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Posted by eric_k_johnson on July 30, 2011
What is lie-laundering?
Lie-laundering takes two forms: one innocent, one wicked:
1) the practice of telling your attorney lies when your attorney does not know you are lying, and the lawyer, being ignorant of the lies, can and does make representations to the court in good conscience (and as an unwitting dupe) to create the impression of a question of fact that the judge ultimately decides. Thus your case goes from hopeless to having at least a 50-50 chance of success.
2) telling your attorney lies when your attorney refuses to a conduct good-faith, due-diligence investigation into the facts, remains willfully ignorant of the lies, and then makes representations to the court by assuaging his guilty conscience on the grounds that the lawyer has a plausible deniability excuse for presenting the fraudulent story. The cruelest lies are often told in silence. –Adlai Stevenson
It is initially encouraging to know that Utah rules of court expressly prohibit lie-laundering. It is known as Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 11. Rule 11 reads, in pertinent part:
(b) Representations to court. By presenting a pleading, written motion, or other paper to the court (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or advocating), an attorney or unrepresented party is certifying that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances,
(b)(1) it is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation;
(b)(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law;
(b)(3) the allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and
(b)(4) the denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on a lack of information or belief.
(c) Sanctions. If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the court determines that subdivision (b) has been violated, the court may, subject to the conditions stated below, impose an appropriate sanction upon the attorneys, law firms, or parties that have violated subdivision (b) or are responsible for the violation.
Unfortunately, if you ask any attorney what rule of civil procedure is least likely to be enforced he will tell you it’s Rule 11. That has to change. Courts were never intended to be a forum for any and all claims and defenses, no matter how frivolous. Honest hearts produce honest actions. – Brigham Young
Every system mankind has established to resolve temporal problems values efficiency (efficiency: acting or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste, expense, or unnecessary effort). While more rigorous enforcement of Rule 11 would improve myriad facets of the justice system, Rule 11 should be more actively enforced if for no other reason than to improve the efficiency of the justice system.
The man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies.
– Sir Francis Bacon
One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.
– African Proverb
The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted.
– Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
A half truth is a whole lie.
–Yiddish Proverb
Beware of the half truth. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half.
–Author Unknown
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