(2 of 2)
Prosecutorial tactics aside, there is the matter of proportion. The average convicted auto thief can usually expect to serve three years in jail. Even members of the Watergate burglary team who pleaded guilty face as much as a 2½-year minimum stretch behind bars. But thus far the heaviest sentence for those involved in the more direct abuse of the public trust has been Jeb Magruder's ten-month minimum term on a Pennsylvania prison farm. Justice Department officials argue that merely by acknowledging guilt the Watergate defendants pay a heavy human penalty in terms of shattered careers and families. Yet the car thief's future and family life is just as thoroughly devastated—and he still serves a longer term.
Rightly or wrongly, says Professor David Frohnmayer of the University of Oregon Law School, "a lot of people say that they think the high and mighty have not fallen as they should." That perception began with Spiro Agnew's jail-free plea last October on bribery and tax evasion charges. Says Boston Defense Lawyer Joe Balliro: "I'm constantly exposed to people now who say, in effect, 'Why can't you get me a deal like Agnew got?' " Such attitudes are a reminder of Felix Frankfurter's celebrated caveat: "Justice must satisfy the appearance of justice." For the special prosecutor's office, that may be as tough a problem as actually getting the big Watergate figures to court.