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: Second Circuit Sentencing Blog

Letter to the Editor -- New York Times

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Here's a link to my letter to the editor published in today's edition of the New York Times in response to an op-ed last week by former Attorney General John Ashcroft concerning deferred prosecution agreements. Or, for those who don't want to follow the link, here's the letter in its entirety (best read after reading Ashcroft's op-ed, though):

Re: "Bailout Justice" (Op-Ed, May 5):

John Ashcroft correctly notes that deferred-prosecution agreements can effectively police, without destroying, corporate recipients of federal bailout money that engaged in criminal conduct. But let's not forget that the agreements demanded when Mr. Ashcroft was attorney general came at a steep price.

Among other things, companies were forced to waive the attorney-client privilege, fire employees who declined to cooperate, and refuse payment of legal fees for workers before they were found to have done anything wrong.

Today, as pressure builds for stern action against corporate wrongdoing, the Department of Justice must resist the temptation to follow in Mr. Ashcroft's footsteps. Rather, it should strictly adhere to its new guidelines for corporate prosecutions, adopted in August of last year, that protect against abusive deferred-prosecution agreements, like those that Mr. Ashcroft backs.

Harlan J. Protass

New York, May 5, 2009

The writer is a criminal defense attorney and an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.

Full post as published by Second Circuit Sentencing Blog on May 11, 2009 (boomark / email).