Dear sir/madam,

I would like to receive a summary of all laws currently in place involving defense attorneys for citizens during trial.

Sincerely,

Dugo Nish

Citizen Dugo Nish,

If "defense attorney" is to be regarded as a legal consultant or interpreter during a trial, few have ever done such in Sanctuary to my knowledge, and always with Council or ranking Watch permission. It is a somewhat more common practice in certain surface cultures, particularly those influenced by Tyrrans. Also somewhat more common is consultation with a "legal expert" following an arrest, to determine if the criminal can make any sort of appeal to ranking law enforcers or to legislators concerning an "unfair" arrest. I am unaware of any successful consultants. Few people contact the right offices to be heard, or have such ridiculous interpretations of the law that, if taken seriously, would have resulted in our destruction years ago.

Sanctuary has no laws regarding "defense attorneys" or counsel for suspects or criminals. They are not prohibited from offering services (so long as it does not conflict with existing laws, most likely Trespass, Public Nuisance or in rare cases Endangerment) but niether they nor their clients are guaranteed any rights to communicate with each other.

Varlam Nikitovich Office of the Herald 30 Marpenoth 151