Lawyers owe a duty of candor to the court. That means they cannot lie. Lawyers may not always tell the whole truth, but they cannot lie to a Judge. Even if that was not an ethical requirement, it is a practical requirement. Lawyering is one of the places where its participants must rely on the word of another. That is why most prosecutors allow their assistants a good deal of discretion. Most district attorney offices across the country allow their assistant district attorneys to reject a case. That makes sense. Because that assistant must appear in court and tell the judge what s/he believes regarding the facts or the law.

But, AG Pam Bondi does not see it that way. A couple of weeks ago, one assistant DOJ prosecutor admitted in court the obvious, that Kilmar Abrgeo Garcia was deported to El Salvador in direct violation of a prior court order. That DOJ lawyer, Erez Reuveni, also said he did not know why or how Garcia was selected for deportation. That alone is something lawyers admit only reluctantly in court. Simply admitting you do not know why your client did something exposes that client to liability. That admission means the attorney, is not informed of the facts from his/her client’s perspective.

In court, Mr. Reuveni also said he would ask his client to retrieve Mr. Garcia. He asked the Judge for 24 hours to speak with his client.

Suspension

A day later, AG Bondi placed Mr. Reuveni on indefinite suspension. A second lawyer who supervised Mr. Reuveni was also placed on administrative leave for failing to supervise Mr. Reuveni. AG Bondi is sending a message to the lawyers in the civil division at DOJ: lie in court if necessary. Todd Blanche, a deputy AG said Mr. Reuveni engaged in conduct “prejudicial” to his client.

As lawyers, we are sometimes called on the say untrue tings to support our client in court. Most of us refuse to do so – or at least then quit that client soon afterward. It is surely a career-ending exercise to lie in court. Being called on to lie in court is an also a glaring blinking red light that this case is totally lost. Few lawyers will risk their licenses for any employer.

Alone and Overwhelmed

Yet, that is not the only instance in which DOJ lawyers have been forced to admit things that essentially harm their clients. In a matter regarding the law firm, Jenner & Block, DOJ argued that the entire law firm was a danger to national security because it formerly employed Andrew Weissmann. Weissmann was a deputy to Robert Mueller in the first Trump investigation. But, Weissmann has not worked for Jenner & Block for years. The Federal judge conducting the hearing asked a DOJ lawyer, Richard Lawson to explain how a former employee- Weissmann – at Jenner & Block was a risk to national security.

“You’re not going to tell me that having someone employed four years ago poses some kind of national security threat?” After a long pause, Lawson replied, “not per se, no.”

A remark which prompted some laughter in the court room. Mr. Lawson then had to rush from that court room to another court for yet another hearing. The civil division at DOJ has lost about half of its normal 100 lawyers. It is way under-staffed for the current workload. The office is strained by so many lawsuits against so many baseless Executive Orders. At the other court room, Judge Bates noticed that Lawson appeared by himself, with no career prosecutor with him. Lawson is a political appointee. Judge Bates, an alumnus of the same civil division at DOJ, asked why he was by himself. Mr. Lawson replied:

“I, frankly, was supposed to be in Florida, but here I am.” Judge Bates replied, “I don’t find that much of an answer.”

In other words, Judge Bates was hoping for a more forthright answer. Soon afterward, Judge Bates ruled against Mr. Lawson and his ultimate client, Pres. Trump. A large part of what we lawyers do in court is presentation. I tell folks we do marketing in the court room. If you look unprepared, or of your client looks chaotic, you chances of winning go way down. If we appear to lack candor on some issue about which the Judge is concerned, we start with a large deficit. See New York Times report here for more information.