knowing/not knowing a defendant's guilt determines how the defense proceeds. saying that JB/CM did not know if CA was guilty was their sole justification for proffering the George-was-responsible story. if they knew she was guilty they could not ethically blame Caylee's death on someone else. as difficult as it is we need to recognize that defense attys live in a different universe than the rest of us; it's the nature of the beast and/or the backbone of our legal system. the issue we're struggling with here IMO is whether or not they were ignorant of her guilt. do I think JB/CM knew that she killed Caylee? gut feeling: yes
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Casey's Ghost by Rick Namey/kindle location 401
In one of the first conversations I had with Cheney Mason regarding her guilt or innocence, I was amazed to hear him say that he didn't care.
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I was having troublesome doubts. I did not want to write a deceptive book to defend a murderer. I understood Cheney's position in the matter - the concept under our legal system that everyone - even the guilty - has a right to competent counsel - but I'm not an attorney. I'm a writer. Nobody has the right to a competent writer to help them sell lies to the public. I found that I was not convinced right away, although some of Casey's position made sense to me. It made sense that Casey would have been hiding from Florida's draconian parental responsibility laws. Still, I had many more questions. It occurred to me to ask Cheney how he first met Casey, as well as if and when he became convinced that Casey Anthony did not murder her daughter.
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Cheney: [snip] ... And so, within a matter of days thereafter, we went, I met Jose at the jail and talked to Casey and spent some time with her, talking just about her and the case.
Author: Did you ask her if she was guilty?
Cheney: No. (pause) To me, whether a defendant is guilty or not, is not particularly relevant.
This revelation came as a shock to me. The trial had been about life and death, both for the victim and potentially for his client. In his position, I would want to know the truth. I'm only the writer, and I absolutely wanted to know the truth. I could not write either book, neither Cheney's nor Casey's, if I didn't truly believe Casey was not guilty of the charges against her. Cheney seemed to sense this. I certainly tried my best to imply it in my skeptical tone.
Author: I see.
Cheney: It is somewhat revealing on those occasions when a defendant will acknowledge up front to the lawyer that he or she is guilty. It takes a lot of pressure off, but it means nothing because the issue is whether or not there's evidence to prove guilt, and if they're thinking they're guilty, then why? You know, there's the act and there's the intent, or in our parlance, we call it Mens Rea - the middle intent - which is critical in criminal cases. A person can accidentally recall something that happened and they did the act. It doesn't mean they have any criminal responsibility for it. So, no, I don't. I don't think in forty-one years, I have ever asked a defendant if they were guilty ... "
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Should I Admit Guilt To My Criminal Defense Attorney?
... Some attorneys, however, do not want to talk to their clients about the case because they do not want to be limited in pursuing a defense. These attorneys will tell you that they do not want to know everything - they want to know only what the prosecution knows ...
However, attorneys cannot present evidence or arguments that they know to be false. (American Bar Association, ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 3.1, 3.3.) Does this mean that if a client admits guilt to his or her attorney, the attorney cannot enter a not guilty plea or zealously represent the client? No. In such cases, the attorney can focus on the holes in the prosecutors evidence, or on other legal issues (such as whether a search was appropriate under the Fourth Amendment, or whether scientific tests were performed according to the appropriate standards) that do not relate to whether the client committed the crime or not ...
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.co...se/should-i-admit-guilt-my-criminal-defense-a
When the Lawyer Knows the Client is Guilty: Legal Ethics, and Popular Culture
www.lsuc.on.ca/media/sith_colloquium_asimow_michael.pdf