I don’t think your slightly changed fact—if you knew, rather than just hoped, that the judge was trading leniency for support—changes the equation much. Substitute “blowjob” for “endorsement”; does it matter that it will get your client off? It does make the judge’s conduct even more corrupt.

I guess if the judge was definitely going to get reelected forever regardless of your action, your endorsement might not be such an issue, but otherwise by endorsing him you’re not just gratifying him but actively making the world a worse place.

In a perfect world men would only lend their names in support of the noblest of causes. That would be great, but we do not live in a perfect world. We live in Texas.

In the Coen Brother’s ” Blood Simple” , M. Emmet Walsh plays a seedy detective. In the opening narration he says,

“…what I know about is Texas, an’ down here… you’re on your own.”

As defense lawyers we are basically lone operators. We work on our cases and go to Court on our own. That is a truism.

As we are lone operators we are far more subject to being victimized by an abusive system. As such we are far more likely to support a candidate not because he’s good but because we fear retaliation if we don’t support him or her.

Some judges have no moral qualms about asking lawyers who appear in front of them for money or their name. It is the world we live in.

In some courts judges & staff virtually demand money from lawyers who are appointed.

In some courts judges award those who give them more money.

In some courts judges demonstrate their gratitude for larger donations by declaring the contributing lawyer to be a ” platinum friend” or some similar appellation.

There is a long history of this odious practice in the state & county courts. Only the rarest judge refuses to engage in such inherently wrong activities.

These judicial fundraisers are essentially legalized bribery of the judge or extortion from the lawyers.
Imagine for one moment what would occur if a Federal judge asked for money from a lawyer in his court. Imagine what would happen to a lawyer who offered money to a Federal Judge.

In this light, the offensive and immoral nature of
The judicial Requests for money are seen for what they are: nothing more than extortion.

Some Lawyers give judges money and the use of their name because they truly believe that judge is
A great jurist. But, we should not be so naive to believe that such is the usual motivation for the giving of money or one’s name. Some of the judges may fancy themselves brilliant jurists worthy of tribute. But all things being equal most lawyers would probably be quite content to never
Give another judge another ” voluntary” contribution.

In truth lawyers give money and their name more often for one of two reasons. Either they are attempting to curry favor or they are attempting to buy some fairness. In either case its wrong, but its not really the lawyers fault. No, the fault lies with the judiciary for making these demands on the lawyers.

The ethics here are quite simple. A judge is supposed to be neutral and detached and base his or her rulings on the law and facts.

When a judge asks for money or name from a lawyer who practices before him, that judge is
Engaging in conduct that makes every lawyer
Feel he must pay to play. When a judge publicly lauds those lawyers who give him the most money, as most do, that judge has tainted his court & rulings. One is forced to ponder, if I give enough dough will he grant my motion? If I dont pay up will he deny my motion? That line of thinking is quite natural given the Courts’ unapologetic shake down of the lawyers.

This is all wrong. Spin doesn’t make it right.

As Defense Attorneys we owe it to ourselves and our clients and our system of justice to stop this
Long calamity. The judges won’t stop, so we must stop it.

Notwithstanding what the character in ” Blood Simple” said, We are Not on our own.

I would hope that in the last 10 years we have learned that we are not alone. HCCLA now has over 700 members and TCDLA has over 3000. We have strength and we need never feel bullied by any judge or judicial candidate. But old habits are hard to break.

The Defense should unite and say ” No More”.
We should not participate in any fashion with a system that uses fear to coerce defense lawyers
to lend any kind of support to any member of the judiciary. Whether we admit or not, that is precisely the system that exists.

We are better than this. The more defense lawyers who refuse to give in, the sooner this wretched extortion will stop.

Robb Fickman

To the original question, I don’t know how your conscience pulls you. But it may be helpful to ask yourself what you would do if you knew as a given that those judges are trading leniency for support, and your clients’ outcomes depend on your action.

So, to answer your question; if the client is guilty he would want a well-connected defense attorney who doesn’t mind kissing a little ass. He’ll likely be old enough to understand it’s not what you know, but who you supported for judge.