No. of Recommendations: 5
Does the DOJ lawyer have a choice but to defend the order?? That's his job, right? Even if he knows there is no legal basis for the order, he has to defend it. Just like a lawyer has to defend a client he knows is guilty, to the best of his ability.
A lawyer has an ethical obligation to zealously represent their client (in general - I don't know what the the Washington state bar rules provide specifically, but it will be something like that). Even if the client has a bad case, they're allowed to have that case presented.
The lawyer also has a duty to the court, though that's some pretty basic stuff - they're not supposed to lie or commit fraud on the court, they have to follow the court's rules, etc.
So if the client wants the lawyer to go in and advance an utterly dubious legal argument, the lawyer generally has to do that if they're going to continue to represent the client.
