Legal Ethics Opinion No. 1400 

   Attorney/Client Relationship - Disclosure - Zealous
  Representation: Attorney's Duty to Reveal Error
  in Sentencing Document.

 


  Attorney represents Defendant on criminal charges. Defendant is
indicted by a grand jury for a felony, tried, found guilty, and
sentenced in open court by the judge, orally, to incarceration
for several months in jail. The sentencing document later signed
by the judge, however, erroneously states that Defendant was
sentenced for a misdemeanor to a term of several months in jail.

  The Committee opined that defense counsel is not under any
affirmative obligation to reveal that the court document
erroneously stated that the client had been sentenced for a
misdemeanor rather than a felony, unless the client requested
that he inform the court of the error. Under  DR 7-101(A) (3), it
would be unethical for an attorney to reveal information that
will prejudice or damage his client.

  The Committee believes that since the information in question
is readily available to the court, defense counsel is not
engaging in attempting to conceal or deliberately failing to
disclose that which he is required by law to reveal pursuant to 
DR 7-102(A) (3), assuming that the lawyer does not endorse the
document or otherwise participate in the drafting of it.

( DR 7-101(A) (3);  DR 7-102(A) (3); LE Op. 1186 LE Op. 1331 

  Committee Opinion
  March 12, 1991