High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
Eagle View Capital Strategies
Grassroots Civic Action Is Best Hope To Correct Federal ProsecutionAbuses, Says Author Harvey Silverglate In DC Radio Interview Jan. 28
Washington, DC (Jan. 28, 2009) Informed and pro-active citizens are the nations best hope to correctincreasing abuses of power by federal prosecutors, according to a radio interview today by HarveySilverglate,
author of the pioneering new book
Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent
.
Silverglate spoke live on the
DC Update
edition of
My Technology Lawyer Radio,
which canbe heard nationwide
via its archives atwww.MyTechnologyLawyer.com/update.
Silverglate, a Boston-based litigator for 42 years, showed how the federal executive branch abuses powervia selective prosecution under hard-to-understand statutes. The book is winning praise from expertsacross the political spectrum. Show co-host Andrew Kreig told listeners that it deserves the attention of anyone in the country worried that loss of constitutional rights affects politics and business.Silverglate explained the books title thus: The average professional is unaware that he or she has likelycommitted several federal crimes each day. Why unaware? Modern federal criminal laws have explodedin number, and become impossibly broad and vague.In gripping detail, his book shows unfair prosecutions in different fields affecting ordinary people, as wellas Martha Stewart-level celebrities. In congressional testimony last fall on the problem, Silverglate said:I was readily able, from my own litigation experience as well as from research done on othercases, to pinpoint myriad inappropriate prosecutions of many an unwary innocent citizen in themedical community, the medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, investmenthouses, bankers, lawyers, accountants and auditors, academics, artists, newspaper reporters,merchants, as well as public officials.Wont judges and defense attorneys protect defendants from unfair treatment? Silverglate responded tothe question on todays show from co-host Scott Draughon by saying that too many judges andprosecutors began their careers in a culture that assumes that those who are accused must be guilty. So,Silverglate said, 95% of defendants then plead guilty, in part because so many defense attorneys areformer prosecutors accustomed to processing clients through the system rather than fighting for them.His advice for defendants seeking the right attorney? He suggests seeking help from attorneys active incivic groups compatible with the defendants perspectives, not simply experienced courthouse players.
Add a Comment