Attorney Client Privilege/ Alton Logan Ethical Dilemma

[NocturnalLady]

Acted differently? Now, that part irks me. One day is too many if the man was innocent.

Besides - who are they to determine at what level the undue punishment this man suffered would become too much and thus cause them to have to act? Maybe the "Angel of Death Row" was just being modest. I think she really believes she's more like the God of Death Row. :furious:

 

[RR0004]

Besides - who are they to determine at what level the undue punishment this man suffered would become too much and thus cause them to have to act? Maybe the "Angel of Death Row" was just being modest. I think she really believes she's more like the God of Death Row. :furious:

Yes, she assumed she was both an attorney and the "ultimate" judge.

 

[RR0004]

So what could have been the worst that could have happened to them? Disbarment...I doubt that...temporary suspension or perhaps a reprimand would have been more in line considering the knowledge they possessed.

 

[Wudge]

She claims she 'felt' he was her client, but in actuality he was not her client. With that being the case, she should have come forward with the truth and taken her chances with any repercussions that she may have encountered.
I got the code with the values, morals, ethics, principles

If Andrea had come forward (let's say to the State bar) and provided the name of two attorneys who controlled an affidavit that indicates Alton Logan might well have been wrongfully convicted, what rule of evidence or common law (there is no statute) would the State bar have relied upon to force those attorneys to violate their attorney-client privilege?

 

[HRCODEPINK]

I'm also of the belief that she could have found some way of helping to free Logan - even if she didn't reveal that she knew someone else had done the crime. If the case was so badly handled by the police and evidence was withheld that would have cleared him why didn't she hire a PI to go get that evidence? Couldn't she have given her time pro bono to work on an appeal for Logan? I'm not a lawyer and I don't know all the in and outs but one thing I do know is that lawyers specialize in finding loopholes to get their clients off. Are you telling me that a lawyer who is as good as AL supposedly is couldn't find any other way of dealing with this situation?

And if it really came down to it then she should have given up her license, freed Logan and then spent the rest of her life using her formidable skills campaigning to change a legal system that forces lawyers to choose to do the wrong thing.

Snipped for space

It would have been a conflict of interests for her to represent him herself IF she really was under privilege but she could have hired a PI. I would have lost my license.

 

[Wudge]

SNIP

It is possible to do these things at the very least without giving up information that you have learned already. I would have found a way.

How? How does an attorney achieve what you wish without prejudicing their client?

 

[robotdog]

any person that lets another person sit in jail when they know they are innocent and they do nothing about it... is evil

so what ? you lose your job here is a newsflash GO GET ANOTHER JOB geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh


people that knew and did nothing are rotten evil

its just my opinion, but holy cow

 

[RR0004]

If Andrea had come forward (let's say to the State bar) and provided the name of two attorneys who controlled an affidavit that indicates Alton Logan might well have been wrongfully convicted, what rule of evidence or common law (there is no statute) would the State bar have relied upon to force those attorneys to violate their attorney-client privilege?

I thought she considered him a client as well.

 

[RR0004]

any person that lets another person sit in jail when they know they are innocent and they do nothing about it... is evil

so what ? you lose your job here is a newsflash GO GET ANOTHER JOB geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh


people that knew and did nothing are rotten evil

its just my opinion, but holy cow

It's not like she didn't already have one either.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

Did Andrea control the affidavit?

I can honestly say I could care less who controlled what. When an innocent person is placed in prison the public is left with a false sense of security while ruining a persons life and paying to do so. Granted, this one was no longer walking the streets but he certainly wasn't being punished appropriately for the things he had done.

Our founding fathers agreed that it was better for the guilty to go free than chance an innocent suffering and they are the people who knew best what they meant when writing our constitution. Having spent much time in visiting rooms and conference rooms with innocent individuals and being there at a release and meeting many others who were freed after years, sometimes decades in prison for crimes they didn't commit and seeing how their lives have been affected by the loss of their lives. The PTSD they deal with after prison. Their lack of ability to cope with the outside world when even every day things are now scary and very different, I could not live with myself and then later write a book calling myself an angel. Where there's a will there's a way.

 

[Wudge]

I thought she considered him a client as well.

True. However, she did not control the affidavit, and my question remains open.

 

[Wudge]

I can honestly say I could care less who controlled what. When an innocent person is placed in prison the public is left with a false sense of security while ruining a persons life and paying to do so. Granted, this one was no longer walking the streets but he certainly wasn't being punished appropriately for the things he had done.

Our founding fathers agreed that it was better for the guilty to go free than chance an innocent suffering and they are the people who knew best what they meant when writing our constitution. Having spent much time in visiting rooms and conference rooms with innocent individuals and being there at a release and meeting many others who were freed after years, sometimes decades in prison for crimes they didn't commit and seeing how their lives have been affected by the loss of their lives. The PTSD they deal with after prison. Their lack of ability to cope with the outside world when even every day things are now scary and very different, I could not live with myself and then later write a book calling myself an angel. Where there's a will there's a way.

When it comes to wrongful convictions, you are preaching to the proverbial choir. That said, there is no available process that the attorneys could have followed. While some people think they would have found a way to use the affidavit as admissable new evidence to free Alton Logan, that is, at best, wishful thinking.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

How? How does an attorney achieve what you wish without prejudicing their client?

It is my understanding that they are not allowed to disclose information that they receive from the client. I would think that she could talk to some people about getting this man some help. Contact one of his friends or family members that are trying to prove his innocence and guide them. Tell them what to do, give them names of attorneys to call. Listen to their side and use their reasons for believing that the man was innocent to help find him a pro bono attorney and some PI service without disclosing any of the information that you got from your "client" and then let the chips fall where they may! If your client gets caught then so be it and it is now time to defend him again. As long as you have not disclosed any of the info you get from him or about him and just let the investigators do their job then you have taken care of your responsibility to your client and to justice and not allowed this man to languish for 26 years. It is the lawyers job to come up with a defense and not share the info your client gives you without his permission. This does not have to mean that you have to allow injustice to win out when you can find a way to do the right thing.

 

[HRCODEPINK]

When it comes to wrongful convictions, you are preaching to the proverbial choir. That said, there is no available process that the attorneys could have followed. While some people think they would have found a way to use the affidavit as admissable new evidence to free Alton Logan, that is, at best, wishful thinking.

I'm not really talking about some legal process or filing of motions to get something done, and I would fully expect that the affidavit would not be admissible, especially since without doubt the guilty man's attorney's are covered by privilege. I think I am talking more of a covert operation, so to speak. One that without violating the information the client has given up also gets this man some form of relief in the form of people who will investigate this seriously and hopefully they will find where they need to go.

 

[robotdog]

maybe she should have had "someone" send an anonymous letter to the correct authorities... that would have opened the can of worms and no one would have known who "DONE IT"

anything was better then what she did.. she did nothing

WRONG wrong wrong

GRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[RR0004]

True. However, she did not control the affidavit, and my question remains open.

IMO knowledge is power. IMO the affidavit is inconsequential if someone is of the mind to set things straight.

 

[Wudge]

It is my understanding that they are not allowed to disclose information that they receive from the client. I would think that she could talk to some people about getting this man some help. Contact one of his friends or family members that are trying to prove his innocence and guide them. Tell them what to do, give them names of attorneys to call. Listen to their side and use their reasons for believing that the man was innocent to help find him a pro bono attorney and some PI service without disclosing any of the information that you got from your "client" and then let the chips fall where they may! If your client gets caught then so be it and it is now time to defend him again. As long as you have not disclosed any of the info you get from him or about him and just let the investigators do their job then you have taken care of your responsibility to your client and to justice and not allowed this man to languish for 26 years. It is the lawyers job to come up with a defense and not share the info your client gives you without his permission. This does not have to mean that you have to allow injustice to win out when you can find a way to do the right thing.

You are suggesting that these attorneys should have assisted others in the prejudicing of their client.

Neither the ABA nor State bars take kindly to attorneys who do in their own client, either directly or in assist mode.

 

[Theonly1]

What should she have done? Please be precise.

In Florida, she could have called the The Florida Bar's Ethics Hotline (and remained anonymous) and dropped all the facts in their laps to give her their best legal advice as to how to handle the situation. I don't know if they have an ethics hotline in her state or whether she opted to call it.

 

[Wudge]

maybe she should have had "someone" send an anonymous letter to the correct authorities... that would have opened the can of worms and no one would have known who "DONE IT"

anything was better then what she did.. she did nothing

WRONG wrong wrong

GRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

What law do "authorities" use to force attorneys to violate their attorney-client privilege?

 

[Theonly1]

You are suggesting that these attorneys should have assisted others in the prejudicing of their client.

Neither the ABA nor State bars take kindly to attorneys who do in their own client, either directly or in assist mode.

Yes, there are stories of attorneys who have been disbarred for letting police agencies know where victims of their clients are located (against the wishes of their client).

It many times boils down to sacrificing your career (and your sworn loyalty to your client) for what may be in public's best interest.

Check out this case (where the attys did not reveal the bodies):
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/robert_garrow/11.html