Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-16
CODE OF ETHICS FOR LAWYERS
Draft Prepared by Committee Of
American Bar Association.
REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL CANYONS
They Anect Practice in Criminal
and Civil Cases-COntingent Fees
FrOwned Upon-The Pro-
posed oath.

MUCH mAtItsN a bNNu GAbuSSN III VIC
legal profession by the efforts Of the
American Bar association to sgree upon
and formulate a code Of ethics for law
yers. The draft Of such a code has been
prepared by a committee Of the asso-
citation appointed for that purpose and
has been submitted to the bar Of the
country for consideration and discussion
through the published reports Of the
association itself and the agency OF
various legal publications. The con-
duct Of Law yers is a matter of as much
Importance to the community at large
rs 1t is to the lawyers themselves; and
therefore the proposed code is a proper
subject for lay criticism.
The committee by which the code OF
ethics has been prepared consists Of
fourteen gentlemen. The chairman is
Henry st. George Tucker of Virginia. New
York is represented on the committee by
General Thomas H. Hubbard, the founder
Of a lectureship on legal ethics In the
Albany Law school,: Alton B. Parker, for
merly chief judge of the court Of appeals,
and Francis Lynde Stetson, a distinguished
corporation lawyer with whom Grover
Cleveland was in partnership during the
period which interviewed between his two
terms in the White House. Other proml-
nent member OF the committee are David
]. Brewer OF the District Of Columbia, one
Of the associate justices of the supreme
court of the United States; William Writ
Howe. a we'll known Louisiana lawyer, and
James G. Jenkins OF Wisconsin. formerly
a circuit Judge of the United States.
The code of ethics proposed by this CON-
mittee consists of thirty-two canons. We
shall briefly consider those which deal
with matters of public interest and are not
exclusively of a professional character,
Concerning Political Activity.
The first canon merely declares the
truism that the law %enjoins respect for
courts and for judicial officers for the sake
of the office and not for the sake of the
individual who for the time being ad-
ministers it's function" The second canon
is more important. 1t relates to the selec-
ton Of judges and proclaims 1t to be the
duty of the bar ito endeavor to prevent
political considerations from outweighing
judicial fitness in the selection of Judges"
This proposition is we'll stated. The word
"outweighing'' is significant and should be
emphasized. 1t is a very common mistake
to suppose that a lawyer is rendered unfit
for the bench because he has been an
active participant in politics. The effect
of political activity upon his fitness for
judicial office depends entirely upon the
character of that activity. Many of the
best judges in England and America have
been men who were prominent in political
affairs before their accession to the bench.
A man can hardly become Lord Chancellor
in England without having been an active
politician. In the supreme court of the
United States many of the most distin-
guished judges have taken an active in
terest In the politics of their respective
states before they we're appointed to the
federal judiciary. In New York there have
been many Instances in which an active
politician in the best sense Of the word
turned out to be an excellent Judge. San
ford f Church, the first chief judge of the
court OF appeals under its present organ
%ization, and William F. Allen, one of his
associates. are striking examples. To come
down to the present day, where shall We
find a mar OF more active political inter
ests than William H. Taft, and yet who
will deny his fitness for the highest judi
cial office While, then. the American Bar
association is entirely right in declaring
that political considerations should not
outweigh judicial fitness in the selection Of
judges, we are glad that It has not adopted
AAlb To- NdAFAtoolN
by t~houghtless reformers that political ac-
tlvity is a fatal objection to an aspirant
for the bench.
Defense in Criminal Cases.
The fifth canon in the code Of ethics
will probably provoke more unfavorable
criticism thar any other which it contains.
We quote It in full:
A lawyer may undertake with propriety
the defense of a person accused of a crime,
although he knows or believes him guilty,
and having undertaken II, he Is bound by
all fair and honorable means to present
such defenses as the law of the land per-
mits. TO the end that no person may be
deprived of life or liberty but by due
process OF law.
This declaration appears TO have re-
ceived the assent of every member of the
committee. 1t cannot have been adopted
without the most careful consideration.
We may fairly assume that it correctly
states the view of the great majority OF
lawyers. Nevertheless we venture to doubt
it's correctness even from a strictly profess
sional standpoint. OF course, there can be
no doubt that a lawyer may properly I'M
dertake the defense Of an accused person
so far as to insure him a fair trial and
see to it that he shall not be convicted
unless in accordance with the rules OF law,
but It seems TO us TO be going too far to
uetidIe Audl ne may properly UNDERTAKE
the defense OF such a person, although he
knows hin to be guilty. II by this II i'm
plies a knowledge Of the clients guilt in a
legal sense-that is TO say, II counsel
knows that II put upon trial and tried &C
cording TO law upon the evidence available
against him the client ought TO be found
guilty. The question. however. is not % as
much practical Importance as # might
seem TO be at first blush, for the cases
In which the counse has any actual knowl-
edge or well founded belief in reference
to his clients guilt are comparatively rare.
He may entertain a suspicion or the sub
ject. but it will generally be conceded. We
think. hat this does not preclude him
from doing all within his power to procure
a fair trial for the accused. as the canon
suggests. ito the end that no person may
be deprived OF life or liberty. but by due
process of law"
Contingent Fees.
The canon next in order OF importance
is the thirteenth, which relates TO contln-
gent fees. Contingent fees may be con-
tracted for" we are told, but they lead
to many abuses and should be under the
supervision OF the court" Hon. James G.
Jenkins OF the committee dissented from
this canon because he was opposed 20 con-
tingent fees under any circumstances
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