Legal Commentary

A Proud Terrorist Lawyer

By Jeralyn

Nancy Hollander has an oped in the New York Times: A Terrorist Lawyer, And Proud of It.

I hope you will read the whole thing. Here's a snippet:

Contrary to recent attacks by those who claim to be supporters of American justice, my defense of people accused of serious and sometimes horrific crimes is not an endorsement of those crimes. Rather, it is a testament to the strength of my belief in, and commitment to, the American system of justice.

Why? Because in my defense of every client, I am defending the United States Constitution and the laws and treaties to which it is bound, and I am defending the rule of law. If I am a terrorist lawyer, I also am a rule-of-law lawyer, a constitutional lawyer and a treaty lawyer.

Criminal defense lawyers represent even those considered by society to be the lowest among us. How do we do it? As I used to answer when asked about why I would represent Timothy McVeigh, "with pride and dedication." As Nancy says:[More..]

I am proud to have stood by their sides because they were entitled to have at least one person stand firm in their defense and in the defense of the rule of law against a powerful adversary — the awesome power of my own government. That is what the U.S. Constitution requires me to do and what our system of justice needs me to do if it is to maintain its strength for all of us.

On the consequences of using the inadequate military commissions proceedings to try accused terrorists:

Elected officials in the United States continue to plan for trials by military commissions and even talk of permanently detaining some people without ever determining their guilt or innocence. At least for now, this does not apply to U.S. citizens. But that could change. Once we begin compromising our legal principles and values, it is difficult to predict how much further those principles and values will erode.

The critical point is that this is not American justice. The U.S. Constitution provides that all citizens of the United States and all non-citizens who come to our shores, legally or illegally, or who are accused of violating the long arm of our anti-terrorism statutes abroad, will be safe here from arbitrary treatment.

Today it is terrorists. Tomorrow it could be you.

Those who are shouting the loudest today to limit the rights and protections available to my clients include some who may find themselves on the other side of the law in the future.

Whom will they call should the day come when they are charged with crimes as a result of lying to get the United States into war in Iraq, or permitting prisoners to be tortured, or illegally wiretapping our citizenry?

They will call criminal defense lawyers. What a shame for them if we are no longer able to help them, because our justice system has become weakened and eroded due to the politics of fear.

Our criminal justice system is not without flaws, but it is the best one out there. We should embrace it, not abandon it, when it comes to the the most heinous cases. Only by providing a fair trial with all the protections allowed for the accused, can we trust in the integrity of the verdict that is handed down.

Major props to Nancy for standing up for the principles to which tens of thousands of criminal defense lawyers have dedicated themselves and their careers.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 26, 2010 (boomark / email).