State Bar Complaints Filed Against “Torture Memo” Lawyers

VELVETREVOLUTION.US : The DisbarTortureLawyers Campaign

On Monday, May 18, 2009, a broad coalition of organizations (Velvet Revolution.US), filed disciplinary complaints with state bar licensing boards against John Yoo, Jay Bybee, Stephen Bradbury, Alberto Gonzales, John Ashcroft, Michael Chertoff, Alice Fisher, William Haynes II, Douglas Feith, Michael Mukasey, Timothy Flanigan, and David Addington for advocating the torture of detainees during the Bush Administration.

These detailed complaints, with over 500 pages of supporting exhibits, have been filed with the state bars in the District of Columbia, New York, California, Texas and Pennsylvania, and they seek disciplinary action and disbarment. Copies of the complaints and exhibits are available here, together with links to the released torture memos:

The Released Torture Memos

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/olc/index.html
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/torturefoia.html
http://www.propublica.org/special/missing-memos.

FINDLAW: Daily Opinion Summaries for U.S. Supreme Court – 5/18/09

CIVIL PROCEDURE, CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, No. 07-1015
In an action alleging that Plaintiff, who was arrested on suspicion of September-11th terrorist activity, was unconstitutionally detained, the denial of the government’s motion to dismiss is reversed and remanded where the complaint failed to plead sufficient facts to state a claim for purposeful and unlawful discrimination, as it did not show that the government policy under which Plaintiff was detained was based on discriminatory factors.

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW

AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, No. 07-543
In a Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) challenge to Defendant’s pension calculation system, summary judgment for Plaintiff is reversed where an employer does not necessarily violate the PDA when it pays pension benefits calculated in part under an accrual rule, applied only pre-PDA, that gave less retirement credit for pregnancy than for medical leave generally. Because the pension payments accord with a bona fide seniority system’s terms, they are insulated from challenge under Title VII section 703(h).