Author of '02 Memo on Torture: 'Gentle' Soul for a Harsh Topic

[Khephra]

The Bush administration is distancing itself from a memorandum prepared two years ago by a government lawyer asserting that the president's power to use torture to extract information from suspected terrorists is almost unlimited.

Before the recent controversy concerning his work, however, some of the officials who received the memorandum worked diligently to elevate the lawyer, Jay S. Bybee, to the federal bench. Nominated by President Bush in 2002 and confirmed by the Senate last year, he now sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Former colleagues say the judge, whose chambers are in Las Vegas, is a serious, soft-spoken, reflective man. They say it is difficult to reconcile his discussion of torture in clinical, dispassionate detail with his background. A former legal academic, Judge Bybee told Meridian, a Mormon magazine, last year that he hoped to be remembered for his probity.

"I would like my headstone to read, `He always tried to do the right thing,' " Judge Bybee said.

more.............

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/politics/24MEMO.html

[GoBlue]

1. He always tried to do the right thing

and sacrificed his gentle soul. What a fool.

[Edmond Dantes]

5. Maybe they should rename their church...

The Church of Latter Day Torturers.

Timothy E. Flanigan, Principal Deputy White House Counsel during BushCo's first couple of years, is also one of the enlightened Mormons. It's my understanding that he provided some of the legal justification for going to war in Iraq in the first instance.

Another gentle soul....

[ElectroPrincess]

6. Oh gosh, another milk - toast admission just like good ole'

New Republic. When did it become "unmanly" or "un-American" to take full responsibility and humble oneself before others. I told my friends, "Damn, why doesn't Clinton say yes, I did wrong and regret it from the beginning." My buds said, "Oh, no no no he can't tell the truth." BS, it's like our mother's told us as young children, "the truth is eventually revealed."

No one is taking any blame save for a few enlisted MP troops presently being court martialed. The Republicans also lie and claim that it was just "one wild and crazy night at Abu Graib."

What we need most in this Country is for people to have moral courage and tell the truth in the face of adversity. Our leaders seem to have sold out for money and power. Where is the integrity?

[Pachamama]

2. How would you like your case going in front of a judge that condones...

...torture?

:grr:

His headstone should read "He always tried to do the right thing when condoning torture"...

Mofo...

[Judi Lynn]

3. NY Times is out to get us! "'Gentle' Soul for a Harsh Topic," indeed!

Bybee, Bybee, Bybee... Where did our love go?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the day the U.S. Senate confirmed Jay S. Bybee’s nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the largest appellate court in the country, this new judge went home to celebrate in his usual unaffected way—by helping his kids with their homework and washing the dishes. This ability to balance priorities in his personal life is a reflection of the balance and perspective that Bybee brings to the law, which leads friends, colleagues and law school students to respect him for his fair-mindedness, scholarship, and decency.

Sworn in last March by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Bybee is a legal scholar who is rapidly becoming “one of the finest constitutional lawyers in America,” according to Judge Lloyd D. George of the U.S. District Court of Nevada. “No matter where you stand politically,” George said, “Jay is universally respected for his intellect, honesty, and ability to articulate the issues, plus he is not a compromiser of principles.”
(snip)

http://www.ldsmag.com/people/030708jay.html

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From: Federalist Society - Orange County Lawyers' Chapter
Location: The Sutton Place Hotel
4500 MacArthur Boulevard, Newport Beach, CA View Map
When: Tuesday, May 11, 6:30pm

The Federalist Society's Orange County Lawyers' Chapter is pleased to announce that Judge Jay S. Bybee of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will be joining us to speak on "Two Constitutions: Observations on the Constitution as Written and as Taught."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Judge Bybee:

In March 2003, the Senate confirmed President Bush’s nomination of Judge Jay S. Bybee to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. At the time of his nomination, Judge Bybee was serving as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to Judge Donald Russell of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He later worked as an attorney with the firm of Sidley & Austin in Washington, D.C., followed by a stint with the Justice Department, first in the office of legal policy and later on the appellate staff of the civil division. From 1989 to 1991 Judge Bybee served the President as Associate Counsel.

Judge Bybee was formerly law professor at both Louisiana State University and University of Nevada at Las Vegas where he taught constitutional law, administrative law, and civil procedure. His articles have been published in many journals, including “The Yale Law Journal,” “Vanderbilt Law Review,” “Northwestern University Law Review,” and “The George Washington University Law Review.”
(snip)

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=VVWWBDMMAFTNZIPFXYZP&inviteId=OYXDQGREIFWEGVMCJWOP&showPreview=false&x=446159553

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NCJW Opposes Nomination of Jay S. Bybee to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

February 26, 2003, Washington, DC – The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has announced its opposition to the nomination of Jay S. Bybee to the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. NCJW President Marsha Atkind has released the following statement:

"Jay S. Bybee’s views are far outside the mainstream of legal thought and threaten our fundamental constitutional rights. If his theories were to prevail in our courts, Americans would lose vital protections, including our First Amendment rights, the right to privacy, and reproductive freedom.

"In his writings, Mr. Bybee elevates the role of the states above all – not only above the federal government but the people themselves. He favors repeal of the 17th Amendment that took election of US senators away from state legislatures and gave it to the voters. He does not believe the First Amendment protects individuals’ free exercise of religion, but only bars Congress from interfering with the states’ regulation of religion. He contends Congress has no power to enforce the First Amendment’s guarantees, including freedom of religion, through legislation.

"Bybee has also argued that congressional restrictions on federal aid to the states are unconstitutional because they are coercive, a view that would invalidate dozens of congressional mandates protecting civil rights. He argues that Bob Jones University should not have had to give up its tax-exempt status because of its discriminatory policies, calling the government’s policy in that case "capricious."

"In another civil rights arena, Bybee has argued that antidiscrimination laws to protect gays and lesbians confers “favored status” rather than equal rights, and he once argued that gay and lesbians should be barred as defense contractors because they are "emotionally unstable."

"If Jay Bybee’s approach to federalism became law, the federal government could not enforce the right to privacy that is the bedrock of reproductive rights and the right to abortion. His nomination is one in series intended to pack the court with judges sympathetic to an ideological agenda that includes overturning Roe v. Wade, and NCJW opposes his confirmation."
(snip)

http://www.benchmarkcampaign.org/php/pressReleasesContent.php?release=25


Oh, Bybee!

[struggle4progress]

4. Perhaps the Administration does want to release other memos ...

... because they could affect other appointments?

[Citizen Daryl]

7. Hitler shielded himself from his own atrocities as well ...

... preferring to travel through Germany with his railcar windows blackened.

[mom cat]

8. link to the full text... Its scary

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/061104C.shtml