"Cully" Stimson's nemesis draws nigh

Dean Harold Hongju Koh of Yale Law School has a long list of offices and awards including Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under Clinton / Human Rights Award of the Cuban-American Bar Association in 1994 / Human Rights Award of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association in 1992. He also testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to OPPOSE the appointment of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general of the United States, because of his alleged role in attempting to provide legal guidance to the U.S. military justifying abusive interrogation practices, including that the War on Terror "renders obsolete" and "renders quaint" aspects of the Geneva Convention (he supports the Red Sox which is apparently a basketball team ?). He and Dean Emily A. Spieler of Northeastern University School of Law have prepared and circulated a statement in response to the apalling views expressed by DOD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Detainee Affairs Charles "Cully" Stimson in a radio interview critizing top US law firms for providing pro bono representation to Guantanamo detainees and implying they were being paid by shady sources.

The complete statement and the signatories list, including over 130 Deans of US Law Schools and can be accessed here (Pdf Alert)

" ... we find Secretary Stimson’s statement to be contrary to basic tenets of American law."

"At this moment in time, when our courts have endorsed the right of the Guantanamo detainees to be heard in courts of law, it is critical that qualified lawyers provide effective representation to these individuals. By doing so, these lawyers protect not only the rights of the detainees, but also our shared constitutional principles. In a free and democratic society, government officials should not encourage intimidation of or retaliation against lawyers who are fulfilling their pro bono obligations.

We urge the Administration promptly and unequivocally to repudiate Secretary Stimson’s remarks."

"We urge" ... have these folks got no balls ? .....WE DEMAND these remarks are rejected and the GUY is given his lunch pail, pink slip, the boot ..whatever ... and there's a whole slew of fancy law firms where he won't find gainful employment.

3 words for Mr Koh - CALORIE CONTROLLED DIET