ARE LAWYERS LIARS?

By: Elna B. Elnar

There is an on-going stigma that some people in society

would stereotype lawyers as liars in their field of profession as to

representing and defending their clients in an open Court just to win the

case. But before stereotyping such, should not we consider that, in most

cases, there are always two or more parties to the story and that the Court

has the duty and authority to hear both sides of the story before making a

reasonable and just decision? Hearing and knowing both sides of the story

is one thing, but knowing which of both is true is another issue because

what is true for one party might not be for another and vice-versa.

In an article written by Edeh Chukwuemeka Samuel,

Ch.MC, he said that “It is clear that lawyers do not actually lie. They only

hide the truth from the court. Now the question is, “Is hiding the truth the

same as lying?” x x x (to answer if lawyers are liars), the answer is no.

Lawyers do not lie. They only hide the truth from the court so that they

can either reduce the punishment of their client or save their client from

any punishment or liability at all. However, this not always true in reality.

Some lawyers go to the extent of implying facts in a case just to keep the

truth away from the court. That is apparently lying with style.”1

1
Edeh Chukwuemeka Samuel, Ch.MC, “Are Lawyers Liars? The Truth About Whether Lawyers Are
Liars or Not”, https://bscholarly.com/are-lawyers-liars/, BSCHOLARLY, June 24, 2019.
 However, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy on its take

as to The Definition of Lying and Deception, it says that “x x x there is “a

necessary relationship between lying and deception,” nevertheless this

intention should be understood merely as the intention to be deceptive to

another person, which is the intention “to conceal information” from the

other person x x x According to this objection, concealing evidence,

understood as hiding evidence or keeping evidence secret, counts as being

deceptive to another person.”2, thus, imply that hiding evidence is already

a form of lying.

The two above-mentioned articles have very contradicting

point of views as to deception. But in my opinion, I would apply the way

how my Law Professors had taught me for the past few years, that there is

always an exception as to the general rule. If the general rule is that “not

all Lawyers are liars” then the exception would be that “unless otherwise

they choose to do so”. We do not know what their reasons are, though it

may be out of frustration or out of pride that they really want to win the

case for publicity sake so that their clients may pass by word-of-mouth

that they are the best lawyer in the city, or that they pity their clients

enough that they would do anything not to put them behind bars, or the

worst case scenario is when monetary interest is at stake. Whatever the

lawyer’s reason may be, he must bear in mind that he has a duty, not only

to their clients, but also to the public, the Court, and to the State.

2
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “The Definition of Lying and Deception,
plato.stanford.edu/entries/ lying-definition, substantive revision December 25, 2015.