When Lawyers Speak Offensively to Adversaries
Speech should not cross the line. But where is that line?
April 11, 2022 at 12:15 PM
7 minute read
Unquestionably, lawyers deep in the criminal process sometimes speak like the proverbial truck driver, construction worker, or the "boys" throwing one back Friday night after work.
No shock—the author is himself a foul mouth. F bombs? Way too often. Still, while hardly a defense, sometimes the use of curse words to make a point helps express a criminal litigator's indignation better than anything. And indignation, for some, may be the lawyer's best weapon in pitched battle with an adversary—when accomplishing justice as seen from either side of the divide may be at stake.
Still and all, there are definitely limits, as there should and must be. Speech should not cross the line. But where is that line? In 2016, the ABA House of Delegates adopted Model Rule 8.4(g), and it is hardly just about a lawyer cursing—whether to make a point or not. See ABA Formal Op. 493.
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