Q: what questions should i say to keep my clinet out of jail?
i am doing a school project where i am a lawyer defending his client *he is charged with robbing a store and killing a attendent*,they were a mask and gloves, there are no witnesses to see the face of my defendent, the crime took place at 3:00 and my defenddent is told me he is guilty of the crime but he wants to plead not guilty.so what questions do i ask my defendent, and again he is the only one takeing the stand.
A:
I would take the time to contact a criminal defense attorney who specializes in felony cases, there are a lot of us.
The most obvious thing is you cannot let him testify at trial, particularly if he’s going to deny involvement or responsibility for the crime. Why is that? If you put him on the stand to testify and he says he did NOT do this and was not present you would immediately know that he is lying. That is called “perjury” and it’s a felony.
If you kept your mouth quiet shut and did nothing when faced with his perjury, you would be committing a crime, “suborning perjury.” You would lose your license to practice law.
In the United States of America citizens charged with a crime do not have to prove their innocence. The government whether it’s municipal, state, FEDERAL, or tribal, THEY have the burden of proving someone guilty. They shoulder the entire burden and if they can’t prove each and every element of a crime “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the toughest standard in our jurisprudence, then the verdict of a jury must be not guilty.
Bottom line, If no one can positively identify him at trials he will be acquitted. Again, contact a criminal defense attorney for a more detailed explanation.
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