The Independent Counsel Act was a disastrous mistake and should be repealed, says a constitutional law expert who will speak at UC Davis Thursday, April 2. Cass R. Sunstein, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, will present a lecture entitled "Should America Have Independent Prosecutors?: Reflections on Kenneth Starr, President Clinton and Related Issues." The ninth anniversary Edward L. Barrett Jr. Lectureship on Constitutional Law is free and open to the public. Sunstein's presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Moot Court Room of King Hall. "The act creates incentives toward zealous and inappropriate prosecutorial behavior," says Sunstein. "It also promotes the 'tabloid mentality‚' and puts bad incentives on members of the opposing party. "These points are connected with the Constitution's original goal of creating a deliberative democracy. There are other and far better ways of handling the problem of high-level corruption and crime." A former attorney-adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice, Sunstein has been involved in law reform and constitution-making efforts in China, Israel, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland. He is the author of several books including "The Partial Constitution," "Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech" and "Legal Reasoning and Political Conflict." He is co-editor of "Constitutional Law." The Barrett lectureship was established in 1986 to mark the UC Davis law school's 20th anniversary and the retirement of its founding dean, a constitutional law scholar.