[Peace-discuss] Obama DOJ defends torture in court

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Bush-Appointed Judge Rules Yoo Can be Sued for Torture
	Sunday, June 14, 2009

John Yoo, the former Justice Department lawyer who took a leading role in 
crafting the Bush administration’s legal rationale for torturing terrorism 
suspects, can be sued in federal court for his actions, according to a 
Republican-appointed judge.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, chosen for the federal bench by President 
George W. Bush, ruled on Friday that a lawsuit filed by José Padilla can proceed 
in federal court. Padilla was detained for more than three years and allegedly 
tortured for being part of a plot to detonate a “dirty bomb” in the U.S. He was 
later convicted on different charges stemming from a conspiracy to help finance 
Islamic extremist groups.

Marking the first time a government lawyer has been held potentially responsible 
for the abuse of detainees, White’s ruling stated that “government lawyers are 
responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct.” White rejected 
arguments by the Obama administration that the courts had no power to scrutinize 
high-level government decision-making, especially in wartime. The Justice 
Department is expected to appeal the ruling.

Yoo, now a University of California Berkeley law professor, wrote numerous legal 
memos to justify the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation methods on al-Qaeda 
members and others detained by the U.S. government as part of its “war on terror.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff

http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Bush_Appointed_Judge_Rules_Yoo_Can_be_Sued_for_Torture_90614