The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-12-24
"Lawyers' Morals"


TheCentury for November has an edit
orial under the head OF Lawyers Morals"
from which the following points are
quoted:
"A lawyer ought to be gentleman.
His function as an attorney gives him no
dlspensation to disregard the ordinary
rules OF good manners, and the ordinary
principles OF decency and honor. He has
no right 10 SANDER his neighbOr, even If
his neighbor Le the defendant in case in
which he appears for the plaintiff. lie has
no right to bully Or browbeat witness in
cross-examination, or arifully TO entrap a
witness into giving false testimony.
Whatever the privilege Of the court may
be, the lawyer who is guilty Of such prnc-
tices in court is no gentleman out Of court.
"2. A lawyer ought not to lie. He may
defend criminal whom he knows TO be
guilty, but he may not say to the jury that
he believes this criminal to he innocent
He may not in any way intentionally con.
vey TO the jury the impression that be
believes the man TO be innocent. He may
not, in his plea, pervert or distort the
evidence so as to weaken the force or
conceal the meaning Of il. He is sworn
officer of the court and his oath should
bind him TO the slrictest veracity. II
would be quirotic TO expect him to help
his adversary, but mis- obligation TO speak
the truth outranks every obligation 10 his
client 1t is notorious that some lawyers
who would think il scandalous 10 tell a
ialsehood out of court in any business
transaction, lie shamelessly in court in
behalf of their clients, and seem to think
il part Of their professional duty. That
bar OF justice before which, by their
professional duty they are bound 10 the
most stringent truthfulness, is the very
place where they seem 10 consider them.
selves absolved from the common law OF
yeracity. So long as the legal mind is
infected with this deadly heresy, we need
not wonder that our courts Of justice often
become the instruments Of unrighteous.
ness
"3. A lawyer ought not to sell his SER
vices for the promotion Of injustice and
knavery. Swindlers Of all types are aided
by lawyers in their depredations upon
society. The mock broker who operates
in Wall Street, and strips country specula-
tors Of their hard earned gains by the most
nefarious Ioguery, always has an able
lawyer as his accomplce. The gentleman
by whose agency nest of these rascals
was lately broken up says The great
difficulty in stopping swindles Of this class
is that the rascals make enough money TO
be able to employ the best Of legal advice,
and are, moreover, careful TO do nothing
which will render them liable 10 arrest
This Is the testimony Of lawyer, Mr..
Ralph Oakley, Of New York. The best
Of legal advice can be had, then, in New
York city for such purposes. II would be
more difficult to believe this II lis truth
were not so often illustrated in the stu.
pendous frauds and piracies Of great
corporations, all OF which are skillfully
engineered by eminent lawyers. Our
modern buccaneers brave railroad
wreckers are in constant consultation with
distinguished lawyers. They undoubted.
ly have the best legal advice in planning
and executing their bold iniquities."