The trial of New York lawyer Lynne Stewart on terrorism charges has been set for October, 2003.

Stewart represents the militant and blind Islamic cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman convicted of conspiracy in connection with plans to bomb NYC landmarks. She is charged with helping him communicate with the Egyptian-based Islamic Group from prison. The evidence against her is her jailhouse and telephone conversations with her client, secretly recorded by the Government. Here are more details of her case.

Now this is chilling: "Prosecutors said during a hearing on Thursday that they had evidence gathered from 97,000 phone-line intercepts."

Those 97,000 phone calls can't be solely those of Lynne Stewart--or her client. How many other inmates' legitimate and privileged conversations with their attorneys did the Government intercept and listen to?

On October 31, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft issued an emergency regulation, 66 Fed. Reg. 55062, allowing the monitoring of attorney-client conversations when the Attorney General has "reasonable suspicion" to "believe that a particular inmate may use communications with attorneys or their agents to further or facilitate acts of violence or terrorism." The order recognizes that these communications would "traditionally be covered by the attorney-client privilege." 28 C.F.R. § 501.3(d).

Here are the reasons why defense lawyers and others consider this regulation to be unconstitutional and ethically improper.