Who represents the detained? Nobody...

[Duncan Frissell]

At 08:16 PM 10/15/01 -0700, Tim May wrote:
>On Monday, October 15, 2001, at 07:56 PM, Anonymous wrote:
>
>>You all, including Mr. May, missed the subtlety of the point that
>>due process has NOT been suspended in the case of these detainees.
>>
>>They HAVE representation, and I don't THINK the Bill
>>of Rights says anywhere that you get to see Mommy
>>if you're arrested, but that you can obtain
>>representation, you are not required to incriminate
>>yourself, and so forth.  In theory.
>
>Get a clue. The issue is not "get to see Mommy."
>
>Rather, the issue is the holding of 600+ various persons, some of whom are 
>very vaguely claimed to be "material witnesses."


Note too that many of the detained may not have lawyers.  Most of them are 
not being held on criminal charges.  They are held as material witnesses or 
on immigration holds.  I don't know if a material witness has a right to an 
attorney but immigration offenses are civil not criminal matters (in most 
cases) and thus the prisoners have to pay for their own lawyers which means 
that those who have no money have to find lawyers and convince them to work 
for free and to spend their own money chasing their clients around the 
country as they are moved.

DCF