A New York lawyer who is also a police officer can’t defend clients in traffic court in the county where the police department is located because of the risk of conflicts, a state bar opinion said.
“No matter how earnest and complete a defense the lawyer provides, there is an obvious danger that a convicted defendant will believe that his defense was inadequate because of the lawyer’s bias as a police officer,” the New York State Bar Association’s ethics committee’s May opinion advised.
There’s also a risk that the public will see the lawyer as trying to use his position ...
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