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Stewart, The Law And The Media You did the crime, now do the time and shut up I drive in to work early in the morning, so early, in fact, that the local AM radio stations have not yet boosted to daytime power, and I can't receive them for much of my drive in from the beach. As a result, I frequently amuse myself by listening to NPR. This morning's big story was yesterday's conviction of leftist lawyer Lynne Stewart. The way the story was presented tells a lot. Stewart was described as a radical lawyer whose conviction was the result of her 1990s representation of Sheikh Abdul Rahman, who was described as "the blind sheikh." That's not quite right NPR - on several levels. She was not convicted as a result of representation Rahman in the 90s, and his description as "the blind sheikh" comes up a little short. He was convicted of plotting to blow up various New York City landmarks. And Stewart was convicted of relaying information to the Sheikh from his supporters outside prison, and releasing information to the press about his views on Middle Eastern topics. According to the mainstream press, the conviction has leftist activists and lawyers all aflutter. They are saying this case stifles a lawyer's ability to represent her client. No it doesn't. Federal prison rules prevent anyone, lawyers included, from sneaking messages to prisoners from the criminal's former criminal associate. As a first-year lawyer back in the 70s, even I knew that. What Lynne Stewart did was clearly wrong by long established standards. I also fail to see how sneaking messages to the Sheikh had anything to do with her representation of him on appeal, where the only legal issues are mistakes and incorrect interpretations of the law by the trial judge. Stewart, of course, continues to rant in her tired old communist-inspired 60s language, according to the Chicago Tribune: "I see myself as being a symbol of what people rail against when they say our civil liberties are eroded," she said to a cluster of her supporters outside of the federal district courthouse. "I hope this will be a wake-up call to all the citizens of this country, that you can't lock up the lawyers, you can't tell the lawyers how to do their jobs." No, Ms. Stewart, what you did was not right. It's improper for an attorney help a federal prisoner communicate with his outside associates. Any lawyer knows that. Update - New Sisyphus has details of just what Stewart did - and it's far from simply representing a client.
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