'Shocked' Crim Defense Attorney Is Charged in Fake-Evidence Case, Denies Wrongdoing
A 64-year-old criminal defense attorney in Washington, D.C., has been accused, along with two private investigators, of fabricating evidence in an effort to help a client win an acquittal in a drug case.
However, a “shocked” Charles Daum denies wrongdoing, according to his lawyer, David Schertler, who expressed concern about the chilling effect of the case on attorneys seeking to zealously defend their clients.
Daum was charged in a federal grand jury indictment (PDF), with conspiracy, influencing a juror and inducing perjury, according to the Blog of Legal Times.
The government contends that the defendants sought to obtain a drug defendant’s acquittal by faking photos of purported evidence in the case that suggested a brother was the culprit in order to support that argument in court. The jury in Daum’s client’s case did not acquit, however, although it could not reach a verdict.
