Judge: Ex-Bush lawyer can be sued over torture
- "Like any other government official, government lawyers are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct," U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said.
- The ruling is unique - the first to hold any administration official potentially liable for alleged mistreatment of terrorist suspects.
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Ken Mitchell
A prisoner who says he was tortured while being held for nearly four years as a suspected terrorist can sue former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo for coming up with the legal theories that justified his alleged treatment, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Friday (June 12).
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White's decision marks the first time a government lawyer has been held potentially responsible for the abuse of detainees.
"Like any other government official, government lawyers are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct," White said in refusing to dismiss Jose Padilla's lawsuit against Yoo.
If Padilla, now serving a 17-year prison sentence on terrorism charges, can prove his allegations, he can show that Yoo "set in motion a series of events that resulted in the deprivation of Padilla's constitutional rights," White said.
Related:
The Case for Disbarment of Lawyers Who Facilitated Torture Grows, Kevin Zeese, Common Dreams
Lawyers were the lynchpin if they had given real legal advice: torture is illegal under domestic and international law; there would have been no torture program.
