the case of the buried bodies legal ethics and what it means to be a lawyer

by Dr. Sylvan Tromp 7 min read

Commonly referred to as the “Buried Bodies Case,” it is an essential part of law school curriculum that addresses legal ethics and professional responsibility. Robert Francis Garrow attacked the four campers in July 1973, stabbing Philip Domblewski to death while the other three escaped and summoned help.

The case has become a touchstone in legal ethics courses. It highlights lawyers' ethical obligation to keep their clients' information confidential. It also showcases the ethical questions that can arise for lawyers related to confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and clients' self-incrimination.

Full Answer

What is the Buried Bodies Case?

Commonly referred to as the “Buried Bodies Case,” it is an essential part of law school curriculum that addresses legal ethics and professional responsibility. Robert Francis Garrow attacked the four campers in July 1973, stabbing Philip Domblewski to death while the other three escaped and summoned help.

Is death and substantial bodily injury a duty of confidentiality?

Ethics. Ethics. The Case of the Buried Bodies Legal Ethics and What It Means To Be A Lawyer By Lawrence Tibbles. f you decided to build on the fictional works of John Grisham and Stephen King you might make up a case that combines (1) all of the client from hell horror stories that you can remember, (2) defending a serial killer to the revulsion of the public and the lawyers own clients …

Why did the lawyer offer to prove the other murders?

Jun 03, 2016 · The Buried Bodies Case. June 3, 2016. ( Photo Credit: Chuck Miller ) Summary Transcript. In 1973, a massive manhunt in New York's Adirondack Mountains ended when police captured a man named Robert Garrow. And that’s when this story really gets started.

What was the ethics complaint filed with the New York State Bar?

The Buried Bodies Case: Alive and Well After Thirty Years, 2007 PROF. LAW. 19 ... The Belge case took place just as materials were assembled for legal ethics courses. The case very quickly became a central piece of the professional respon- ... of what a lawyer's duties are. Furthermore it is a story that has been recorded well. The Fred Graham tape

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Who is the Buried Bodies case?

Buried Bodies Case. The Buried Bodies Case, also known as the Lake Pleasant Bodies Case, is a mid-1970s upstate New York court case where defense attorneys Frank H. Armani and Francis Belge kept secret the location of the bodies of two women murdered by their client, Robert Garrow, Sr. Ahead of trial for an unrelated murder, ...

What happened to the Buried Bodies case?

The Buried Bodies Case attracted significant attention in the mid-1970s in the throes of the Watergate scandal. Several legal scholars believe Armani and Belge acted ethically in refraining from sharing their client's confession. During Watergate, the American Bar Association (ABA) began reconsidering attorneys' ethical obligations. Meanwhile, law schools too began reconsidering the form of legal ethics in their curriculum.

What was the central question Armani and Belge faced?

The central question Armani and Belge faced was whether to disclose the location of the missing women's bodies. Disclosure of their discoveries could have implicated their client in the women's murders.

What was the case in People v. Belge?

Armani and Belge faced criminal and ethical proceedings that were later found to be unwarranted. People v. Belge. A grand jury investigated the attorneys' conduct. Belge was indicted for allegedly violating two state public health laws by failing to disclose his discovery of the dead bodies. In People v.

Why did Belge move Hauck's body?

The lawyers photographed the remains of both women. Belge moved Hauck's body to ensure a dismembered part was included in the photograph. They later destroyed the photographs, the record of their conversation with Garrow, and the diagram he drew. Belge and Armani told no one about their discoveries.

How many states have adopted the ABA model rules of professional conduct?

While ethical rules are determined by each state, portions of the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct have been adopted by 49 states. All states have some ethical duty of confidentiality in their code of professional responsibility.

Did Armani and Belge reveal Petz's body?

Following Garrow's confession, Armani and Belge decided to confirm whether Garrow was telling the truth. They used Garrow's diagram to uncover Petz's body in an airshaft of a coal mine.

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Overview

Impact

The Buried Bodies Case attracted significant attention in the mid-1970s in the throes of the Watergate scandal. Several legal scholars believe Armani and Belge acted ethically in refraining from sharing their client's confession. During Watergate, the American Bar Association (ABA) began reconsidering attorneys' ethical obligations. Meanwhile, law schools too began reconsidering the form of legal ethics in their curriculum.

History

In the summer of 1973, attorney Frank H. Armani was appointed to serve as counsel for Robert Garrow, Sr. Garrow, a 38-year old mechanic of a Syracuse bakery, was charged with murdering Philip Domblewski. Domblewski, an 18-year-old college student, was murdered while camping in the Adirondacks. He was tied to a tree and stabbed to death. Three friends were also ambushed, but escaped, leading to an eleven-day manhunt for the killer. With no experience in murder trials…

Ethical issues

The central question Armani and Belge faced was whether to disclose the location of the missing women's bodies. Disclosure of their discoveries could have implicated their client in the women's murders.
The case also raises broader ethical questions about the role of the lawyer, and their obligations to their clients and society as a whole. The case showcases the tension between protecting a cli…

Legal doctrines

A few contemporary legal and ethical doctrines are relevant in cases like the Buried Bodies Case today.
Lawyers have an ethical obligation to keep their clients' information secret. This duty of confidentialityextends beyond information the client tells the lawyer directly. Any information a lawyer learns "relating to the representation of the client" must be kept confidential, including inf…

Criticism

The mother of Susan Petz, one of the girls murdered by Garrow, remains unsatisfied by the case. In a 2016 interview with Radiolab, she criticized law schools for teaching the case. She suggested lawyers should consider the victims' families when deciding whether to keep information about missing victims confidential.
Some legal scholars have also criticized the case. Some argue the attorneys' refusal to disclose …

Popular culture

The case has been the subject of numerous books, including Privileged Information by Tom Alibrandi with Frank Armani (1984) and Terror in the Adirondacks: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert F. Garrow by Lawrence Gooley (2009).
It was featured in “The Buried Bodies Case” in 2016 on the podcast RadioLab.
It has also been dramatized in the 1987 TV film Sworn to Silence, and a 2003 episode of the TV …

See also

• Attorney-client privilege
• Confidentiality
• Duty of confidentiality
• Fifth Amendment (U.S. Constitution)

The Case

  • In 1973 Robert Garrow was arrested for murder, after a very substantial manhunt. He was appointed two attorneys to represent him in that case: Frank Armani and Francis Belge. In the course of their representation, their client told the attorneys that he was responsible for additional murders. He described killing a couple of teenagers that at the t...
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The Duty of Confidentiality

  • First off, I had heard of this case before I listened to the podcast. As the podcast mentions, this situation is still taught today in law schools. A lawyer’s duty to his or her client can be at odds with general moral principles of society. In this particular case, who would argue that society is benefitted when parents are told about their missing children? But does a lawyer really have the …
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The Big Question

  • And if that’s the case, the conversation turns to how we deal with people accused of committing crimes. Keep in mind we’re not talking about punishment and sentencing and guilt and innocence here. The question is simply: What rights should we permit those who are accused of crimes? Or to put it another way, how easy do we want to make it for someone to be found guilty…
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The Big Picture

  • Let’s look at it from another angle. Do we want our prisons half-full, but confident that everyone in there is supposed to be there? Or do we want them filled to capacity with the innocent mingling with the guilty? I am in the former camp. So were our founding fathers. And that’s why the protections they set up, including the attorney/client privilege, exist. If that’s how you feel, than t…
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