Thinking of asking an acquaintance or paralegal to friend an adverse witness to gain information that could be used for impeachment?

Don’t do it, an ethics opinion warns.

The Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Guidance Committee has warned that such a plan would violate Pennsylvania ethics rules, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.

“Deception is deception, regardless of the victim’s wariness in her interactions on the Internet and susceptibility to being deceived,” the opinion says.

The inquiring lawyer explained that an 18-year-old adverse witness has accounts on MySpace and Facebook, and tends to accept anyone who sends a friend request. The lawyer sought advice on a plan to have a third party send a friend request, with the aim of obtaining information that could be used against the witness. The third party would give his or her real name, but would not reveal any link to the lawyer.

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