How Can a Lawyer Defend Someone They Know Is Guilty?

A Post-Conviction Attorney Explains

6 Min. Read

TL;DR

• Factual vs. legal guilt are different. It’s imperative to test whether the state proved every element fairly and lawfully.

• The U.S. punishes more and longer. We should calibrate sentences to law, evidence, and mitigation, not reflex.

• Second chances are principled, not sentimental. People aren’t the worst thing they’ve done. Courts and data back that up.

The question I’m asked most: “What do you do if you know your client is guilty?”

Short answer: in appellate and post-conviction work, “knowing” is rarely possible and the law doesn’t require me to certify factual innocence. My role for my clients is to insist the government proves legal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, with constitutionally obtained evidence, and that any punishment fits both the law and the person. That’s how we keep the system honest, prevent wrongful convictions, and make sentences proportionate.

Even after a conviction, the presumption of innocence still matters. Every appeal begins with the same core question: Did the state prove its case lawfully, and did it respect the defendant’s constitutional rights in doing so? Post-conviction review is built on that principle. It’s how our justice system admits that fairness does not end at the verdict.

The Truth: Lawyers Rarely Know Their Client Is Guilty

People often assume that attorneys like me know whether our clients are guilty. In reality, by the time I meet a client, they have already been convicted and are often serving a sentence. My role is not to argue about guilt or innocence. It is to make sure their conviction and sentence were obtained lawfully, with full respect for constitutional rights and due process.

Working in post-conviction law means looking at the system after the verdict. It involves reviewing transcripts, court filings, and evidence that were part of the original trial. Often, that record is incomplete, misleading, or reveals mistakes that no one noticed at the time. My focus is not on what happened in the street, but on what happened in the courtroom.

Myth vs. Reality

Myth: Attorneys help guilty people get off on technicalities.
Reality: Post-conviction attorneys protect the fairness of the legal process.

Our work is rooted in the Constitution. The Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee every person due process and effective assistance of counsel. When a post-conviction attorney challenges improper evidence, ineffective representation, or procedural errors, it is not about defending the crime. It is about defending the integrity of the system that convicts and punishes.

Key Data: According to the Innocence Project, official misconduct contributed to 54 percent of known wrongful convictions, and misapplication of forensic science contributed to 24 percent (Causes of Wrongful Convictions, 2024). These failures often come to light only after the trial has ended. That is exactly when post-conviction review begins.

The Role of a Post Conviction Attorney

A post-conviction or appellate attorney like me focuses on whether a conviction or sentence was obtained through a fair and constitutional process.

The roles and responsibilities of a post conviction attorney include, but not limited to:

• Reviewing the trial transcript and appellate record for legal or constitutional errors

• Investigating claims of ineffective counsel or newly discovered evidence

• Challenging sentencing errors or excessive punishment under the Eighth Amendment

• Filing motions for post-conviction relief within state or federal deadlines

This review is not about retrying the case. It is about ensuring that the conviction and sentence are legally sound and constitutionally valid.

Attorney Insight

“I rarely know whether my client is guilty or not.

The reality is that the government has far more resources than the defendant and so if anything my job is to keep the government honest because the last thing that we want in our system is people who are innocent being convicted.”

Keeping the Government Honest, Not Manipulating Loopholes

The state has labs, investigators, experts, and budgets defendants don’t. A zealous defense is the structural check on that power. When courts enforce disclosure and procedure, they don’t “let people off on technicalities,” they stop wrongful convictions and signal every future case must be fair.

In 2024, the National Registry of Exonerations recorded 147 exonerations; official misconduct appeared in 104 of them (including 79% of homicide exonerations). That is exactly why adversarial testing matters. National Registry of Exonerations

Even Guilty Pleas Deserve Scrutiny

Some people believe that once a person pleads guilty, there is nothing left to challenge. That is not true. The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that people who plead guilty can still raise constitutional issues.

Cases such as Hill v. Lockhart, Class v. United States, and Garza v. Idaho confirm that even a guilty plea does not erase the right to challenge ineffective counsel or an unlawful process.

Action steps: If you or a loved one believes a conviction was unjust, a post-conviction attorney like myself can:

• Review the trial transcript and appellate record for constitutional violations

• Investigate ineffective counsel or newly discovered evidence

• Challenge sentencing errors or disproportionate punishment under the Eighth Amendment

• File a motion for post-conviction relief within the applicable deadline (see state or federal procedural rules)

| Key takeaway: The question for a post-conviction attorney is never “Did you do it?” It is “Were your rights protected, and was justice served?” Ensuring fairness in the process protects everyone whether innocent or guilty from wrongful convictions and excessive punishment.

The Exoneration of Brian Boles and Charles Collins (New York, 2024)

Photo Credit: The Innocence Project

When Evidence Isn’t the Whole Story

People often assume that once evidence is presented at trial, the truth has been fully revealed. In reality, evidence can be misleading, mishandled, or even manipulated. I see it every day in the records I review.

Investigative mistakes happen in many forms:

• Faulty forensic testing that later proves unreliable

• Mishandled or contaminated evidence that distorts results

• Coerced statements made under pressure or fatigue

• Witness identifications influenced by suggestion or bias

Each of these errors can make someone appear guilty even when they are not.

Real World Case Study: Decades Lost, Justice Restored

In 2024, two men, Brian Boles and Charles Collins, were exonerated in New York after spending more than 30 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. Their convictions were built on unreliable testimony and investigative failures that went uncorrected for decades.

According to the Innocence Project, the case unraveled after a post-conviction review uncovered suppressed evidence, false statements, and police misconduct that had never been disclosed at trial.

Modern DNA testing and new witness accounts finally cleared both men, revealing that the original investigation had ignored crucial leads and mishandled forensic material.

| Key Fact: Between 1989 and 2024, more than 3,400 people in the United States were exonerated after wrongful convictions.
Source: National Registry of Exonerations & Innocence Project (2024)

This case is not unusual. Data from the Innocence Project shows that:

• 63 percent of wrongful convictions involve mistaken eyewitness identification

• 54 percent involve official misconduct

• 28 percent involve false confessions

• 24 percent involve flawed forensic science

Each of these breakdowns represents a place where the system failed and post-conviction work became essential.

Why Does This Case Matter? The story of Boles and Collins reminds us that evidence is not always truth. Files can be incomplete, testing can be flawed, and investigators can make serious mistakes. Post-conviction and appellate attorneys exist precisely for this reason: to revisit cases once the immediate emotions of trial have passed, to examine the record with fresh eyes, and to make sure constitutional safeguards were honored.

| Key takeaway: Evidence can be wrong, people can be mistaken, and justice can take decades to deliver. The post-conviction process ensures that when freedom is taken, it is done lawfully, with full respect for truth and fairness.

Attorney Insight

When I review court transcripts aka the “cold records,” I am not reading for guilty vs not guilty.

I am reading for fairness.

I am looking for the moments when the process failed the promise of justice.

Why Appeals and Post-Conviction Reviews Exist

The criminal justice system is built by human beings, and human beings make mistakes. No trial is perfect. Evidence can be mishandled, witnesses can be mistaken, and legal representation can fall short. Appellate and post-conviction review exist because our courts recognize that errors happen and that justice must allow room to correct them.

Appellate courts are not a luxury. They are a safeguard that protects everyone from the consequences of human error, from juror bias to ineffective assistance of counsel. A case can look airtight until you discover a police report that was never disclosed, a lab result that was misinterpreted, or a confession obtained through unconstitutional pressure.

The law draws a clear line between factual guilt, meaning what happened, and legal guilt, meaning what the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt through lawful procedure. My role is to make sure that line is respected.

Sentencing Reality: We Punish More and Longer

Even when the conduct happened, how we punish still matters. The U.S. incarcerates at rates that outpace nearly every peer nation, and many states have returned to pre-pandemic jail levels. Long sentences have diminishing public-safety returns as people age out of crime. Calibration protects both legitimacy and safety. Prison Policy Initiative

| Key Fact: The United States incarcerates nearly two million people, with more than five million total under correctional supervision. Black Americans remain disproportionately represented across all stages of the system. Source: The Sentencing Project Mass Incarceration Trends, 2024

Many of those people are serving decades-long sentences for non-violent offenses or crimes that would carry far less time in other countries. Our system is not only punitive but also deeply resistant to the idea of proportionality. A fair legal system must balance accountability with rehabilitation, not rely on punishment alone.

By the time a post-conviction attorney like me becomes involved, clients have often endured years of imprisonment, isolation, and procedural frustration. Some have lost contact with their families. Others have spent years trying to prove they even deserve a hearing.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, yet the reality is that excessive sentences, harsh conditions, and limited rehabilitation opportunities remain common. A fair system cannot end with conviction. It must extend to how we sentence, treat, and reintegrate people who have already served time.

|Key Takeaway: Sentencing should punish for what was proven, proportionately, and leave room for rehabilitation.

Second Chances are Legal

Bryan Stevenson captured the ethic that guides much of this work: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” It’s not sentimental; it’s a policy lens. People change, age, and desist from crime; law and data say endless punishment delivers less safety over time. That belief shapes everything we do here at Adam Rodrigues Law.

Most of my clients have already suffered deeply by the time I meet them. Some are guilty of serious offenses, others were caught in broken investigations, but nearly all are living with the consequences of a system that often values punishment more than progress. Helping them secure a second chances through resentencing, clemency, pardons, or expungement and about restoring balance and dignity, not erasing accountability.

These legal tools allow people to rebuild their lives, reconnect with family, and contribute to their communities again. Post-conviction work is not about excusing conduct. It is about ensuring that redemption is still possible.

Across the country, both sides of the political spectrum now support second-chance laws, re-entry programs, and sentencing reform. These efforts reflect a growing understanding that endless punishment does not make communities safer, but fairness and opportunity do.

For me, that is where purpose meets practice. Every time I help someone move closer to freedom or fairness, I see the justice system at its best—when it has the courage to correct itself.

| Key takeaway: Appeals and post-conviction review exist because the system acknowledges its own fallibility. They protect the innocent, temper the punitive, and affirm that justice does not end with a conviction.

Ready to a pursue a second chance through the difficult legal process?

If you or someone you love needs help with an appeal or post-conviction relief, contact Adam Rodrigues Law to discuss your options.

Call Adam Rodrigues Law 615-270-2074 now or book your private consultation today.

FAQs

• How can a lawyer defend someone they know is guilty?

  Most of the time, lawyers don’t actually know whether a client is guilty. In post-conviction work, our focus is not on guilt or innocence but on whether the conviction and sentence were obtained lawfully. By the time our office becomes involved, the trial has already ended.

  Our team reviews the record for constitutional errors, unfair procedures, or new evidence that could change the outcome. The goal is to ensure every conviction rests on a fair and legal foundation.

• Can you appeal a conviction if you already pled guilty?

  Yes. Even after a guilty plea, a person can still challenge the case if their rights were violated. Common issues include ineffective assistance of counsel, an illegal sentence, or a plea that was not entered voluntarily.

  Our office helps clients navigate those appeals and post-conviction petitions to correct legal errors and restore fairness.

• What is the difference between an appeal and post-conviction relief?

  An appeal reviews what happened in court to determine whether the judge or prosecution made legal mistakes. Post-conviction relief examines deeper issues such as constitutional violations, ineffective counsel, or new evidence that was unavailable at trial. Both are essential tools that allow our team to hold the system accountable when justice goes wrong.

• What does a post-conviction lawyer actually do?

  Our team reviews trial transcripts, motions, and evidence to identify mistakes or violations of constitutional rights. We file motions, prepare legal briefs, and argue in appellate courts to correct those errors.

  We work persistently on our clients behalf to make sure justice was done and the law was followed.

• What is a “second chance” in post-conviction law?

  A second chance can mean resentencing, clemency, expungement, or other legal remedies that help people rebuild their lives after serving their sentence. Our firm helps clients use these processes to restore dignity and opportunity while ensuring accountability stays intact.

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Last Updated: October 28, 2025; For continued reading, review our Post-Conviction page.

Quick Case Law References

Strickland v. Washington (defect + prejudice); Hill v. Lockhart (plea standard); Garza v. Idaho (presumed prejudice when lawyer won’t file appeal on request, even with waiver); Class v. United States (guilty plea doesn’t bar constitutional challenge); Holland v. Florida & Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. United States of America, et al. (equitable tolling); McQuiggin v. Perkins & Schlup v. Delo (innocence gateways); Brady v. Maryland (suppressed exculpatory evidence) Herrera v. Collins (federal habeas)