Defense attorney

“ As a symbolic matter, today's decision is ominous because it reflects a preference for an inquisitorial system that regards the defense lawyer as an impediment rather than a servant to the cause of justice.
* The predicate for the Court's entire analysis is the failure of the defendant at the preliminary hearing to make a "statement that can reasonably be construed to be expression of a desire for the assistance of an attorney in dealing with custodial interrogation by the police." Ante, at 178. ”

“ We are not in this case for the first time after the opening with the theory of the defense. In most all murder cases, in most all important trials, when the State, or the people represented by the State's Attorney, gives an outline of the prosecution's side, the defendants' attorney arises and gives to the jury their defense. If not at the opening, then after the evidence is closed for the prosecution; then they arise and tell us how they [Pg 550] are going to meet this evidence. ”

“ The man now charged with crime is furnished the most complete opportunity for making his defense. He may testify in his own behalf; if he be poor, he may have counsel furnished him by the state, and may have his witnesses summoned and paid for by the state; not infrequently he is thus furnished counsel more able than the attorney for the state, in short the modern law has taken as great pains to surround the accused person with the means to effectively make his defense as the ancient law took pains to prevent that consummation. ”

“ In these same inquiries, it is stated that if defense counsel were carefully selected from those who were recognized as unconditionally reliable, pro-State and judicially efficient lawyers, no difficulty should arise with respect to the secrecy of such proceedings. It is suggested that if an attorney should inquire concerning representation of an NN defendant, he should be informed that it is not permissible to investigate whether or not there was any proceeding pending against the accused. ”

“ As long as the attorney keeps his defense within legitimate bounds, and avails himself of every lawful opportunity for the advantage of his client, no well-balanced mind can be disposed to censure, because on the other side, the prosecution will do the same. ”

“ A people's court, people's procuratorate or public security organ shall not restrict or impair the right of the criminal suspect or defendant to entrust his case to a defense counsel while notifying a legal aid institution of the need to appoint a lawyer as the defender of a criminal suspect or defendant. ”

“ It is evident that such a viewpoint must involve far-reaching effects on the position and task of the lawyer as the criminal defense counsel, even if outwardly criminal procedure does not essentially differ in its form from the former criminal trial. As defense counsel, the lawyer has shifted closer to the State and community. He is incorporated into the community of the administrators of justice and has lost his former position as unilateral representative of the interests of the defendant. ”

“ No circumstance that comes to mind allows an accused to interfere with the absolute right of a trial judge to have such 'standby counsel' to protect the rights of accused persons 'foolishly trying to defend themselves,' as Mr. Justice DOUGLAS so aptly described it. In every trial there is more at stake than just the interests of the accused; the integrity of the process warrants a trial judge's exercising his discretion to have counsel participate in the defense even when rejected. ”

“ Finally, I think the Court's new rule is vulnerable in terms of its own unimpeachable purpose of increasing the reliability of identification testimony.
Law enforcement officers have the obligation to convict the guilty and to make sure they do not convict the innocent. They must be dedicated to making the criminal trial a procedure for the ascertainment of the true facts surrounding the commission of the crime. [5] To this extent, our so-called adversary system is not adversary at all; nor should it be. But defense counsel has no comparable obligation to ascertain or present the truth. ”

“ A defendant, they said, is entitled to notice of the charges against him, trial by jury, the right to counsel for his defense, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, the right to call witnesses in his own behalf, and the right not to be a witness against himself. All of these rights are designed to shield the defendant against state power. None are designed to make convictions easier and taken together they clearly indicate that in our system the entire burden of proving criminal activity rests on the State. ”

“ Arms Co. that, where it is shown by the opening statement of the plaintiff's counsel that he has no case, the court may direct the jury to find a verdict for the defendant without going into the evidence. I know of no reason why the same rule should not apply to the defendant, who assumes in his opening to state a defense. If the facts stated in such opening do not constitute a defense, the court is at liberty to rule out the evidence, and either direct a verdict for the plaintiff or submit the case to the jury upon the plaintiff's testimony. ”

“ The sixth amendment of the Constitution, before quoted, secures to the accused, in a criminal case, 'the assistance of counsel for his defense.' This security is, therefore, not dependent upon, or subject to, the power of Congress. They have no more authority to deny an accused the assistance of counsel, than they have to deny him a jury trial ”

“ I know full well that many lawyers shrink before this struggle for their new adjustment which calls at the same time for an honest pledge, because they deem it to be disloyal to their clients and therefore keep aloof from penal cases.
My appeal is not meant for them. For whoever shuns moral obligations or does not have the strength to see the fight through could never indeed perform useful work as a criminal defense counsel. ”

“ The defense counsel, they say, only seldom has the opportunity to succeed, in getting through his deviating opinion due to the close collaboration of judge and prosecutor, for instance, in the introduction of evidence, or to find sufficient attention in his final plea so that sometimes it may appear that the verdict has already been pronounced prior to the main proceedings. The lawyer’s success in any case is often rather minor, and the lawyer very easily attains a secondary position compared to the judge and the prosecutor. ”

“ Courts-martial are particularly guarded in adhering to the custom of resisting every attempt on the part of counsel to address them. A lawyer is not recognized by a court-martial, though his presence is tolerated, as a friend of the prisoner, to assist him by advice in preparing questions for witnesses, in taking notes and shaping his defense. The prisoner having closed his defense, the prosecutor is entitled to reply, when witnesses have been examined on the defense, or where new facts are opened in the address. ”

“ The courts must take such steps by rule and regulation that will protect their processes from prejudicial outside interferences. Neither prosecutors, counsel for defense, the accused, witnesses, court staff nor enforcement officers coming under the jurisdiction of the court should be permitted to frustrate its function. ”

“ That the defendant faces such a dilemma demanding a choice between complete silence and presenting a defense has never been thought an invasion of the privilege against compelled self-incrimination. The pressures generated by the State's evidence may be severe but they do not vitiate the defendant's choice to present an alibi defense and witnesses to prove it, even though the attempted defense ends in catastrophe for the defendant. ”

“ This creates a presumption that the challenged action is within the officer's scope of duty unless the plaintiff can prove otherwise. Since it has been admitted that, as in this case, these duties are rarely enumerated, an executive assertion on the official's bahalf may place an impossible burden of proof on the plaintiff seeking to avoid the defense of absolute privilege. By this unusual approach, the traditional rule that it is the defendant who must sustain his affirmative defense of privilege-and not the plaintiff who must negate that defense-is apparently disregarded. ”

“ With respect to motions for continuance, the granting or refusal of them is unquestionably a necessary incident to, and a part of, the hearing and determining of criminal charges; and the exercise of that power in such criminal proceedings is indispensable to the right of the accused to have a fair and full investigation of the offense charged against him, and to a sufficient time for the summoning of his witnesses, as well as for employing and consulting with counsel to aid him in his defense. ”

“ He who is seeking “success” as defense counsel in penal cases must first ascertain what is understood by it. It should go without saying that a conscientious lawyer does not only see success where he manages to reduce the sentence proposed by the prosecutor, to find loopholes in the law for his client following the old tradition, or where he otherwise succeeds in exploiting the case to his client’s advantage. ”

“ How is the defendant to prove that the prosecutor acted differently than he ordinarily would have, that defense counsel was more concerned with impressing prospective clients than with the interests of the defendant, that a juror was so concerned with how he appeared on television that his mind continually wandered from the proceedings, that an important defense witness made a bad impression on the jury because he was 'playing' to the television audience or that the judge was a little more lenient or a little more strict than he usually might be? ”

“ Defense counsel need present nothing, even if he knows what the truth is. He need not furnish any witnesses to the police, or reveal any confidences of his client, or furnish any other information to help the prosecution's case. If he can confuse a witness, even a truthful one, or make him appear at a disadvantage, unsure or indecisive, that will be his normal course. [6] Our interest in not convicting the innocent permits counsel to put the State to its proof, to put the State's case in the worst possible light, regardless of what he thinks or knows to be the truth. ”

“ An investigation before the grand jury, it is said, is generally ex parte-although sometimes witnesses in behalf of the defendant are heard by it-and the conclusion of such ex parte inquiry ought not to preclude the defendant from every defense, even the one that he was never within the state or district in which the crime is charged to have been committed, or authorize the government to summarily arrest him wherever he may be found, transport him, perhaps, far away from his home, and subject him, among strangers, to the difficulties and expense of making his defense. ”

“ When brought into court they may give, by special counsel, more careful attention to their particular defense than could be given by the law officer of the government charged with the defense of thousands of similar claims. ”

“ In one criminal case, several lawyers or professional representatives may not act side by side as chosen counsel for one defendant.
(2) The rules about obligatory representation by defense counsel do not apply. The presiding judge appoints a defense counsel for the whole or part of the proceedings if the difficulty of the factual or legal problems makes assistance by a defense counsel necessary, or if the defendant, in due consideration of his personality, is unable to defend himself personally. ”

“ The public prosecutor and the defense counsel have the right to put pertinent questions to the witnesses and to the experts, which the judge must permit in accordance with the regulations within the framework of the code of criminal procedure. ”

“ A Defendant shall have the right to conduct his own defense before the Tribunal or to have the assistance of Counsel.
(e) A Defendant shall have the right through himself or through his Counsel to present evidence at the Trial in support of his defense, and to cross-examine any witness called by the Prosecution. ”

“ Of course it is true that under our system Congress may vest the judge and jury with broad power to say how much punishment shall be imposed for a particular offense. But it is quite different to vest such powers in a prosecuting attorney. A judge and jury act under procedural rules carefully prescribed to protect the liberty of the individual. Their judgments and verdicts are reached after a public trial in which a defendant has the right to be represented by an attorney. No such protections are thrown around decisions by a prosecuting attorney. ”

“ Inordinate delay between arrest, indictment, and trial may impair a defendant's ability to present an effective defense. But the major evils protected against by the speedy trial guarantee exist quite apart from actual or possible prejudice to an accused's defense. To legally arrest and detain, the Government must assert probable cause to believe the arrestee has committed a crime. ”

“ Because a defendant thus has no need for evidentiary litigation, he has no need for notice of judicial intentions in order to focus the presentation of evidence. And while in some cases defense counsel might be able to affect a trial judge's initial view of the adequacy of a Guidelines range in reflecting an aggravating circumstance, the principal safeguard against serving extra time resulting from a mistake about the adequacy of the Guidelines will still be the safeguard available under the statute as now applied, an appeal of law. ”