Cyrus Dugger

Bush Official Apologizes for Slap at Guantanamo Detainees’ Lawyers

As well he should...

Bush Official Apologizes for Slap at Guantanamo Detainees' Lawyers Mary Pat Gallagher, New Jersey Law Journal, January 18, 2007

A U.S. Department of Defense lawyer apologized Wednesday for his broadcast comments suggesting that corporations boycott law firms that represent detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

In a letter to The Washington Post, Charles Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said the comments, made in a Jan. 11 radio interview, "do not reflect my core beliefs." Stimson said "our justice system requires vigorous representation," citing his own his experience in the Navy JAG Corps defending unpopular clients.

His apology came two days after the Pentagon disavowed his statements, saying they did not represent Defense Department views.

The remarks had touched off a salvo of criticism. More than 145 law professors and deans issued a Jan. 15 statement calling the remarks "contrary to the basic tenets of American law" and asking the Bush administration to repudiate them.

Law students are taught "that lawyers have a professional obligation to ensure that even the most despised and unpopular individuals and groups receive zealous and effective legal representation," the letter states. "At this moment in time when our courts have endorsed the right of the Guantánamo detainees to be heard in courts of law, it is critical that qualified lawyers provide effective representation to these individuals." (keep reading)

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