Legal/Moral Debate Response:
Part One
Dear Guys,
All of your questions are provocative and interesting.
First, an attorney is NEVER under any obligation to tell a Judge or a Prosecutor that his Client is in fact, guilty.
The Lawyer could ONLY state that he "knows" such a thing if the Client himself admitted guilt to the attorney and NOT based upon the evidence, regardless of how damning or how irrefutable.
EVEN THEN, a Lawyer can not state that his client is "guilty."
Now, the exception to that rule can arise when a Client makes a Post Conviction application to a court claiming that the lawyer should be found to have been
of "Ineffective Assistance of Counsel." Perhaps the following may be of interest:
On March 2, 2008, around midnight, Mahmoud Chaghlil (Victim), was the Night Manager at Kamil’s Restaurant and ending his shift. He locked the door and headed toward his apartment at back of the restaurant.
Ashraf Habib, a cook at Kamil’s, heard shouting and went to the door where he saw 2 men running up Vreeland Ave toward Day St.
One person running was wearing a black sweatshirt.
The Victim, struck in the head by a baseball bat, suffered head trauma and was placed in ambulance.
The police located 2 Defendants on Marilyn Place, walking quickly southbound, just before Rt. 46. The Officer stopped them, noticed blood and inquired.
Fajer Dhaglas denied any injury – claimed he was coming from a friend’s house, but couldn’t say who.
The Officer noticed a bulge in his pants – (he says he saw the eye holes) He recovers a ski mask from Fajer’s pants.
The Officer brings them back to scene for a show-up band takes them one by one to the ambulance. The Victim identified the clothing of Fajer and the actual identity of the other Defendant, Bilal Baellaki.
At the police station, Bilal Baellaki, admits involvement and tells police that Fajer struck the Victim with a baseball bat. Bilal says the motive for the robbery was to get money to pay for Fajer's parking tickets.
The police locate a baseball bat in gutter in front of 18 Vreeland Ave. where Fajer was seen running.
The Victim tells police that they tried to drag him into his own apartment – presumably to render him more vulnerable. He then tells police that they then tried to drag him up the street. The Victim spent 4 or 5 days in hospital.
The clothes worn by Fajer were stained with the blood of the Victim as confirmed by DNA results. The $727 found on Fajer was stained with the blood of the Victim. Fajer was a former employee of the restaurant and knew the habits of the Manager, Victim.
Fajer Dhaglas was facing 20 Years in New Jersey State Prison and would've served 17 Years before becoming eligible for Parole. He chose to accept a plea offer of 5 Years which I was only able to obtain after quite an arduous ordeal.
Although knowing full well he would be deported after his sentence, Fajer has, through his new female attorney, filed a claim that I never advised him he would be deported (there is an entire section on the actual Plea Form telling him he will be deported which he circled and signed and the Judge read this to him during his plea). He also claims my assistance was ineffective.
I am, this Tuesday morning, being ordered to testify on behalf of the State to refute these claims. Attorney Client Privilege is thus waived and I am now able to tell the Court, on record, that my client admitted his guilt to me on our very first meeting, attempted to pay off the victim in an attempt to have the matter dismissed and lastly, told me he didn't care about being deported as he had "enough of your country."
