How does attorney-client privilege work? And how is it not perjury to defend the innocence of someone who admitted their guilt to you?
In: 2
For your first question, attorney-client privilege means that with *very* few exceptions, not only do you not have to divulge conversations between client and lawyer, you’re actually forbidden from doing so.
As for the second question, you’re absolutely right that it *is* perjury to defend the innocence of someone who admitted their guilt to you. Attorney-client privilege does not allow you to lie. But there are other ways to defend your client. You could claim that what your client did was not a crime: the classic example of this is self-defense. You could say that the prosecution can’t actually prove your client did it: remember, they have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, or they can’t convict. You could try to argue that the law your client broke is *itself* invalid: this doesn’t work all that often, but it does happen sometimes. You could demonstrate that your client was insane at the time, and therefore can’t be held liable.
There are also rules of evidence to consider. Whenever a trial happens, the prosecution and investigators are also on a kind of trial. They have to prove that everything they did was legal and by the book, and if they can’t, they’re punished by the defendant going free. Defense attorneys play an important role in this process.
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