The attorney/client privilege has many implications, one of which being that in civil cases, a party cannot obtain discovery from the opposing party’s lawyer of information told to him by his client. The primary reason for this is that a person has to be able to have 100% trust and confidence in his lawyer if the two are to work together to prepare a proper case.
In the criminal justice system, the attorney/client privilege looks a little different, at least in the public eye. One of the ethical requirements that obligates a lawyer is to never incriminate his client. The reasons for this are much the same as in the civil context. Even though we don’t like “bad guys,” they are nonetheless entitled to an adequate defense. If the system allowed lawyers to “rat out” their clients, the system would effectively deprive the accused of an adequate defense. Defendants would always be on guard, unable to trust their own attorney. They would resist divulging any information they wouldn’t tell the police and they would simply be unable to have an adequate defense.
With this in mind, consider the case of Alton Logan. Logan has been in prison for 26 years for a crime he didn’t commit. The true perpetrator, Andrew Wilson, had in fact committed the murder for which Logan is serving time. At the time, Wilson had told his lawyers that he, and not Logan, had committed that murder, but Wilson’s attorneys were bound by the attorney/client privilege and could not come forward with the information. Logan was wrongfully convicted and only now that Wilson has died in prison has the privilege been released and the truth been able to come out.
It is very difficult to be in the position of defending a system which allowed an innocent man to spend 26 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. On the other hand, I’m not really defending it. The burden for falsely convicting Logan rests on the prosecution and Logan’s own lawyers. Since Logan did not actually commit the crime, we should blame the system that falsely convicted him.
The attorney/client privilege is good for the system, even though it occasionally seems to produce unjust results. It also highlights the reasons I have no desire to go into criminal law. The stakes are very high and the toll it takes on the conscience is not one I’m willing to pay.
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