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THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD OPPOSES THE CONFIRMATION OF MICHAEL MUKASEY AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 23, 2007THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD OPPOSES THE CONFIRMATION OF MICHAEL MUKASEY AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
Contact: Marjorie Cohn, President, marjorie@tjsl.edu, 619-374-6923
Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, director@nlg.org, 212-679-5100, ext. 11
The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings on Michael Mukasey's nomination for attorney general demonstrated he cannot be relied upon to function as an independent leader at the Department of Justice. Mukasey claims he doesn't know what water boarding is, so he can't say if it constitutes torture. Mukasey made the incredible claims that "we do not torture" and "I don't think people are mistreated" at Guantánamo.
The torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody is widely known. The newly leaked 2005 memos say the government is engaging in water boarding, head slapping and exposing people to frigid temperatures; the International Committee of the Red Cross said the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody is tantamount to torture, and the U.N. Human Rights Commission concluded that force feeding Guantánamo prisoners amounts to torture. Water boarding, or simulated drowning, has long been considered torture. Rear Adm. John Hutson (USN Ret.) testified at the confirmation hearing, "Other than, perhaps the rack and thumbscrews, water boarding is the most iconic example of torture in history. It was devised, I believe, in the Spanish inquisition. It has been repudiated for centuries."
Michael Mukasey cannot be counted on to independently investigate the crimes of the White House. He refused to acknowledge the unconstitutionality of the President violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. When asked about contempt charges against witnesses who refuse to respond to congressional subpoenas, Mukasey said he would refuse to follow the statute that requires a U.S. attorney to refer contempt citations to a grand jury.
The Senate should confirm Muksey only if he pledges to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration, as the Democratically-controlled Congress did in 1973 after Nixon nominated Elliot Richardson for attorney general. Richardson agreed, he was confirmed, and then appointed Archibald Cox as special prosecutor. Cox's investigations and summary dismissal resulted in impeachment of Richard Nixon in the House Judiciary Committee followed by Nixon's resignation. Congress should once again stand up to the President when he breaks the law.
Mukasey has indicated his opposition to the appointment of a special prosecutor. Unless he agrees to appoint one, the Senate should refuse to confirm him as attorney general of the United States.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL INDEPENDENT COUNSEL TO INVESTIGATE BUSH POLICIES THAT AMOUNT TO TORTURE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 9, 2007NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL INDEPENDENT COUNSEL TO INVESTIGATE BUSH POLICIES THAT AMOUNT TO TORTURE
Contact: Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, marjorie@tjsl.edu; 858-204-3565
Heidi Boghosian, NLG Executive Director, director@nlg.org; 212 679-5100 x.11
In February 2005, the Justice Department issued a secret opinion endorsing the harshest interrogation techniques the CIA has ever used, according to an October 4, 2007 report in the New York Times.
The National Lawyers Guild calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's authorization of aggressive interrogation techniques, including simulated drowning known as water boarding, exposing detainees to frigid temperatures, and head-slapping. While the Bush administration on Friday asserted that it did not approve torture techniques, and refused to make public classified Justice Department legal opinions, the New York Times reported that two secret Justice Department opinions in 2005 explicitly permitted the use of painful physical and psychological techniques. The authorized techniques amount to torture, and are unlawful in all circumstances, even in time of war. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provides: "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture." The Torture Convention is a treaty ratified by the United States and therefore part of U.S. law under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
Torture is a war crime. Those who commit or order torture can be convicted under the U.S. War Crimes Statute. Techniques that don't rise to the level of torture but constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment also violate U.S. law. Congress should provide for the appointment of a special independent counsel to fully investigate and prosecute all who are complicit in the torture and mistreatment of prisoners in U.S. custody.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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NLG and other Organizations Call on U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and U.N. Human Rights Committee to Launch
For Immediate Release, September 27, 2007Contact:
Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, 858-204-3565, libertad48 at san.rr.com
Heidi Boghosian, NLG Executive Director, 212-679-5100, ext. 11, director at nlg.org
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS CALL ON U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE AND U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TO LAUNCH FORMAL INVESTIGATION INTO CUBAN FIVE CASE
New York. The National Lawyers Guild and several legal and human rights organizations have called on the U.N. Human Rights Committee and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture to launch a formal investigation of the United States government’s continuing violation of human rights of five political prisoners known as the Cuban Five.
In a letter to the High Commissioner for Human Rights the groups noted that “The case of the Five continues to reveal a pattern of reliably attested violations of human rights, as reviewed and affirmed by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. In 2005 the Working Group criticized the treatment of the Cuban Five as arbitrary in nature and in contravention of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. There has been no meaningful progress in the intervening two years.”
The Five are Cuban Nationals who are being imprisoned without a fair trial or sufficient proof of culpability: Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez, Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, Ramon Labañino Salazar and Rene Gonzales Sehwerert. They were arrested in 1998 and charged with conspiracy to commit espionage and conspiracy to commit murder, among other lesser counts.
The ability of the Five to make an effective defense was compromised, if not eliminated, by the actions of the United States government. First, following their arrest, the Five were kept in solitary confinement for 17 months, during which limited communication with their attorneys and restricted access to evidence inhibited their ability to mount an adequate legal defense. Second, access to documents containing evidence for their defense was impaired. Finally, the climate of anti-Cuban bias and prejudice in Miami against the accused rendered it an unsuitable place for a trial in violation of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a party.
Guild President Marjorie Cohn said, "The treatment to which the Cuban Five have been subjected, especially being held incommunicado for 17 months awaiting trial, constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment which violates the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United States has ratified both treaties, which makes them part of U.S. law under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution."
Oral arguments in the appeal of the case of the Cuban Five were recently heard on August 20, 2007, in Atlanta, Georgia. The five Cuban nationals still remain under the same conditions and are each being held in different prisons throughout the country. Not only are they away from their family, which violates the sanctity of family, but two of the wives have repeatedly been denied visas to visit their husbands in the United States. These severe, prolonged systemic violations are in need of international attention, regardless of the outcome of the August 20 arguments.
According to Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild, “From arrest and conviction to imprisonment, treatment of the Cuban Five manifestly fails to meet standards enshrined in international law. The viability of a human rights legal framework rests on the demonstration of its effectiveness and impartiality, and it would be dealt a severe blow if these clear violations of norms of international law go unchallenged.”
Groups signing on to the letter are the American Association of Jurists, the Center for International Policy, Global Exchange, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and the National Organization of Legal Services Workers NOLSW/UAW Local 2320, AFL-CIO.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR RELEASE OF MYCHAL BELL, FOR ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE JENA 6 TO BE DROPPED, AND FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO JENA 6 ARRESTS AND PROSECUTIONS / NLG STATEMENT ON JENA 6
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 24, 2007Contact: Kerry McLean, kerrymclean at gmail.com
Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, 858-204-3565, libertad48 at san.rr.com
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR RELEASE OF MYCHAL BELL, FOR ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE JENA 6 TO BE DROPPED, AND FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO JENA 6 ARRESTS AND PROSECUTIONS
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls for the immediate release of Mychal Bell, one of the six high school students who have come to be known as the “Jena 6.” The Guild also calls for all charges against the Jena 6 to be dropped, and for the investigation and disbarment of Judge J.P. Mauffray and District Attorney Reed Walters.
Judge J.P. Mauffray and DA Reed Walters have engaged in a string of egregious actions, the most recent of which was the denial of bail for Bell on Friday. The NLG urges that: 1) The United States Department of Justice convene an immediate inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecutions of the Jena 6; 2) Judge Mauffray be recused from presiding over Bell’s juvenile court hearings or other proceedings; 3) The Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel investigate Reed Walters for unethical and possibly illegal conduct; 4) The Louisiana Judiciary Commission investigate Judge Mauffray for unethical conduct; and 5) The Jena school district superintendent be removed from office.
“Contrary to what Reed Walters and J.P. Mauffray may think, Jena is subject to the same Constitution that the rest of the United States is,” remarked Kerry McLean, member of the executive board of the NLG.
“There have been numerous, brazen violations of the constitutional rights of the Jena 6.” McLean continued, “In addition to the constitutional violations, Walters and Mauffray have breached the ethical requirements of their offices. They should be made to answer for all of this.”
"The double standard of justice in Jena, one for black students and another for whites, is emblematic of the racism that still permeates many towns throughout the South and the country as a whole. There must be an immediate and full investigation of judicial and prosecutorial malfeasance in Jena, Louisiana," said Marjorie Cohn, President of the NLG.
There is an unequal justice system in Jena, where blacks are routinely the victims of discriminatory and oppressive treatment by officials.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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NLG STATEMENT ON THE JENA 6:
The story of the Jena 6 began in September 2006 when, seeking shade from the sun, three black high school students sat under a big, leafy tree in their school yard where usually only white students sat. The next day, white students hung nooses on the branches of the tree, because the black students had dared to sit underneath the “white tree.” Hanging nooses, a reference to the brutal lynching of African Americans in previous years, has constituted hate crimes in North Carolina and Maryland. Even so, DA Reed Walters claimed that he could find no Louisiana law to punish the white students responsible. The white students who hung the nooses instead received a three-day, in-school suspension. Notably, the school principal had recommended that the white students be expelled, but the superintendent of the school district overruled that recommendation.
The entire black student body protested the fact that the white students that hung the nooses received only a three-day, in-school suspension by staging a peaceful sit-in under the same tree. The principal and school district superintendent convened a school assembly, and invited Walters to speak. Walters arrived with police officers, and stated that he could take away the black students’ lives with a stroke of his pen.
Walters not only failed to file criminal charges against the students who hung the nooses, he also failed to file charges against a white teen who pulled a shotgun on three black students in the parking lot of a convenience store in December 2006. In a startling twist, the three black teens were arrested and charged with aggravated battery and theft when, exercising their right to self-defense, they managed to take the weapon from the gunman.
In December, shortly before the schoolyard fight for which the Jena 6 were arrested, a white man, Justin Sloan, attacked Robert Bailey with a bottle at a party. Robert Bailey is, coincidentally, one of the Jena 6. DA Walters charged Sloan with simple battery and released Sloan on probation.
Yet in staggering contrast, after a schoolyard fight erupted later that December where a white student was beaten, DA Walters charged six black students with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The student who was beaten was released from the hospital after two hours, and attended a school function that same night. Walters eventually reduced the charges to aggravated battery for most of the boys because he would not be able satisfy in court the necessary legal elements for attempted murder. Bail for the Jena 6 ranged from $70,000 to $138,000. Most of the six boys remained in jail for months as their parents attempted to raise money for bail. Mychal Bell’s family was never able to raise the money for bail, and he has been in an adult jail since December 2006.
In addition to unequal treatment of blacks and whites under the law, DA Reed Walters has participated in decisions concerning the Jena 6 where there was a conflict of interest. The Jena 6 were immediately expelled from school after being arrested and charged. The six boys appealed their expulsion. The school district conducted an internal investigation regarding the Jena Six, but Walters would not allow the school board to review it before it voted to expel the six boys. Walters’ advice to the school board was likely a violation of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s rules regarding conflicts of interest.
Walters had charged Mychal Bell as an adult, even though Bell was a minor when the fight occurred. Judge Mauffray allowed the trial to proceed. An all-white jury, which included a family friend of the white student who was beaten, found Bell guilty. The Third Circuit vacated the conviction because Bell should not have been tried as an adult. DA Walters has vowed to appeal the Third Circuit’s ruling.
Since the Third Circuit vacated the conviction of Bell in September. Bell’s attorneys sought to have Bell released pending Walters’ appeal of the Third Circuit’s decision. Though Louisiana’s Code of Judicial Conduct requires a judge to “disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” Judge Mauffray, the same judge who presided over Mychal Bell’s trial in adult court, presided over Bell’s juvenile court bail hearing on Friday. Mauffray denied the request for bail.
At a separate hearing on Friday, a court denied Bell’s attorneys’ request to remove Mauffray from Bell’s case. Mauffray set an exceedingly high bail of $90,000 for Bell prior to his conviction. The day before Mauffray’s ruling, the case drew tens of thousands of protesters from all over the country to Jena to rally against the Jim Crow era practices.
"The double standard of justice in Jena, one for black students and another for whites, is emblematic of the racism that still permeates many towns throughout the South and the country as a whole. There must be an immediate and full investigation of judicial and prosecutorial malfeasance in Jena, Louisiana," said Marjorie Cohn, President of the NLG.
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LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS URGE REINSTATEMENT OF PROFESSOR ERWIN CHEMERINSKY AS DEAN OF UC IRVINE LAW SCHOOL
LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS URGE REINSTATEMENT OF PROFESSOR ERWIN CHEMERINSKY AS DEAN OF UC IRVINE LAW SCHOOL
Contacts:
*Marjorie Cohn, president, National Lawyers Guild, marjorie@tjsl.edu, (858) 204-3565
*Eileen Kaufman & Tayyab Mahmud, co-presidents, Society of American Law Teachers, eileenk@tourolaw.edu, (631)761-7125; Mahmud@seattleu.edu, (206) 398-4148
*Vincent Warren, executive director, Center for Constitutional Rights, vwarren@ccr-ny.org, 212-614-6468
One week after renowned legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky was offered the position of dean of the new law school at the University of California at Irvine, Chancellor Michael Drake withdrew the offer, informing Duke Law Professor Chemerinsky he had proved to be "too politically controversial."
Art. 9, § 9 of the California Constitution, which sets forth the powers and duties of the
Regents of the University of California, provides, "The university shall be entirely independent of all political or sectarian influence and kept free therefrom in the appointment of its regents and in the administration of its affairs."
Professor Chemerinsky is one of the most eminent law teachers and constitutional law scholars in the country. Author of a leading treatise on constitutional law, he has written four books and more than 100 law review articles. In 2005, he was named by Legal Affairs as one of "the top 20 legal thinkers in America." He has handled many cases in the appellate courts, including the Ninth and Fourth U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has testified many times before congressional and state legislative committees.
Professor Chemerinsky has represented Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA agent whose identity was revealed by members of the Bush administration; a Guantánamo detainee asserting his right to habeas corpus; a man sentenced to 50 years-to-life under California's three strikes law; and a person challenging the Texas Ten Commandments monument.
Professor Chemerinsky is devoted to public service as well as legal scholarship and education. He was elected by voters to be a Commissioner and chaired the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission; the new Charter was adopted by voters in 1999. He also spearheaded the Los Angeles Independent Analysis of the Board of Inquiry Report on the Rampart Police Scandal, Prepared at the Request of the Police Protective League, September 2000.
One of the "controversial" matters Chancellor Drake cited to Professor Chemerinsky was an August op-ed the professor wrote in the Los Angeles Times criticizing a proposed regulation by then-Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales to shorten the time death row inmates have to file habeas corpus petitions. In an op-ed in the Sep. 14 Times, Professor Chemerinsky explained, "There are more than 275 individuals on death row in California without lawyers for their post-convictions proceedings. The effect of the new rule would be that many individuals, including innocent ones, would not get the chance to have their cases reviewed in federal court."
Chancellor Drake's action, which sends a clear message to academics that they must avoid speaking out or writing about controversial issues, is a threat to academic freedom. As Professor Chemerinsky wrote, "Without academic freedom, the reality is that many faculty members would be chilled and timid in expressing their views, and the discussion that is essential for the advancement of thought would be lost."
The National Lawyers Guild, the Society of American Law Teachers, and the Center for Constitutional Rights oppose an ideological litmus test for academic appointments and abhor the firing of Professor Chemerinsky. They urge Chancellor Michael Drake to immediately reinstate Professor Erwin Chemerinsky as dean of the UC Irvine Law School.
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