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Ethics of Undercover Operations

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Ethical Problems Involved in Undercover Operations
Against Lawyers-The Congressional Testimony of
Monroe Freedman
I. Written Testimony of Professor Monroe H. Freedman
Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Law
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Regarding S. 804-Undercover Operations Act
May 16, 1984
Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for inviting me to testify regarding S. 804-The Undercover Operations Act. I have been asked to provide relevant biographical information and have done so in a footnote.'
My principal concern with S. 804 relates to undercover operations directed against corruption in the administration of justice. I do not mean that such investigations necessarily raise more serious problems than those directed against, say, political organizations, religious groups, or news agencies; indeed, some of my suggestions may be applicable to those areas as well. As one who has a particular interest in the professional responsibilities of lawyers and judges, however, I believe that
I can be most useful to the Committee by focusing on that area.
A. The Special Need For Undercover Operations against Lawyers and Judges

There is surely no need to belabor the importance of integrity in the administration of justice, or the necessity to pursue any corruption vigorously. At the same time, we must recognize that undercover operations directed against lawyers and judges, if inadequately controlled, could have an even more severe impact on the administration of justice than whatever corruption exists.
1 . Monroe H. Freedman is Professor of Law and former Dean of Hofstra
University Law School. He has testified on several occasions before the Judiciary Committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, and has qualified as an expert witness on lawyers' ethics in federal and state proceedings,

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