Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
C

Committee on Professional Ethics v. Crary

245 N.W.2d 298 (1976)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Committee on Professional Ethics v. Crary

Iowa Supreme Court
245 N.W.2d 298 (1976)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD

Facts

When Sue Evans Curtis had an affair with attorney William Crary, her husband secretly hired a private investigator to follow her. Crary represented Mrs. Curtis when she filed for divorce. During her deposition, Mrs. Curtis repeatedly lied about supposed trips out of town while Crary sat next to her and did nothing. After the deposition recessed for a day, Mrs. Curtis continued lying, and Crary still sat silently. Another attorney representing Mrs. Curtis suspected she was lying, confronted Crary, learned the truth, said, “She can’t just sit there and tell this story,” and immediately stopped the deposition. The Iowa Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct charged Crary with violating the ethical rules by allowing Mrs. Curtis to perjure herself and for other incidents. Crary countered that the privilege against self-incrimination prevented him from having to correct Mrs. Curtis’s perjury because doing so could have produced evidence to charge him with criminal adultery. Crary also claimed attorney-client privilege protections. The committee issued a report concluding that Crary did not need to correct Mrs. Curtis’s perjury because opposing counsel already knew it was false. Noting possible disagreement, the Iowa Supreme Court held a hearing before issuing its decision.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Uhlenhopp, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Legal Ethics

Key Terms

Related Videos