Guantanamo/Detainees
Our Client: Osama bin Laden’s Ex-Driver—and the Rule of Law
Posted May 27, 2008, 09:01 am CST
By Martha Neil
A 2004 telephone call from a law professor and a military lawyer in 2004 led to a startling shift in practice for two Seattle business litigators at Perkins Coie.
Soon Harry Schneider, 54, and Joe McMillan, 48, were representing a terrorism suspect in an extremely high-profile case that has already led to one landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling. It is likely to break new legal ground when Salim Hamdan, formerly Osama bin Laden's driver, becomes the first Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspect to be tried in July, recounts the Post-Intelligencer.
Just meeting their client proved to be a challenge: On their first trip to Gitmo, which took several days, Hamdan refused to meet with them, the two were told. They found out later Hamdan hadn't been told that it was his lawyers who were seeking to visit him, the Seattle newspaper reports.
A subsequent effort, however, was successful. "He wanted to know why I wanted to represent him," recalls Schneider. "I told him his case was so important to our democratic system of government. The rule of law was hanging in the balance."
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Military Judge Delays Trial for Bin Laden Driver"
Miami Herald: "Guantánamo war court opens mini session"
Sydney Morning Herald: "Guantanamo defenders should hang their heads"
NPR (2006): "'Hamdan v. Rumsfeld': Path to a Landmark Ruling"