Message-Id: <200112122237.fBCMbuA92186@wolverine.capwiz.com> Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 17:39:37 -0500 From: Content-type: text/plain To: Subject: Oppose Unnecessary and Unconstitutional Eavesdropping! Thank you for using American Civil Liberties Union Mail System Message sent to the following recipients: Office of General Counsel Unit Message text follows: Matthew Belmonte [address] December 12, 2001 [recipient address was inserted here] [recipient name was inserted here], As a person who is concerned about the future of our rights and freedoms, I am writing to urge you to rescind a regulation issued by Attorney General Ashcroft that would allow the Department of Justice to listen to any conversation at any time between a prison inmate and their attorney. This new measure is an unprecedented assault on the tradition of attorney-client privilege and the right to counsel. The attorney-client privilege is one of the oldest forms of confidential communication. Its purpose is to encourage full and frank communication between an attorney and his or her client so that the attorney is fully informed and thereby able to provide an effective defense. This new regulation renders that privilege worthless and essentially guts the right to counsel guaranteed by the Constitution. Further, the new eavesdropping regulation goes too far. I have read reports that this new measure not only applies to convicted prisoners, but to all persons in the custody of the Department of Justice including: people being held before trial, those being held for immigration violations, as well as certain witnesses who are not even accused of any crime. This means that innocent people will have their rights unjustifiably taken away and that is unacceptable. Finally, the new regulation is unnecessary. The Department of Justice already has legal authority to record attorney-client conversations by going before a judge and obtaining a warrant. The power to decide whether or when to eavesdrop on attorney-client conversations should not rest with the same people who are seeking to listen to the conversation and potentially prosecute those in custody. This regulation attempts to remove the safeguards put in place to prevent a build-up of unchecked power. Again, I urge you to rescind the new eavesdropping regulation. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important matter. Sincerely, Matthew Belmonte