Buried Bodies Case
The Buried Bodies Case, also known as the Lake Pleasant Bodies Case, was a New York court case in which lawyers Frank Armani and Francis Belge, citing attorney-client privilege, refused to disclose the location of the bodies of two girls murdered by their client, Robert Garrow.
Armani and Belge had represented Garrow in his trial for murdering an eighteen-year-old boy; during the trial, Garrow confidentially told the lawyers where he had hidden the bodies of the two girls. In discussions with the attorney prosecuting Garrow, the lawyers proposed a plea bargain where they would reveal the location of the bodies in return for Garrow being sentenced to life in a mental hospital, but the prosecutor refused. While testifying in his own defense during the case, Garrow admitted to four murders, including those of the girls, and was convicted.[1]
Belge was indicted for refusing to disclose the locations of the bodies, and Armani's bar association began a disbarment proceeding against him. Both were ultimately exonerated. Four years after his conviction, Garrow escaped from prison, leaving behind a hit list including Armani's name. After Armani disclosed to the police information from his conversations with Garrow that suggested where he was hiding, Garrow was shot and killed by the police.[1]
The case is discussed frequently in legal ethics classes, and has been dramatized in Sworn to Silence, a 1987 film, and "Bodies", a 2003 episode of the television series Law & Order.[2][1]
References
- ^ a b c Lawrence Tibbles (Summer 2008). "The case of the buried bodies: legal ethics and what it means to be a lawyer" (PDF). Columbus Bar Lawyers Quarterly: 10–11. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ^ John P. Ratnaswamy. "Let's put on a show". The Bencher. American Inns of Court Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
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