Thursday, January 18, 2018

Can a Lawyer Say the Client Is Guilty When the Client Says He's Innocent?

A lawyer thought the only way to save his client from the death penalty in the face of very strong evidence of guilt was to concede his guilt. The client insisted he was innocent. The lawyer’s strategy didn’t work and his client was sentenced to death. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if, under these facts, the defendant was deprived of his right to counsel.
NPR’s Nina Totenberg presents the story in a 4 minute report, transcript available, and then follows up after listening to the oral arguments.