Privileges and vendettas in the courtroom

“The gavel allows you to push issues” according to Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and he added that he missed being the one holding the gavel.

At The Heritage Foundation discussion on “Attorney-Client Privilege: Repairing the Damage,” Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) focused on the Department of Justice’s policies regarding the right to counsel and the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Sixth Amendment sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts.

When asked if courts would ever allow cameras into the courtrooms, Specter said that courts today decide all “cutting edge authority.” Specter noted that the print media has accessibility and a shift to electronic media was inevitable. Specter said that, as always, there was the question of security, but it was something that simply needed to be dealt with. Specter said he understood the public’s desire for transparency and accessibility in institutions such as the Supreme Court.

Specter also discussed the case of Kent Wakefield from Virginia. According to Specter, Wakefield had written him a letter detailing his six year ordeal with the courts. Quoting Wakefield, Specter said that his employer at America Online (AOL) demanded to waive his attorney-client privilege. In addition, Specter said that Wakefield’s assets were frozen. Specter said this was an example of a “vendetta being carried out.”

Specter explained the importance of full disclosure between attorneys and their clients. Specter said that if the client did not feel comfortable telling his attorney everything, the attorney would not be able to sufficiently represent his client and the client would not get the full value of his attorney. Specter also emphasized that attorney-client privileges ensure fair trials and the government wins when justice is done.