Court Opinion

ID: 9530811
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:03:48.257256+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:15.367842
License: Public Domain

BROOK, Judge,
concurring
I concur wholeheartedly with the majority’s reasoning and result, but I write separately to express my concern with the potentially troublesome ethical issues raised by the facts of this case.
After conducting what can be charitably described as a lackluster defense of his client, Johnson’s counsel attempted to “fall on his own sword” by filing a motion for mistrial because of his own ineffective representation. The trial court, seeking to prevent a “manifest injustice,” instead vacated Johnson’s convictions and ordered a new trial. Having affirmed the trial court’s decision, however, I fear that unscrupulous (or even well-intentioned but overburdened) counsel may feel emboldened to mount less-than-zealous defenses of their clients, secure in the knowledge that trial judges will have no alternative but to shake their heads and wag their fingers and set aside the convictions.
Nothing could be further from the truth. According to our supreme court, “The public must have confidence that when they place their trust in an attorney they will receive faithful, professional assistance. If an attorney cannot so respond, he is unfit to continue in the profession.” Matter of McCarthy, 466 N.E.2d 442, 444 (Ind.1984). Indiana’s Rules of Professional Conduct offer ample and sensible guidance to lawyers who wish to preserve the trust of both the clients they represent and the courts before which they appear.
Ind. Professional Conduct Rule 1.1 reads as follows: “A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.” The fourth paragraph in the following comment section states, “A lawyer may accept representation where the requisite level of competence can be achieved by reasonable preparation. This applies as well to a lawyer who is appointed as counsel for an unrepresented person.”
Ind. Professional Conduct Rule 1.3 provides, “A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.” The corresponding comments are particularly apposite to the instant case:
A lawyer should pursue a matter on behalf of a client despite opposition, obstruction or personal inconvenience to the lawyer, and may take whatever lawful and ethical measures are required to vindicate a client’s cause or endeavor. A lawyer should act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal in advocacy upon the client’s behalf.... A lawyer’s workload should be controlled so that each matter can be handled adequately-
On a related note, the first comment to Ind. Professional Conduct Rule 1.16 states, “A lawyer should not accept representation in a matter unless it can be performed competently, promptly, without improper conflict of interest and to completion.”
*1213Not only are lawyers expected to conscientiously monitor their own conduct, but judges are also entrusted with the responsibility of scrutinizing their performance. Ind. Judicial Conduct Canon 3(D)(2) contains the following guidelines:
A judge who receives credible'information indicating a substantial likelihood that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct should take appropriate action. A judge having knowledge that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct that raises a substantial question as to the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects shall inform the appropriate authority.
The commentary to this subsection notes that “Appropriate action may include direct communication with the judge or lawyer who has committed the violation, other direct action if available, and reporting the violation to the appropriate authority or other agency or body.” One of the agencies or bodies to which this comment refers is the Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, whose investigations of misconduct claims may lead to the reprimand, suspension, or even disbarment of attorneys who fail to act in a professionally responsible manner on behalf of their clients. See generally Ind. Admission and Discipline Rule 23.
In addition to my concern for the right of the accused to a competent defense, I am equally mindful of the substantial human and financial resources that are expended during the course of a criminal trial. For a defense attorney to “sleepwalk” through a proceeding and afterward seek to reverse the grave consequences of his ineptitude is an unforgivable affront to his client, to the court, and to the community that is solely responsible for the means of providing “speedy and public” and ultimately fair trials to ensure the due process of law. In many jurisdictions, however, I recognize that public defenders are encumbered with such unmanageable caseloads that even the most diligent attorney could not find the time to prepare an adequate defense for each client. Whenever such indispensable resources are stretched so perilously thin, the legal community must prevail upon the community at large to provide additional funding to safeguard the right of all criminal defendants to competent legal counsel.
By expressing my concerns in this separate opinion, I do not wish to be seen as painting criminal defense attorneys with a broad brush as ill-prepared or indifferent to the needs of their clients; I am personally aware that the overwhelming majority of the criminal defense bar are highly trained and profoundly motivated to represent their clients to the best of their abilities. It is precisely because “clients” in criminal proceedings have entrusted the defense of their most fundamental liberties to the professional skill and personal integrity of their attorneys, however, that it is appropriate to remind the members of the criminal bar that neither the trial courts nor the supreme court of this state will allow them to abdicate their solemn duty to serve as zealous advocates of their clients’ rights.