According to the New York Times, Chapman University School of Law visiting professor John Yoo – who is a law professor at U.C. Berkeley – is not likely to face criminal prosecution but may face disbarment for his role in various memos drafted for the Bush administration that condoned the use of torture.
The news of possible disciplinary action came from an inquiry by the Office of Professional Responsibility within the Justice Department that found that those who wrote the memos had serious lapses of judgment, the NY Times reported.
Chapman University professor of law Lawrence Rosenthal, in an opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times, said the memos “reflect a kind of tunnel vision that I would not tolerate in a student's work and certainly not in the work of an attorney for our government.”
Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh called one of the memos released earlier "perhaps the most clearly erroneous legal opinion I have ever read."
The conclusions of the 220-page draft report, however, are not final and have not yet been approved by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., according to the NY Times.
The other person that could face discipline is Yoo’s former boss Jay S. Bybee, who is now a federal appeals court judge in Nevada.
Yoo, Bybee and several other former Bush administration officials faced a firing squad of scrutiny these past couple of weeks, first with talk of Spain opening a criminal investigation for their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens who were held at Gitmo, then with the release of several more Bush administration memos, and finally with Spain choosing to proceed with its investigation.
But even with the critical public eye turned on him, Yoo still agreed to participate in a debate at Chapman University several weeks ago where he was supported by Chapman Law dean John Eastman as he defended his work during the Bush era
Read what those behind the Orange Curtain (in historically conservative Orange County, Calif.,) had to say in the comments section of this Orange County Register blog post.
For another take on the issue, visit the Fire John Yoo website, which has been very critical, to say the least, of Yoo and his former boss. You may also want to read The Huffington Post, which gave Yoo an entry in its Dickipedia.
By "disbared" do you mean Yoo might be forced to put clothes on? Talk about torture...
BTW, law profs need not be admitted to the bar (and many are not), so yes, a disbarred attorney can certainly work for a law school.
Posted by: Anon | May 07, 2009 at 02:36 AM
Anon,
You're right that lots of professors teach without being admitted to the bar. That was my idea of a joke, although I admit it's not a funny one. Wednesdays are an off day for me, you know?
Posted by: Cynthia | May 07, 2009 at 10:34 AM
We all belong to a respectable society and it is our sole responsibility to maintain the rules and regulations made by the society in which we live. A lawyer is a person who helps us in maintaining the law of conduct in the society itself.
Angel Thomas
Posted by: attorney | June 17, 2009 at 11:28 PM