U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Southern District of Florida VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Ethics Counsel The Florida Bar 651 East Jefferson Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Facsimile: September 18, 2008 CONFIDENTIAL' Re: Request for Written Staff Opinion Dear Sir or Madam: I am an Assistant United States Attorney and a member in good standing of the Florida Bar. I am writing to request a written staff opinion on an issue related to contact with unrepresented parties. As part of my employment, I have investigated and presented for prosecution a case involving the sexual abuse of several young women who were teenagers at the time of the abuse. There is a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2255, that provides a civil cause of action for victims of the federal crimes that I investigated, which sets a minimum of $150,000 in damages. At the request of counsel for the putative defendant, the U.S. Attorney's Office entered into pre-indictment plea negotiations that resulted in the signing of a Non- Prosecution Agreement ("Agreement"). The Agreement called for the putative defendant to plead guilty to state criminal offenses that would result in the defendant's designation as a sex offender. The Agreement also sought to place the victims in the same position where they would have been if the defendant had been convicted of the federal offenses. Accordingly, the Agreement required the defendant to agree to waive challenges to liability and damages related to claims brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2255. In light of the large 'In addition to the general rules regarding confidentiality, this letter relates to a confidential Non-Prosecution Agreement, and, accordingly, I would ask that the information contained herein remain confidential. EFTA00014016