SALT LAKE CITY — In the FOX 13 In-Depth interview on Monday, Max Roth spoke with Utah criminal defense attorney Jesse Nix to ask how he would advise someone in Brian Laundrie’s situation.
LISTEN: 911 call details Laundrie 'slapping' Petito during Moab altercation
Laundrie is under suspicion in the disappearance and likely death of his girlfriend Gabby Petito.
While so many people have been outraged at Laundrie’s silence, Nix says Laundrie got good legal advice to not talk.
Nix acknowledged that a defense attorney’s advice can seem counter-intuitive and even amoral, but added it’s their job to focus on the defense of their client.
Nix offered a pretty clear distillation of the role of a defense attorney in America’s adversarial criminal justice system, where the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to counsel for anyone charged with a crime, and the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to not be forced to testify against oneself as a criminal suspect.
WATCH: Travel blogger captured video of Petito van during Wyoming trip
As of this writing, Petito’s body has not been officially identified and the Teton County Coroner has not performed an autopsy to determine her cause of death.
Brian Laundrie remained missing Monday evening, with his parents having said they last saw him on Sept 14.
The complete interview with Jesse Nix is below:
