On the eve of the seventh anniversary of 9/11, SW hosted a National Lawyers Guild Public Forum on government repression since 9/11.  The Public Forum drew a huge turnout - including concerned citizens, local civil rights attorneys, several members of the National Lawyers Guild, representatives for the Center for Constitutional Right (CCR), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as a local television reporter from KWBU-TV, Channel 34.

Jim Lafferty, executive director of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, introduced the panel of speakers and set the tone for the forum:  “The USA PATRIOT Act, and the rest of the legislation and executive orders post-9/11 were not intended to make Americans safe from terrorism.  They were designed to make those that run this country safe from ‘We the People’ when we want to take to the streets to protest their wars and PATRIOT Act and FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) violations.”

The panel included Stacy Tolchin, an immigrant rights attorney; Ahilan Arulanantham, director of Immigrants Rights and National Security for the ACLU of Southern California; and Vince Warren, executive director of the CCR, which is based in New York.

Tolchin talked about the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and across the country.  She praised the successful efforts of the attorneys and concerned citizens based here in LA who are able to advocate and secure basic rights for immigrants arrested and threatened with deportation.  She encouraged the LA-based advocates and attorneys to reach out to other communities around the country who have not been as successful.

Arulanantham discussed the work on which he and Tolchin collaborated to support immigrants who have been subjected to ICE raids.  He added that after 9/11, the environment Americans live in has changed with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.  He discussed international issues including the problematic term “refugee” as defined by the United Nations.  The ACLU is also working with the CCR to assist Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Warren praised both Tolchin and Arulanantham for their work to uphold citizens’ rights and to protect immigrants’ rights.  Warren, who represented the Guantanamo detainees in the U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down this June in Boumediene v. Bush, discussed the inadequacy of the Combatant Status Review Tribunals previously conducted in lieu of habeas corpus hearings.

Warren, along with many other advocates of the detainees, successfully presented the detainees’ case before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Guantanamo detainees are entitled to habeas corpus hearings as a result.

Warren said the next phase of representing the detainees in federal court will begin soon.  The biggest challenge the attorneys face is crafting a remedy for the detainees.  Warren’s passion for representing the Guantanamo detainees was evident.  He gave aspiring attorneys advice:  ”Be aggressive, and be a mouthpiece for your clients.”

When asked what percentage of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay were there for a legitimate reason, Warren responded with statistics.  Seton Hall University conducted an extensive study on the detainees and found that 92 percent of the detainees were there without a justifiable reason.  Since the Supreme Court ruling this past year, 246 of the original 775 detainees remain, and most were released without charge.  Of the remaining detainees, many will be cleared for release as well.  Warren said that of those still being held, the U.S. government will most likely put around 60 on trial.

Reflecting on the event, Rebecca Thornton, co-president of the NLG’s Los Angeles Chapter, said, “In this era of constant erosion of civil liberties in the name of security, it was inspiring to hear from lawyers of the National Lawyers Guild, ACLU and CCR who are fighting to restore constitutional rights on behalf of the most vulnerable people.  Without their commitment and passion, our treasured and fundamental principles of free speech, habeas corpus, due process and fair trial, among others, would be in even greater jeopardy.  Many thanks to the Southwestern Law School Chapter of the NLG for hosting this illuminating and insightful event.”

To become a member of the Southwestern Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, email swlaw.nlg@gmail.com.  For more information about the National Lawyers Guild, visit www.nlg.org.

Written by Barbara Rohr, 3L