they'd have little business coming through their doors. But to do a good job in representing that client they need all the relevant info they can get. The vast majority of the clients of criminal defense lawyers are guilty and the lawyer knows it. He or she does their job as best they can anyway because a good defense is a check on government overreach. We have to be able to hold the government to the rules, just as we are obligated to follow them. And to do their jobs well, criminal defense lawyers need to know what their client actually did so they know what the government may find and what defenses may be worthwhile.