A classified conflict of interest

Carol Rosenberg

Carol Rosenberg writes from Guantánamo that military commission prosecutors have moved to cite three civilian defense counsel for contempt for withdrawing from a case without the court's permission. The prosecutors also want Marine Brigadier General John G. Baker, who is the chief defense counsel and permitted the lawyers to withdraw, to testify about the matter, details of which remain classified.

David Luban writes here on Just Security about "The Guantánamo Ethics Mess." He writes:

The heart of the issue is whether a lawyer can be forced to continue a representation that no U.S. jurisdiction’s ethics rules permit. Hopefully, Judge Spath would agree that the answer is no. But then why not address the issue at Military Commission headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, not in Cuba?