Witness Names to Be Withheld From Guantanamo Detainee

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: New York Times, Page One

By WILLIAM GLABERSON
Published: December 1, 2007

Defense lawyers preparing for the war crimes trial of a 21-year-old Guantánamo detainee have been ordered by a military judge not to tell their client — or anyone else — the identity of witnesses against him, newly released documents show. The case of the detainee, Omar Ahmed Khadr, is being closely watched because it may be the first Guantánamo prosecution to go to trial, perhaps as soon as May.

Defense lawyers say military prosecutors have sought similar orders to keep the names of witnesses secret in other military commission cases, which have been a centerpiece of the Bush administration’s policies for detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Some legal experts and defense lawyers said the judge’s order, issued on Oct. 15 without public disclosure, underscored the gap between military commission procedures and traditional American rules that the accused has a right to a public trial and to confront the witnesses against him.

Defense lawyers say the order would hamper their ability to build an adequate defense because they cannot ask their client or anyone else about prosecution witnesses, making it difficult to test the veracity of testimony.

The order, the documents show, followed a request by military prosecutors who said they feared terrorist retaliation against witnesses who appeared at Guantánamo proceedings....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/us/nationalspecial3/01gitmo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all

[Xipe Totec]

1. I can't decide whether we're living in an Orwell, or a Kafka novel

but we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Kansas is looking a lot like East Germany

awful
shameful

[ck4829]

2. Defense lawyers should respond by saying names of witnesses for the defense should be withheld too

Because you know what the Bush Administration does to people who oppose it, and if you don't know, then just ask Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson.

[Solly Mack]

3. and the band played on

[gratuitous]

5. I share some outdated language from a quaint old document

Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

____________________________

I don't see any exceptions to "all criminal prosecutions." And the right to be confronted with the witnesses seems pretty absolute, too. But in Bush's America, where our governmental officials (from judges right down to the lowliest buck private in the military) are all pee-their-pants scared of, well, everything, the Sixth Amendment no longer applies.

What a shame our country has become.

[kimmylavin]

6. That is quaint.

But we're in George Bush's Amerika now, gratuitous.

Those Founding Fathers?
About the only real contribution they made was some obscure reference to a creator that insured America would be a Christian nation. :sarcasm:

[Warren Stupidity]

7. Sixth Amendment? What's that?

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

And for those who will claim that this only applies to 'citizens' or 'us persons' or other such nonsense: the wording in the constitution is pretty specific. When something applies to a specific subset of people, such as 'citizens' the document spells that out.

[mmonk]

8. People can acquiece to this unAmerican totalitarian future

or they can join Amnesty International, The Center for Constitutional Rights, and other organizations and stop watching the permanent end of due process and founding principles. The choice is yours. I view these NGO's as democracy's only chance unless more democrats become democrats again instead of prostitutes to the same darkness as their protected counterparts, the republicans.

[struggle4progress]

9. Great! If we ever start sending neo-cons to Guantanamo for trying

to destroy the United States, we won't have to tell them who the witnesses against them are

[cal04]

10. Trial Witnesses Kept Secret at Gitmo

Source: Associated Press

A U.S. military judge has ordered attorneys for a Guantanamo detainee accused of killing a U.S. soldier not to reveal the identities of trial witnesses to anybody, including their Canadian-born client, according to recently released documents.

The ruling was issued in the case of Omar Khadr, 21, which could become the first to go to trial at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base in southeast Cuba as soon as the spring.

The law authorizing the first American war-crimes tribunals since the World War II era allows the use of classified evidence, and some parts of trials are expected to take place in closed courtrooms.

But Khadr's lead attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, protested the order against revealing witnesses' identities, saying it will make it harder to investigate their claims and force him to keep secrets from his client.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071202/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/guantanamo_witnesses_2

[HuffleClaw]

11. using TERRA! to casually toss away a basic tenet of jursiprudence?

how very typical of this administration and of course a simple admission that this will be little more than a show trial with a predetermined conclusion. Canada's price for not joining the 'coalition of the coerced'.

[Robbien]

12. Attorneys for Guantanamo detainee ordered to keep witnesses secret from client

Source: AP

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A U.S. military judge has ordered attorneys for a Canadian-born Guantanamo detainee accused of killing a U.S. soldier not to

The law authorizing the first American war-crimes tribunals since the World War II-era allows the use of classified evidence, and some parts of trials are expected to take place in closed courtrooms.

But Khadr's lead attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, protested the order against revealing witnesses' identities, saying it will make it harder to investigate their claims and force him to keep secrets from his client.
«It interferes with defense counsels' ability to form a relationship of trust and confidence with the accused,» Kuebler wrote to the judge, according to documents released by the Pentagon this week.

The judge, Army Col. Peter Brownback, issued the order Oct. 15 following a request by military prosecutors who argued witnesses should be protected from possible terrorist retaliation.

Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/attorneys-for-guantanamo-detainee-ordered-r327373.htm

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Here's a little detail the military prosecutors should review:

Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

I know it's 18th-century English, but it seems pretty plain to me.

[HuffleClaw]

14. sounds to me like an admission that the 'witnesses' are lacking credibility

wrapped in a 'TERRA' excuse, like so much else that the government tries to hide.

'hmmm. this might be embarrassing to the administration so its suddenly a 'state secret'