ADC objects to new rule eliminating attorney-client confidentiality

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) objects new rules issued by the Justice Department that allow for government agents to eavesdrop on all communications between some detainees in custody and their attorneys.

ADC argues such measures are a clear violation of the Sixth Amendment since potentially they render assistance of counsel ineffective and interfere with a suspect's ability to mount an effective defense. Moreover, ADC notes that the attorney-client privilege is deeply rooted in the American legal system and its common-law heritage, and that it is among the most fundamental bases for due process and fairness in an adversarial system. ADC also questions whether any evidence gathered under such circumstances can be considered admissible at trial.

ADC urges U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to rescind these and any other recent measures that obviously flout American legal values and the Constitution. It also reiterated its concerns regarding some aspects of the USA Patriot Act, which provide the government with sweeping new powers to detain non-citizens indefinitely with little or no process at the discretion of the Attorney General. The law also permits the government to conduct searches, seizures and surveillance with reduced standards of cause and levels of judicial review, although these elements will expire in four years unless re-approved by Congress.