In People v. DePallo (96 N.Y.2d 437, 754 N.E.2d 751, 729 N.Y.S.2d 649 [2001]), the Court held that defense counsel properly balanced the duties he owed to his client and the duties he owed to the court and to the criminal justice system when, during a jury trial, counsel notified the court that his client had offered perjured testimony and refused to use that testimony in his closing argument to the jury. The Court left open the question of the propriety of a similar disclosure under circumstances where the court sits as the factfinder. In DePallo, the Court recognized that a defense attorney's duty to zealously represent a client must be circumscribed by his or her duty as an officer of the court to serve the truth-seeking function of the justice system (96 N.Y.2d at 441). Moreover, as perjury is a criminal offense, defense counsel has a duty to refrain from participating in the client's commission of it. Thus, the Court stated that while counsel must pursue all reasonable means to reach the objectives of the client, counsel must not in any way assist a client in presenting false evidence to the court (id.)