Description

Counsel should usually establish contact with the investigating officers as early as possible in the course of a case. Thereafter, s/he should speak to them whenever the needs of the client dictate. Similarly, counsel should establish contact with the prosecuting attorney as soon as one is assigned to the case and should communicate with him or her periodically thereafter. The purposes of these contacts are (a) to learn as much as possible about the charges against the defendant (those already lodged and others that may later be lodged) and potential prosecution evidence; about the temperament of the prosecutor and of any officer who may play a role in the charging process or who may testify at a trial; about the prosecutor’s and officers’ attitudes regarding the crime and the defendant as a person; and about their other concerns, their motivations, objectives, and plans; (b) to protect the defendant during police and prosecutorial investigative activity; (c) to persuade the police or the prosecutor to drop or reduce charges or to agree to some form of diversion (see § 2.3.6 supra); and (d) if appropriate – with the client’s approval – to negotiate a mutually agreeable disposition or settlement of the case.

First Page

241

Source Publication

Trial Manual 11 for the Defense of Criminal Cases

Source Editors/Authors

Anthony G. Amsterdam, Randy A. Hertz

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Chapter

Edition

11

Rights & Restrictions

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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