When the law preserves injustice: issues raised by a wrongful incarceration exception to attorney-client confidentiality.: An article from: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
Book Details
Author(s)Inbal Hasbani
ISBN / ASINB003QDW20O
ISBN-13978B003QDW207
MarketplaceGermany 🇩🇪
Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, published by Northwestern University, School of Law on January 1, 2010. The length of the article is 13668 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the author: What should an attorney do if he obtains information from a client that would help free an innocent man or woman .from prison? In all but one state, ethical rules require attorneys to keep such information confidential even as innocents remain locked away in prison. This Comment proposes the introduction of a new exception to attorney-client confidentiality rules for wrongful incarcerations. It begins by providing background information on attorney-client confidentiality, including lawyers' duties to their clients and their ethical obligations under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. it then considers whether a new exception to attorney-client confidentiality would chill attorney-client discussions, and whether the reasonably certain death and substantial bodily harm exception under Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6(b)(1) should be interpreted to include an exception for wrongful incarcerations. Practical issues associated with a new wrongful-incarceration exception are then analyzed, including the length of conviction after which an attorney would be required to disclose exonerating information; the proper timing procedurally for an attorney to come forward," the possibility that a wrongful incarceration exception violates a client's constitutional rights against self-incrimination; and finally, the difference in attorney behavior that could be expected as a result of a wrongful incarceration exception. The Comment concludes by suggesting that a discretionary disclosure rule would best solve the issues presented by a wrongful incarceration exception to attorney-client confidentiality.
Citation Details
Title: When the law preserves injustice: issues raised by a wrongful incarceration exception to attorney-client confidentiality.
Author: Inbal Hasbani
Publication:Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Northwestern University, School of Law
Volume: 100 Issue: 1 Page: 277(31)
Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning
From the author: What should an attorney do if he obtains information from a client that would help free an innocent man or woman .from prison? In all but one state, ethical rules require attorneys to keep such information confidential even as innocents remain locked away in prison. This Comment proposes the introduction of a new exception to attorney-client confidentiality rules for wrongful incarcerations. It begins by providing background information on attorney-client confidentiality, including lawyers' duties to their clients and their ethical obligations under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. it then considers whether a new exception to attorney-client confidentiality would chill attorney-client discussions, and whether the reasonably certain death and substantial bodily harm exception under Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6(b)(1) should be interpreted to include an exception for wrongful incarcerations. Practical issues associated with a new wrongful-incarceration exception are then analyzed, including the length of conviction after which an attorney would be required to disclose exonerating information; the proper timing procedurally for an attorney to come forward," the possibility that a wrongful incarceration exception violates a client's constitutional rights against self-incrimination; and finally, the difference in attorney behavior that could be expected as a result of a wrongful incarceration exception. The Comment concludes by suggesting that a discretionary disclosure rule would best solve the issues presented by a wrongful incarceration exception to attorney-client confidentiality.
Citation Details
Title: When the law preserves injustice: issues raised by a wrongful incarceration exception to attorney-client confidentiality.
Author: Inbal Hasbani
Publication:Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Northwestern University, School of Law
Volume: 100 Issue: 1 Page: 277(31)
Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning
