Posted on 03/21/2010 11:32:46 AM PDT by rhema
One of the American legal profession's most venerable traditions is work performed "pro bono publico" -- free of charge to promote the public good.
But today's hottest pro bono gig is raising eyebrows. It's seeking freedom for suspected enemy combatants and terrorists detained by the U.S. government at Guantanamo Bay. The lawyers who represent these detainees are from America's most prestigious firms. They may contribute hundreds of hours and make five or more trips to Cuba, indirectly subsidized by fat fees from Fortune 500 clients.
Legal giant Mayer Brown is typical. Its website boasts that it considers its "social justice" efforts at Guantanamo to be among "our 'cutting edge' work." Powerhouse Twin Cities firms -- Fredrikson & Byron and the New York office of Minnesota megafirm Dorsey & Whitney -- have also grabbed a piece of the action.
The organization behind the Gitmo crusade is the Washington-based Center for Constitutional Rights. CCR has "been responsible for organizing and coordinating more than 500 pro bono lawyers across the country ... to represent the men at Guantanamo," according to its website.
Some Americans applaud the Guantanamo lawyers, insisting that they are acting in the best tradition of the bar by zealously representing "unpopular" clients. But if you peek behind the PR curtain, you'll see a different dynamic.
Consider, for example, that a substantial number -- one in five -- of former Gitmo detainees return or are suspected of returning to terrorism, according to the Pentagon. In Yemen, recently released Gitmo detainees are leading "Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" -- a menacing new terrorist network that claims to have orchestrated the abortive Christmas Day "underwear" bombing of Northwest Flight 253 and has promised bloody attacks in the future.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Attorneys fight to free terrorists while they fight to enslave and imprison American citizens.
YEP...an attorney who was a college classmate of my husband’s did this very thing....I should go look for his info again....traitor! He was at our wedding!
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