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Houston police chief to cops: Don't talk to defense counsel

Murray Newman over at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center circulates a memo from Houston Police Chief Charles McLelland barring Houston police officers from speaking with defense attorneys, even on minor traffic violations, without permission from the prosecutor. Here's the relevant text from the memo:Effective immediately, officers shall have no discussion with criminal defense attorneys regarding any pending criminal case without first obtaining express permission from the federal prosecutor, assistant district attorney or municipal prosecutor assigned to the case. This circular applies to criminal cases pending in any federal, state, county, or municipal court and shall include the prosecution of traffic citations.Newman, a former prosecutor under DA Chuck Rosenthal, considers this unethical:when I was a prosecutor, we knew better than to ever instruct a police officer or any witness from talking to defense counsel...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 02, 2010 (boomark / email).