Terri Horman retains criminal defense attorney!

[AlexisFresca]

Can I ask a totally OT question? I'm a newbie at following all this stuff and don't know much about how lawyers work.

When someone hires a defense lawyer...does the lawyer ASK if the client is guilty?? Surely they don't go around bllindly trying to get them off the hook if they are really guilty?? Or maybe they do? Or do clients lie to their lawyers and tell them they aren't guilty when they really are?

Not suggesting Terri is guilty, just wondering in general.

Yes. I'm serious. Now stop laughing!

From my understanding, an attorney always asks his client to be honest and upfront with them, so they can build the best defense for the client. It makes sense - can you imagine being in court and getting sideswiped with evidence you are totally unprepared for? Also, imo, its not so much 'getting off the guilty' as much as it is making sure everything was 'done by the book' regarding your client's case, ie: the investigation, prosecution, orders and warrants, etc. Contrary to what we see on TV, illegal searches, for example, are never admissable in a court of law - even if the evidence definitely would convict the client.

 

[miabellamoure]

I didn't know that. Where did you hear that?

Public record...

 

[miabellamoure]

If an arrest looks likely now do you guys think LE will:

* Show up unannounced at her property say tonight to effect an arrest
* Wait till right before the presser to arrest her and then announce she has been arrested, or
* Allow her attorney to deliver her to the Sheriff's office to be arrested?

Any other options?

My vote is highlighted above and this could be a good poll...:waitasec:

 

[Cher352]

It seems that TH got a look at what LE is thinking due to the restraining order. She knows she is a person of interest, no matter what LE is saying. I think it is telling that she got herself a criminal attorney and not a family law attorney. Her priorities at this point must be staying out of jail and not getting her daughter back.

BBM

But when you think about it, there is no way for her to get her daughter back if she is in jail so her first step must be to stay out of jail.

 

[miabellamoure]

From my understanding, an attorney always asks his client to be honest and upfront with them, so they can build the best defense for the client. It makes sense - can you imagine being in court and getting sideswiped with evidence you are totally unprepared for? Also, imo, its not so much 'getting off the guilty' as much as it is making sure everything was 'done by the book' regarding your client's case, ie: the investigation, prosecution, orders and warrants, etc. Contrary to what we see on TV, illegal searches, for example, are never admissable in a court of law - even if the evidence definitely would convict the client.

Just checked with a lawyer friend...a lawyer may never ask a client if they are guilty of the crime they are accused of. Many do not want to know.

 

[Sherbie]

Honesty with a defense attorney is the best policy, but once he/she knows incriminating information about you, it does tie his hands somewhat. For instance, an ethical lawyer will not suborn perjury by presenting testimony he knows to be false. "Ethical" being the key word there.

Some lawyers don't want to know if you did the deed. They will look at the state's evidence and question you about some specifics, to be sure there are no surprises, but they may not want to know every gory detail or have a confession from you since, once they do, it limits what they can ethically do to defend you.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Can I ask a totally OT question? I'm a newbie at following all this stuff and don't know much about how lawyers work.

When someone hires a defense lawyer...does the lawyer ASK if the client is guilty?? Surely they don't go around bllindly trying to get them off the hook if they are really guilty?? Or maybe they do? Or do clients lie to their lawyers and tell them they aren't guilty when they really are?

Not suggesting Terri is guilty, just wondering in general.

Yes. I'm serious. Now stop laughing!

Defence lawyers don't ask a question that they do not want to have answered. They work with what their client tells them. As an officer of the court, a lawyer must uphold the law. But they are not required to do the prosecution's investigation for them.

Yes, idiot clients lie all the time to their lawyers. It's a stupid thing to do but that doesn't stop them. It is not illegal to lie to ones attorney, it's just an incredibly moronic thing to do.

Every defendant has a constitutional right to an adequate defence. Defence lawyers serve a noble purpose and most of them do it well. It is a shame and a scandal when you see one doing a poor job (see Casey Anthony, for instance).

 

[liz b.]

I think that :

1. Houze will not ask TH about Kyron's whereabouts. At all...

2. Houze has been following this case,and has determined that LE has only circumstantial evidence at best ( and maybe not much of that ). He has taken TH as a client because he thinks he can get either a deal or an aquittal in court.

3. Th will stay out of jail at this time. Her new attorney looks to be highly skilled at PR ; I will look for the repairing of TH's image to start right away...

All JMO

 

[jessigirl]

Just checked with a lawyer friend...a lawyer may never ask a client if they are guilty of the crime they are accused of. Many do not want to know.

So that means she won't be telling of Kyron's location(if she is the perp)... I would take it to mean exactly that. If the defense atty does not want to know his clients guilty then he sure doesn't want to know where they hid the body.IMO

 

[Cher352]

Do DA's ever ask about your guilt? I thought they never do...?

That is what I thought too but then again I may have been watching too many movies.

 

[curiousgal]

So that means she won't be telling of Kyron's location(if she is the perp)... I would take it to mean exactly that. If the defense atty does not want to know his clients guilty then he sure doesn't want to know where they hid the body.IMO

I agree with you here!! I don't think there'll be a confession, or anything. It seems like what would she have to gain by it now? Unless they find Kyron, a body, or hard evidence she walks? Is that right?

 

[CorallaroC]

From his website, it's hard to ignore the fact that the attorney is also DP certified. (sorry)

 

[Sherbie]

So that means she won't be telling of Kyron's location(if she is the perp)... I would take it to mean exactly that. If the defense atty does not want to know his clients guilty then he sure doesn't want to know where they hid the body.IMO

Not necessarily. If someone wants to make a confession or even reveal partial information to LE, the attorney can help facilitate that. The attorney works for the client, and if the client wants to give up info, even if the attorney advises not to do so, he will still work on the client's behalf to be sure it's done in such a way as to minimize negative impact on the client.

Another scenario is that a DA might offer to take the death penalty off the table if the defendant supplies information they want, or they might offer a plea deal or charge someone with a lesser crime if they cooperate, and the attorney would help navigate that process.

It's definitely far less likely that someone would ever give up incriminating info with an attorney advising them, but there are definitely scenarios where it can still happen.

 

[mysticrose]

From his website, it's hard to ignore the fact that the attorney is also DP certified. (sorry)

Casey is going to be SO jealous !! :angel: lol

 

[just]

Gosh, I hope you are all wrong that she will get off, if indeed she is the perp. I am very concerned about that as well. A picture will be painted of poor TH, hounded from day 1, subjected to hours of questioning with no attorney, blah blah blah. On the other hand, I am hoping and praying the reason she got the attorney is her family and friends have convinced her that if she did do something, they will still love her and stick by her but she must come forward. I actually think this is a very real possibility, but...only if TH thinks it's in HER best interest (I don't think she has a conscience at this point, whether from mental illness or drug reaction or gosh I don't even know, but I think she's loopy)

 

[Barry]

So that means she won't be telling of Kyron's location(if she is the perp)... I would take it to mean exactly that. If the defense atty does not want to know his clients guilty then he sure doesn't want to know where they hid the body.IMO

I agree with you here!! I don't think there'll be a confession, or anything. It seems like what would she have to gain by it now? Unless they find Kyron, a body, or hard evidence she walks? Is that right?

This is what kind of puzzles me about the activites of KH this week (with the apparent influence/blessing of LE). They had to know she would lawyer up, or that it would attract the attention of a good lawyer who would offer their services. Maybe they didn't anticipate with someone this noteworthy, but still. Are they so confident of what they have, they didn't care? I don't get the warm fuzzies about what's going on behind the scenes. This is liable to turn into a legal war, with the issue of Kyron regulated to the sidelines. I don't think anyone wants to see that. This will be even worse if the SM is innocent (all the time and resources misdirected away from finding out what happened to Kyron).

 

[bessie]

A good defence makes for a robust system of justice.

Read the Project Innocence files of the 288 accused and convicted people they have exonerated. These are people who were factually innocent but found guilty. Some of them came uncomfortably close to the death penalty! Most of them had horrible, extremely low quality legal representation initially, which helped lead to terrible injustices.

The standard is that one should not be convicted unless guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. Without good legal representation, how can that standard possibly be met?

I just told my husband that if I disappear under mysterious circumstances, his first call should be to 911 and his second call should be to a good lawyer.

This rates a re-post. Thank you.

 

[butterfly1978]

I dont mean to rain on anyones parade but how did they get Terri retained this lawyer when Terri nor the attorney spoke to anyone? What if she had simply called him and they met it doesnt mean that she has retained him. It seems to me that they were seen together and the reporter is assuming she retained him.

 

[txsvicki]

What the heck are they waiting for if Terri is going to be arrested? There must not be much evidence other than peoples' accounts of time and maybe cell phone pings, if that part is even true. I don't think she'll ever crack if guilty, and that LE will suddenly arrest her due to the restraining order, if that even happens.

 

[gwenabob]

I dont mean to rain on anyones parade but how did they get Terri retained this lawyer when Terri nor the attorney spoke to anyone? What if she had simply called him and they met it doesnt mean that she has retained him. It seems to me that they were seen together and the reporter is assuming she retained him.

"Houze later Wednesday night did confirm to The Oregonian that he was representing Kyron's stepmom, but said he could not comment further."

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/terri_moulton_horman_retains_p.html