When the Criminal Client Intends to Commit Perjury

Abstract:     
This is a short piece geared to practitioners but also discusses a case that may be of interest to professors of professional responsibility. In the case of Brown v. Commonwealth, 226 S.W.3d 74 (Ky. 2007), the Kentucky Supreme Court has provided trial courts and lawyers, especially criminal lawyers, with some much needed ethical guidance. While the case itself was a criminal appeal, not an attorney discipline matter, the Court's opinion provides insight into the ethical sticky wicket of the proper conduct of the lawyer for a criminal defendant when the defendant intends to commit perjury. Such a situation pits the constitutional rights of criminal defendants against the ethical duties of defense counsel to act with candor to the court.

Keywords: Professional responsibility, ethics, rule 3.3, perjury, client testimony

JEL Classifications: K40, K41

Accepted Paper Series