STATEMENT OF GERALD B. LEFCOURT, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS (NACDL)
Washington, DC, May 6, 1998 -- In response to the public release of monitored private telephone conversations between Webster Hubbell, his wife, his attorney, his accountant and others by Representative Dan Burton (R-IN), chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released the following statement:
"The release of selectively-edited transcripts of Webster Hubbell's telephone conversations from prison with his wife and with his lawyer violated two sacred relationships cherished by our society: the sanctity of private conversations between man and wife and the necessary confidentiality between client and counsel. It is nothing less than revolting that private conversations, ordinarily protected by law, would be subpoenaed, and then edited and twisted to accommodate some misguided politician's ongoing vendetta against the President. Is the privacy of citizens no longer important in our society? Is there no sense of decency left anymore in what some zealots will do to grab a headline or snare a President or a First Lady?"
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NACDL is the preeminent organization in the United States advancing the mission of the nation's criminal defense lawyers to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or other misconduct. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's almost 10,000 direct members -- and 80 state and local affiliate organizations with another 28,000 members -- include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness within America's criminal justice system.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)