Ivan found himself in a hopeless situation

[Bassim]

I am wondering if my sentence is grammatically correct.

Ivan found himself in a hopeless situation when the police arrested not only him but also the lawyer supposed to defend him, and accused them both of the conspiracy against the state.

 

[Rover_KE]

of [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] conspiracy

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd probably say "... the lawyer who was supposed to defend him".

 

[Bassim]

emsr2d2,
I wanted from the beginning to write as you did in your post, "the lawyer who was supposed to..." but thought maybe it could be OK without "who was."

Does my version without "who was" sounds ungrammatical or odd?

 

[emsr2d2]

I can't quite put my finger on why, but it sounds odd to me.

The closest I can come to an explanation is that without "who was", "supposed" made me think of "thought/assumed", rather than "meant".

The man, supposed to be the burglar, has been arrested. (thought/assumed to be)
The man who was supposed to help me has resigned. (meant to)