Introduction

• Author: David Layton; Michel Proulx
• Pages: 1-14

1

INTRODUCTION

A.DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

What should criminal defence counsel do when a client wants her to

take possession of a thumb drive containing documents that are re-

lated to the charged crime but might help in mounting a defence? Can

a lawyer refuse to negotiate a plea de al for a client who wants to cooper-

ate with the prosecution, on the ground that “snitches” sometimes fab-

ricate evidence to save their own sk in, and helping one might be bad for

business? When, if ever, can a lawyer jointly act for multiple accused

in the same case? Can defence counsel override a client’s instructions

regarding which witnesses to call at trial? To what extent can a pros-

ecutor get involved in a police service’s pre-charge investigation of a

criminal matter? In preparing a witness to testify, can Crown counsel

draw the witness’s attention to other evidence in the case that appears

inconsistent with the witness’s testimony, and ask for an explanation?

These diff‌icult questions offer just a smattering of the broad range

of ethical issues that lawyers face in the practice of criminal law. They

engage a complex range of duties, sometimes seemingly inconsonant,

that a lawyer owes to the client and the administration of justice. Such

duties are closely connected to the lawyer’s special role in the crim-

inal justice system, a role ref‌lected in ethical standards adopted by the

legal profession. At the same time, law yers often bring to bear p ersonal

conceptions of justice that help to shape their singular role as advo-

cates. To make matters more complicated still, lawyers are commonly