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Can I speak to friends' attorney?
Litchfield, MN
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Posted about 1 year ago in Ethics / Professional Responsibility
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I am in Minnesota. I have been trying to speak with the public defender who is handling my friends' assault case to offer some information on mitigating circumstances and similar. Although I have made many attempts and my friend has told him that it is OK to talk to me, the public defender will not speak with me. Is there a legal reason for this?
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Answers (1)
John Thomas Arechigo
This attorney is licensed in Minnesota.
Posted about 1 year ago.
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Your friend's attorney cannot talk directly to you because doing so makes him or her a witness in your friend's case. Generally, at attorney may not be a witness in his or her client's case. The reason talking to you makes your friend's attorney a witness is because if you were to testify to something other than what you told the attorney, then the attorney would be a necessary witness to testify to what you told him or her earlier.
When witnesses are involved in cases, it is best for the attorney to have a third party, such as investigator, talk to them. You may want to call the attorney's office and ask whether there is an investigator with the public defender's office that is assisting in the case, or available for you to talk to. |
