Minnesota: Lawyer Suspended for Making False Statements

In In re Winter, 770 N.W.2d 463 (Minn. 2009), the Minnesota Supreme Court suspended a lawyer for a minimum of 120 days and supervised probation for two years following reinstatement for knowingly making false statements before a tribunal.

The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the referee’s conclusions that the lawyer knowingly made a false statement of fact to a tribunal in violation of Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 3.3(a)(1), 4.1, 8.4(c), and 8.4(d) and intended to deceive the court, in violation of Minn. R. Prof. Conduct. 8.4(c).

The lawyer also failed to correct the false statement, and failed to appreciate the seriousness of his misconduct. The court held that an attorney who deliberately deceives the court is guilty not only of obstructing the administration of justice but also of subverting that loyalty to the truth without which he cannot be a lawyer in the real sense of the word. See also In re Nilva, 266 Minn. 576, 583, 123 N.W.2d 803, 809 (1963).

This case teaches the importance of the lawyer’s duty under Rule 3.3(a)(1) states that a lawyer shall not knowingly “make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal, or fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer.” In additional, Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 4.1 states “In the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law.”