Jack King, Director of Public Affairs
202-872-8600, media@nacdl.com
Jack King, Director of Public Affairs
202-872-8600, media@nacdl.com
WHEREAS, Rule 4.2 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, adopted by nearly all of the nation's federal and state courts, has long prohibited attorneys from initiating unauthorized contacts with persons who are represented by counsel; and
WHEREAS, the rule seeks to preserve the attorney-client relationship and to protect represented persons from unfair, unjust and unethical government overreaching; and
WHEREAS, appellate courts and lawyer disciplinary authorities have decided that federal prosecutors (which includes those in the office of the Independent Counsel) must comply with these ethical standards; and
WHEREAS, recent news reports have suggested that the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr may have flagrantly violated these respected ethical rules by unauthorized communication with a represented person in a manner that could be considered intimidating, coercive and threatening, and which could promote the use of unreliable evidence; and
WHEREAS, such conduct, whether by the Office of Independent Counsel or other prosecutors, imperils the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship and jeopardizes our adversary system of criminal justice;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers denounces any such violations of the ethical rules which govern the conduct of all lawyers, and calls upon the Office of the Independent Counsel and all other prosecutors to abide by those ethical rules and to respect the due process rights of all citizens.
Approved by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers this 7th day of February 1998.
Resolution of the Board of Directors
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
WHEREAS, Matters pending before grand juries must remain secret, pursuant to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, both to encourage unhampered investigations and to protect American citizens from unfair damage to their reputations by malicious rumor, false speculation, or prejudicial misinformation; and
WHEREAS, Grand jury leaks are illegal, unethical, and contemptuous; they sabotage the rights of all persons to due process and fundamental fairness; they jeopardize the credibility and integrity of the adversary system of criminal justice; and they poison the wellspring of liberty; and
WHEREAS, recent weeks have witnessed widespread, insidious leaks to the media of secret information about the grand jury investigation by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, which could only emanate from a very limited number of persons privy to the grand jury proceedings; and
WHEREAS, numerous media reports have directly attributed these leaks to "sources in the Independent Counsel's office," "sources in Starr's office," "investigators," or "prosecutors" which, if true, constitutes criminal obstruction of justice and a flagrant abuse of prosecutorial power;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers condemns those who leak secret information and calls upon the United States Department of Justice and the appropriate judicial authorities to immediately investigate to determine those who have unlawfully leaked information, as well as those who have failed to adequately supervise and control them; and further urges that such persons be professionally disciplined for unethical conduct and criminally prosecuted for obstruction of justice and criminal contempt.
Approved by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers this 7th day of February 1998.