Ethical Duty of a Lawyer to Defend His Client in a Criminal Case: Issues and Challenges in India
The fate of a criminal case to a large extent depends upon choosing the right lawyer. But the choice of a right lawyer requires some amount of experience and expertise, which a layman intending to hire a lawyer may not be equipped with. Even if the client has made a smart choice in identifying a right lawyer for him, the lawyer so identified might not be willing to accept a brief for the reasons best known to the lawyer. At times a peculiar situation may arise before the lawyer where the lawyer seeks to withdraw from representing the accused. There are various pitfalls to the client’s right from the stage of making a choice of a competent lawyer to defend the accused up to the end of the legal battle. The article deals with the professional ethics involved when a counsel accepts a brief or seeks to withdraw from representing an accused and terminate the advocate–client relationship.