CLEwebinars.com 2026 True crime ethics and trial practice: Jeffrey Dahmer and Wild Bill Cody: Lies, deceit and the ethical rules, can attorneys practice deception

Lies, Deceit and the Ethical Rules, Can Attorneys Practice Deception?
William Lee Cody Neal, “Wild Bill Cody” had just brutally killed several women in Colorado and wanted to surrender to the police but only upon the following conditions: That he would be isolated from other detainees, that he could smoke cigarettes, and that a public defender would be present. Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Pautler heard these requests and rather than contact the public defender’s office, decided to impersonate a public defender to ensure that the surrender occurred. Disciplinary counsel filed a complaint and the Colorado Supreme Court had to determine whether this conduct violated the Rules of Professional Conduct. In this presentation, we will examine disciplinary cases and film clips to determine whether attorneys can misrepresent the truth for the public good or to assist their clients.  

Drafting the Jeffrey Dahmer Search Warrant and the Requirements of the Fourth Amendment
Part of Presenter Philip Bogdanoff’s duties as an assistant prosecutor was to act as a police legal advisor and would draft and review numerous search warrants and on occasion advise the police regarding the execution of these warrants. After Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee in 1991, he confessed to murdering his first victim, Steven Hicks, in his childhood home in Summit County, Ohio on June 18, 1978. The Bath Township police contacted Bogdanoff and he wrote an affidavit and search warrant to search this home for evidence of this crime. In this portion of the presentation, we will review this case and the necessary requirements of search warrants including that the affidavit set forth probable cause and that the warrant specify the location and items to be seized with specificity.  Attendees will also review cases where evidence was suppressed because of a faulty warrant.  The goal of the presentation is for attorneys to understand why evidence gets suppressed as a result of a defective search warrant.

Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.