"Anti-Terrorist" Exception to Atty-Client Privilege?

[AARG! Anonymous]

U.S. Defends Monitoring of Lawyer-Suspect Communication 

By James Vicini 
Reuters 

WASHINGTON (Nov. 9) - The U.S. Justice Department defended Friday its
rule to listen in on conversations between some inmates and their
lawyers to prevent violent and terrorist acts, but a civil liberties
group denounced the new policy as a ''police state'' tactic. 

The rule, signed by Attorney General John Ashcroft and published on Oct.
31, provided for the monitoring of mail and communications with
attorneys for as long as a year, as opposed to 120 days previously, and
took effect immediately. 

The eavesdropping would not be surreptitious. The defendant and the
attorney must get notice of the government's listening, Ashcroft said.
The rule expanded an existing regulation that allows for monitoring of
attorney-client communications. 

Rachel King of the American Civil Liberties Union said the rule set a
''terrifying precedent'' and was ''very scary.''  ''It's nothing short
of a police state,'' she added. 

King, the legislative counsel in the Washington office, said the group
would file comments opposing the rule. 

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said it will
challenge the new regulations through all available legal means. 

''Rules and codes of professional responsibility are very clear: an
attorney cannot communicate with a client when confidentiality is not
assured,'' Irwin Schwartz, the group's president, said in a statement. 

NO EAVESDROPPING WITHOUT COURT ORDER 

''The federal government has no business eavesdropping on these
conversations, absent a court order,'' he said. 

In the rule, Ashcroft said, ''Recent terrorist activities perpetrated on
U.S. soil demonstrate the need for continuing vigilance in addressing
the terrorism and security-related concerns identified by the law
enforcement and intelligence communities.'' 

The rule represented one in a series of steps by Ashcroft in what he has
described as an aggressive campaign to prevent future terrorist attacks
after the Sept. 11 hijackings of planes that hit the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon. 

Ashcroft has vowed to carry out tough new anti-terrorism legislation
that Congress approved giving law enforcement officers expanded powers
to wiretap phones, monitor Internet traffic and arrest suspects. 

On Thursday, he announced a ''wartime reorganization'' of the Justice
Department to carry out in its ''first and overriding priority'' of
defending against terrorist attacks. 

Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker defended the rule, saying
''important safeguards'' were in place. 

She said the team monitoring the communications will have no connection
to any ongoing prosecution that involves the inmate. 

Currently, less than 1/10 of one percent of the federal inmate
population is subject to the special administrative measure taken by the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Tucker said. 

Ashcroft said the rule would affect only a small portion of the federal
inmate population. 

He said it would affect those inmates for whom the attorney general or
the head of a federal law enforcement of intelligence agency has
determined there was a substantial risk the communications with others
could lead to violence or terrorism. 

Ashcroft maintained the constitutional rights of the inmates to a lawyer
would be protected. 

''The attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications
regarding legal matters, but the law is clear that there is no
protection for communications that are in furtherance of the client's
ongoing or contemplated illegal acts,'' he said. 

REUTERS  Reut13:39 11-09-01