A Vigilant Watch on Prosecutors' Practices

    Dec. 21, 2006
    USA Today

    Caroline Fredrickson, director, Washington legislative office, American Civil Liberties Union; George Landrith, president, Frontiers of Freedom; Stephanie A. Martz, director, White Collar Crime Project, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Daniel J. Popeo, chairman, Washington Legal Foundation

    The article "Justice toughens rules on corporate probes" mischaracterizes the diverse coalition of associations and individuals that have been laboring to change Justice Department policies that erode the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine and employee rights (Money, Dec. 13).

    In addition to the business groups your story focuses on, this coalition includes prominent legal and individual rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Washington Legal Foundation and Frontiers of Freedom. The American Bar Association has also been working in close cooperation with the coalition and shares its goals.

    This fall, 10 former senior Justice officials from both parties asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to revise the department's attorney-client privilege waiver policies to state that waiver of the privilege should not be a factor in determining cooperation, period. Democratic and Republican members of Congress likewise assailed the department's policies in hearings in both the House and Senate.

    Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty's memorandum is a disappointment. It perpetuates the dynamic that compels companies to "voluntarily" waive their rights in order to get favorable treatment or to avoid the death penalty of a federal indictment.

    Federal prosecutors have extraordinary powers and vast resources to investigate and prosecute crimes. Until about a decade ago, prosecutors generally did so in ways that respected bedrock elements of the law and individual rights. Our diverse coalition is working to see that they do so again.



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