[mikester]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

For once in my life I am going to come down on the side of the lawyer. It is not this lawyer's fault that this guy sat in jail for 26 years. The lawyer was bound by the rules and ethics of his profession (I know ethics and lawyers don't usually go together but hang with me here...). He could not have disclosed the information or he would have been disbarred.

This is an extreme case that inflames everyone but the bottom line is that when you go to a lawyer you expect that lawyer to keep what you tell him confidential. The same rules apply across the board, whether it is your divorce hearing or a murder trial. In every policy there are extreme examples that, although rare, are possible and sometimes do occur.

If you want to throw someone under the bus, throw the real killer who kept his own mouth shut for 26 years while some other poor schlub did his time. I'm sure he is in a special kind of hell right now.

Being a doctor, we get alot of the same stuff with doctor/patient priviledge. We get an out though because if an issue is in the best interests of public health then we can disclose...so if a guy with raging TB comes into my office and tells me to not tell anyone, I still call the CDC on him and get him off the streets.

+1