Editorial: Independent counsel statute on its last legs

The independent counsel statute has come under fire from nearly every quarter in the past decade. Republicans decried it when it was used against Reagan officials and now Democrats lament the law's use against President Clinton and members of his administration. The law essentially creates prosecutorial gods, with nominal checks on how they operate. Kenneth Starr's obsession is but one example of how independent counsels will launch investigations with almost no end in sight.

It's probably not easy for the ABA to call for the law to be scrapped, especially since the statute had such noble intentions. And while the lawyers group is at least a decade behind the curve on this issue, they have done the right thing in calling for the demise of this law gone awry.

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