Ethics

As I explained in an earlier post, I bought a copy of Owen's Law Quizzer (4th ed., 1914) at a used book store.  The Quizzer, which has a series of questions and suggested answers on a variety of legal topics, was designed to assist students in their law students or bar examinations.  Today I'll offer an easy question about pleading the statute of limitations in defense to a suit on a debt.

"A:  In foro conscientiae, a defendant who knows that he honestly owes teh debut sued for, and that the delay has been caused by indulgence of confidence on the part of the creditor, ought not to plead the saature, and an attorney ought not to advise him to do so.  Sharswood, p. 83."

Students of legal ethics -- ok, who am I kidding, legal ethics wonks -- know that advising clients about the statute of limitations was in some circles considered sharp, unethical practice well into the 1900s.  But notice that it's called unethical in "foro conscientiae," meaning in the "forum of the conscience."  That term was typically used to distinguish something that was legally enforceable from something that a decent lawyer would find unconscionable.  So the answer distinguishes between law and conscience.