This question came up during the David Westerfield/Danielle Van Dam trial in California. The lawyers knew the guy was guilty, and had been in talks with the authorities to get them to agree that they wouldn't seek the death penalty if he told them where the body was. While the talks were going on, the little girl's body was found, thus there was never any agreement. None of this info came out until after he was tried and convicted...given the death penalty. It seems that his lawyers knew all along that he was guilty, but they lied through their teeth and presented a defense that attempted to put the blame on someone other than Westerfield. I know that there is a law in California that prohibits lawyers from fabricating false defenses if they know that their client is guilty. This law was covered thoroughly on The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. Bill O'Reilly was very hot on the trail of these two lawyers. I'm not sure if the authorities in California have made up their mind yet regarding pursuing charges in this matter.