What are the duties and role of the defence lawyer?
The lawyer defending the accused must vigorously defend the accused within the provisions of the law. If the crown’s evidence against the accused is very weak, so that a conviction would not be likely, the defence lawyer may decide not to present any witnesses or other evidence for the reason that witnesses may be cross-examined by the Crown prosecutor who, in so doing, may bring out facts unfavourable to the case of the accused. If however the Crown prosecutor has presented enough damaging evidence, the defence lawyer may need to present evidence and witnesses to refute the prosecution evidence.
