Public Defender Testified Against Ex-Client Resulting In 10 Year Prison Sentence

Assistant public defender Brian Keeley in Newport News, Va., received a phone call from a prosecutor asking him to testify against a former client. Instead of saying no immediately based upon his duty of loyalty to current and former clients, the public defender appeared in court that afternoon and testified against his former client. The prosecutor needed the public defender’s help convincing a judge that the transcript of a witness who pointed the finger at the public defender’s former client, Mario Lamar, was reliable and accurate despite the fact that the court reporter had failed to sign it. Shortly after the public defender’s testimony, the judge found that defendant Lamar was guilty and should be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The issue is before the state’s highest court and defendant Lamar, now represented by different attorneys, is arguing that the public defender should not have cooperated with the government and that he should receive a new trial. At least one of the supreme court’s justices supports defendant Lamar. “Calling the lawyer just bothers me,” said Supreme Court Justice Donald Lemons. “The lawyer ought to keep his mouth shut.”

As a former prosecutor and current defense attorney dedicated to defending the rights of my clients, I believe that the public defender’s actions violated a fundamental rule of effectively representing a client, current or former. An attorney’s duty of loyalty does not end simply because a case has ended or the attorney/client relationship has been terminated. A defense attorney walking into court and cooperating with the government by testifying against his former client is just as harmful to a defendant’s case as the defendant taking the stand and admitting that he is guilty. In this particular case, the supreme court has not made a final decision as to whether the conviction will be reversed. To me, the public defender’s actions were despicable. Only time will tell if the supreme court agrees with me.