Effective representation impossible under proposed order restricting attorney access to Guantanamo detainees

NYC Bar Association writes to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urging immediate

withdrawal of proposed rules

 ( New York, April 27, 2007) The Justice Department’s proposal to limit attorney access to Guantanamo detainees strikes another blow against justice and fairness and must be withdrawn, according to a letter by the New York City Bar Association. The letter, written by Association President Barry Kamins, was sent to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today. It explains how the proposed rules which would limit the number of attorney visits with detainees to three, restrict communications and terminate “next friend” actions would otherwise make effective representation virtually impossible. The Association also questions the need for such drastic measures when not one infraction of the current rules has been reported.

“At the heart of the attorney-client relationship is a measure of trust. This trust is unattainable when access is denied, thereby depriving counsel of the ability to meet the standards that the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct demand,” says Kamins. The letter explains that the proposed constraints would prohibit a trusting client-attorney relationship under any circumstance, let alone with clients who have been detained incommunicado for years and subjected to coercive interrogation methods.

The Association finds it incredulous that the government has attempted to blame attorneys for the hunger strikes and unrest at Guantanamo. “Blaming counsel is an attempt by the Government to evade its responsibility for creating conditions where detainees have been held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time with little hope for a fair hearing or ever seeing family again. The unrest is a direct result of these onerous conditions. Blaming counsel is a continuation of a disreputable and unwarranted smear campaign designed to undermine the effectiveness of counsel and must be stopped,” says Kamins.

Ultimately the Association is concerned that “ Guantanamo has developed into a symbol of abuse, mistreatment, and injustice in the eyes of the entire world. The practices tolerated there have done incalculable damage to the reputation of the United States as an advocate of justice and the rule of law. That this proposal could be prepared and issued with the authority of the Department of Justice points to a failure in judgment within that once highly respected institution.”

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.