Is it necessary for defense lawyers to believe that the clients they defend are innocent of the charges against them? Some legal scholars hold that lawyers’ sole obligation is to provide the best defense they are capable of, claiming that in democratic societies all people accused of crimes are entitled to the defendants would say if they possessed the proper training or resources with which to represent themselves.
But such a position overlooks the fact that the defense lawyer’s obligation is twofold: to the defendant, certainly, but no less so to the court and, by extension, to society. For this reason, lawyers, great as their obligation to defendants is, should not, as officers of the court, present to the court well be innocent, the lawyer should of course try to prove that the client is innocent.
The lawyer’s obligation to the court and to society also ultimately benefits the defendant, because the “best defense” can only truly be provided by an advocate who, after a careful analysis of the facts, is convinced of the merits of the case. The fact that every client is entitled to a defense instead advocates for the rights of the defendant given the facts of the case.
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