The following excerpt is from S.H. v. United States, No. CIV. S-11-1963 LKK DAD (E.D. Cal. 2014):
11. Counsel has a duty of candor to the court. See, e.g., Campbell v. Rice, 408 F.3d 1166, 1175 (9th Cir.) ("A prosecutor, like all attorneys, also owes a duty of candor toward a court"), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 1036 (2005). The court believes that that duty is not well served by placing a word in quotation marks and attributing it to a witness who did not actually utter it, and who did not adopt the word in her answer to the question where the word was used. In addition, the court believes that counsel should not attribute a quotation to two persons, while citing only to the testimony of one of those persons, especially when the testimony of the second person directly contradicts counsel's assertion.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.