Dunn, Four Others Charged in Hewlett Surveillance Case

Former Hewlett-Packard Board Chairman Patricia Dunn and four others will be charged with four felony offenses under California statutes for their roles in the Hewlett-Packard Co. spying operation that surfaced last month. (Lawrence Jackson - AP)

Congress adjourned last Friday without passing pending legislation to specifically make phone pretexting a crime. Jennifer S. Granick, a cyber law professor at Stanford Law School, said that the evidence released so far suggests that Dunn was aware of the methods used to obtain phone records.

"Generally, you don't have to know that something is against the law in order to be committing an offense," said Granick, who was a criminal defense lawyer in California for nine years. "Ignorance of the law is no defense."

Robert Weisberg, a Stanford University law professor, said the statutes Lockyer is citing are highly technical and do not specifically address or describe phone pretexting: "I think it's kind of dicey whether you can really apply the state laws to [Dunn]."

A California law has since been passed that specifically outlaws phone pretexting, he added, but it is not retroactive.

Friends said Dunn has been battling three forms of cancer since 2001 and has channeled some of her energy into charity and cancer-fighting work. She stepped down as chief executive of Barclays Global Investors in 2002 after the breast cancer and melanoma were diagnosed.

"She has become a real role model to women going through cancer," said Mary Bitterman, who joined the Barclays Global board of directors shortly before Dunn stepped down. Dunn spoke of her involvement with the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, a program that provides cancer care to poor patients, she said.

Friends said Dunn has long maintained a concern for rules and ethics, making her indictment ironic to many who worked with her, first at Wells Fargo and then Barclays Global after the firms merged.

"She's so ethical. The fact that this happened is beyond belief," said Rich Koppes, an attorney and former general counsel of the California Public Employees' Retirement System. He said Dunn was always concerned with and interested in good corporate governance. Some legal observers said they thought that Lockyer, who last year pulled out of the race for governor of California, was using the case to enhance his political career.

"I can't say this shouldn't be done," said Jamie Wareham, global chairman of litigation in the District office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker LLP, a Los Angeles-based law firm. But, he said, "I think the timing is outrageous."

Staff researchers Richard Drezen and Meg Smith contributed to this report.