Also known as: candor to the tribunal · duty of candor to tribunal · candour to tribunal · Rule 3.3 · candor · tribunal candor
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A professional duty requiring lawyers to refrain from knowingly making false statements to a court and to take reasonable remedial measures, including disclosure, when a client intends to commit or has committed perjury.
A professional duty requiring lawyers to refrain from knowingly making false statements to a court and to take reasonable remedial measures, including disclosure, when a client intends to commit or has committed perjury.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A professional duty requiring lawyers and bar applicants to refrain from knowingly making false statements of material fact in connection with bar admission or disciplinary matters.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A professional duty requiring lawyers and bar applicants to refrain from knowingly making false statements of material fact in connection with bar admission or disciplinary matters.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Chloe Chen tells her appointed lawyer she will testify falsely about an alibi at trial. The lawyer first tries to dissuade her, then refuses to present the testimony and informs the judge of the planned perjury. The court excludes the false evidence, Chloe is convicted on other proof, and her later claim of ineffective assistance fails because the lawyer's refusal protected the integrity of the proceeding.
Counsel must first attempt to dissuade the client from testifying falsely. If that fails, counsel may seek to withdraw. If withdrawal is not feasible or the perjury has already occurred, counsel must disclose the perjury to the court as a remedial measure.
Supporting sources
Curtis Cannon applies for bar admission and denies any prior professional discipline despite a nursing-board reprimand. His former employer's general counsel, knowing of the reprimand and the denial, submits a letter stating Cannon has an unblemished record. The admissions authority investigates the lawyer for making a knowing false statement of material fact in connection with the application.
Yes. The rule prohibits a lawyer from knowingly making a false statement of material fact in connection with a bar admission application, whether the lawyer is the applicant or is providing information about another person.
Supporting sources
A statement is material if it concerns facts that bear on the applicant's character, honesty, or fitness, such as prior discipline or regulatory inquiries. An affirmative misrepresentation or omission that misleads the admissions authority satisfies the rule.
Supporting sources
No. When a lawyer knows facts that contradict an affirmative representation about integrity or disciplinary history and still makes the representation in response to a direct request, the statement is treated as knowingly false regardless of the lawyer's subjective framing.
Supporting sources