Different Roles of the Lawyer · 4-10% of the exam
19.1.1Probable Cause and the Right to Counsel (Rule 3.8(a)–(c))
Quick review — Probable cause and right to counsel (Rule 3.8(a)–(c)) (taught fully in Chapter 15)
Four points on charging and counsel, and the second one fixes the clock.
- Rule 3.8(a): at filing, do not go forward on any count the prosecutor actually knows lacks probable-cause support; "knows" is actual knowledge, not suspicion.
- The duty attaches at filing; a later conviction on other evidence doesn't cure a filing made with knowledge of insufficient facts.
- Rule 3.8(b): take reasonable steps to confirm the accused has received notice of the right to counsel, been told how counsel may be secured, and been given a reasonable window in which to secure counsel.
- Rule 3.8(c): do not seek a waiver of any important pretrial right (e.g., the preliminary-hearing right) from an unrepresented accused.
Questions · 2
Q 01ch19-e01
Question 1 of 2 · Rule 3.8(a)
Prosecutor received an anonymous letter claiming that a warehouse supervisor had set fire to a storage building for the insurance money. The letter named no witness, and the fire marshal's report listed the cause as undetermined. Prosecutor understood that the letter alone did not establish probable cause for arson and filed the charge anyway, hoping the pressure would produce a confession. Four months later investigators recovered receipts for accelerant purchases that independently supported the charge, and the supervisor pleaded guilty. Prosecutor made no false statement at any stage of the case. Is Prosecutor subject to discipline?
Keys 1 to 4 choose.