Gonzales' Resignation Is Good for the American People and the Bush Administration, Says Pitt Law Professor

PITTSBURGH-John Burkoff, professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, says that Alberto Gonzales' resignation today as U.S. Attorney General is a relief. "His credibility was in tatters, in both the legal and political communities in this country," said Burkoff. "Gonzales was careless to the point of irresponsibility about Americans' civil rights and liberties.

"Whatever the bottom-line truth of the many and varied controversies at the Justice Department, Gonzales was no longer effective and his resignation is not only good for the American people, it is good for the Bush Administration."

An author, teacher, public speaker, and lawyer, Burkoff has published 11 books and more than 50 articles in the areas of criminal justice, human rights, and legal ethics.

He is a nationally recognized expert on legal ethics and often serves as an expert witness or consultant. He served as the reporter for the American Bar Association's third edition revisions of the national Prosecution and Defense Function Standards, the ethical standards for the criminal bar, and was the chair of the American Bar Association Task Force that revised the professional standards for criminal trial judges.

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8/27/07/tmw