ABA to Vote on Tribunals
PHILADELPHIA — The Justice Department asked the American Bar Assn. to delay taking a stand on the use of military tribunals for terrorism trials until the government finalizes rules governing such panels, the legal group said Sunday.
However, the bar association’s policy-making body still was expected to vote as early as today on a proposal recommending adoption of regulations aimed at ensuring the fairness of such proceedings, which could be held in private and provide fewer rights to defendants.
President Bush’s order authorizing the use of military tribunals has been widely criticized by a number of lawyers speaking at panels during the ABA’s midyear meeting here.
Robert Clifford, a Chicago lawyer who heads the ABA Task Force on Terrorism, said he could only speculate that the Bush administration would not be happy with the ABA advocating a role for Congress and the judiciary in the operation of the military tribunals. While the ABA has no enforcement power, the views of its 400,000 members can be influential.
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