HARASSMENT BY THE U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
OF ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING GUANTANAMO DETAINEES
REQUIRES CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION

THE NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION APPEALS TO THE NEW CONGRESS

The New York City Bar Association today appealed to the new Congress in Washington, and the U.S. Department of Defense, to investigate “highly inappropriate comments” by the deputy assistant secretary of defense – Charles D. Stimson – who last Thursday in a radio interview urged corporate CEOs to end their attorney-client relationships with law firms he singled out by name as representing Guantanamo detainees.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that those detained at Guantanamo are entitled to counsel, and procedures have been established to facilitate that representation,” the Association wrote in its letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. “Indeed, while Mr. Stimson presumes that the detainees are all “terrorists,” the whole purpose of providing representation is to seek to establish a fair process for determining whether the detainees, who are currently being imprisoned indefinitely without charge, are in fact “terrorists” or innocent victims of false or mistaken information wrongfully detained without jurisdiction.

The president of the New York City Bar Association, Barry Kamins, also urged the chairs of the Armed Services Committees in both Houses of Congress to hold hearings on efforts by the Executive Branch, including those by Mr. Stimson, to harass and intimidate lawyers who are providing pro bono representation to detainees.

New York City Bar President Barry Kamins today contacted the Defense Department, the House of Representatives and the Senate to urge hearings into the matter. These letters are attached above.

About the Association
The New York City Bar Association (www.nycbar.org) was founded in 1870, and since then has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the profession, promoting reform of the law, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities.

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