More U.S. Torture Memos Released

U.S. Torture Technique Number 9 - Insects Placed in a Confinement Box

From ACLU:

The Bush Administration's Secret Legal Memos

On April 16, 2009, the Department of Justice released four secret memos used by the Bush administration to justify torture:

	A 18-page memo, dated August 1, 2002, from Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, OLC, to John A. Rizzo, General Counsel CIA. [PDF]
	A 46-page memo, dated May 10, 2005, from Steven Bradbury, Acting Assistant Attorney General, OLC, to John A. Rizzo, General Counsel CIA. [PDF]
	A 20-page memo, dated May 10, 2005, from Steven Bradbury, Acting Assistant Attorney General, OLC, to John A. Rizzo, General Counsel CIA. [PDF]
	A 40-page memo, dated May 30, 2005, from Steven Bradbury, Acting Assistant Attorney General, OLC, to John A. Rizzo, General Counsel CIA. [PDF]

Demand Accountability for Torture! >>

For more than five years, the ACLU and other advocacy organizations have been seeking the release of Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos that supplied the basis for the Bush administration's interrogation, detention, rendition, and warrantless surveillance policies.

The OLC, which is a component of the Justice Department, was created to provide objective legal advice to the Attorney General and to resolve legal disputes among federal agencies. During the Bush administration, however, the OLC became a facilitator for illegal government conduct, issuing dozens of memos meant to permit gross violations of domestic and international law. Some of these memos have become public through leaks to the media and through the ACLU's litigation under the Freedom of Information Act. But most of them are still secret.

The Obama administration should release the still-secret memos...

Glenn Greenwald has quickly zeroed in on this passage from the August 1, 2002 Bybee memorandum that illustrates the truly gruesome and abhorent tenor of these memos:

These ten techniques are: (1) attention grasp, (2) walling, (3) facial hold, (4) facial slap, (5) cramped confinement, (6) wall standing, (7) stress positions, (8) sleep deprivation, (9) insects placed in confinement box, (10) the waterboard. You have informed us that the use of these techniques would be on an as-needed basis and that not all these techniques will necessarily be used. The interrogation team would use these techniques in some combination to convince Zubaydah that the only way he can influence his surrounding environment is through cooperation.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder comments on the Obama administration's decision to release redacted versions of these memos:

In sum: he's decided to redact the identities of the CIA officers who conducted the interrogations, but everything else will be released without censorship. The full statement is after the jump; here's the part that reflects, I think, what Obama really thinks:

This is a time for reflection, not retribution. I respect the strong views and emotions that these issues evoke. We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Our national greatness is embedded in America's ability to right its course in concert with our core values, and to move forward with confidence. That is why we must resist the forces that divide us, and instead come together on behalf of our common future.

Frankly, with prosecutions likely pending against the "Bush Six" in Spain, it is readily apparent that the pursuit of accountability no longer remains in America's exclusive domain - whether the U.S. likes it or not.

Rather, the "accountability issue" appears headed for a global showdown, with America's credibility and international prestige squarely on the line.

If history teaches us anything, it is that the unvarnished truth will inevitably emerge in matters such as these.

President Obama cannot - nor should he attempt to - stand in the way, lest he too be judged by history as a willing accessory-after-the-fact to the embarrassing and unlawful and practices of his predecessor's administration.

The President's half-cocked apologetics on "reflection, not retribution" have the scent of a trial balloon aimed at testing just how much cover-up America - and the world - may be prepared to swallow.

My guess - not much more, at all.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Update on Alaina Templeton, Pet Pig With A Surname

When we first wrote about poor Alaina Templeton in a November 2007 article, Pig-Sitter Faces Charges for Fattening the Hog, we left off with this cliffhanger:

Misdemeanor charges against the sitter were indeed laid, and are pending.

So, now it will be up to the Minnesota courts to decide.

Will Alaina Templeton, a pig with a surname, receive the justice she so richly deserves?

Will this pig tale end with Alaina's pig-sitter in the pen...?

That's pen...

As in penitentiary.

The verdict, and some sad news, is now in, courtesy of Minneapolis TV station WCCO.com:

A Minnesota pet sitter accused of abuse for allowing a potbellied pig to triple its weight has received a year probation and must repay veterinary bills that could exceed $1,000.

Fifty-three-year-old Mary Beesecker of Houston entered an Alford plea Monday to one count of animal cruelty, meaning she admits no wrongdoing but acknowledges she'd likely be convicted.

Beesecker was taking care of the pig, Alaina Templeton, in 2007 when it gained so much weight its collar got embedded in its neck.

Alaina's owner, Michelle Schmitz, said she thought the sentence was light, but is glad the case is over.

Beesecker maintained Monday she took good care of Alaina.

Alaina's story made headlines and was the subject of a joke on "Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update."

The 6-year-old pig died last November of unknown causes.

H/T: Greenwich Diva

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Same Sex Marriage Momentum: Legislation in New York, Maine

AmericaBlog's Joe Sudbury updates on  legislative initiatives on gay marriage now pending in Maine and New York State:

Okay, Vermont is done. Iowa is done. The New Hampshire House passed a marriage bill in March, but may get "tangled up" in the NH Senate.

Up next, New York and Maine.

Towleroad reports that New York Governor Paterson will introduce his marriage bill on Thursday:

Paterson said in radio interviews last Thursday that he wants public debate on the issue: "I’m going to put the bill out and just let people fight it out. If it loses, it loses. And let the parties on both sides have their say. Inevitably, the inertia is that the public will accept this."

Maine's bill, LD 1020, has over 60 co-sponsors. The hearing on the bill will be held on April 22nd. It won't be at the State House. No, because of the expected crowds, the hearing will be held at the Augusta Civic Center. The right-wingers are apoplectic in Maine. I hear they're doing lots of direct mail and even planning robo-calls. Our side is running an aggressive field operation. This is going to be a battle.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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"Bush Six" Likely to Face Torture Charges in Spain

Lawyer and Harpers columnist Scott Horton provides an update:

Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo, several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast.

According to Mr. Horton, in addition to charges against Mr. Gonzales, indictments will be also be sought against John Yoo, David Addington, Jay Bybee, William J. Haynes II and Douglas J. Feith on "charges that they conspired to introduce a regime of torture that resulted in the torture of five Spaniards held at Gitmo."

The six defendants—in addition to Gonzales, Federal Appeals Court Judge and former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, University of California law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. Haynes II, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff David Addington, and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith—are accused of having given the green light to the torture and mistreatment of prisoners held in U.S. detention in “the war on terror.” 

CNN also addresses these developments in the video below:

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Actuaries Oppose Bill 133

I'm late in posting this, but in view of recent legislative progress of Bill 133, I wanted to share the following letter to Ontario Attorney General, Chris Bentley, from James Jeffery and Kelly McKeating, two London, Ontario actuaries who regularly provide pension valuations in Family Law proceedings.

In their correspondence, they set out their concerns regarding changes in the way Ontario pensions are to be valued and divided pursuant to proposed amendments to Ontario's Family Law Act, as set out in Bill 133.

December 1, 2008

The Honourable Chris Bentley

Attorney General of Ontario

11th Floor, 720 Bay Street

TORONTO, Ontario, M5G 2K1 

Dear Sir:

      RE: ONTARIO BILL 133 - PENSION VALUATION AND DIVISION

                 FOR PURPOSES OF THE FAMILY LAW ACT       

 The pension aspects of Ontario Bill 133 provide for a lump-sum release of value from Ontario regulated defined benefit pension plans. This offers welcome relief from the problematic "if-and-when" divisions that are often the only at-source division solution permissible under current rules.

 On the other hand, the proposed new valuation rules will have very serious unintended consequences. Depending on the particulars of the regulations, the consequences will be either unacceptably unfair to the non-member spouse to the profit of the plan member and/or the plan, or they will impose unintended damage to the interests of the plan member and/or the plan itself.

 We are sure you will agree that the latter would be extremely unfortunate at a time when our pension system is in crisis. Moreover, the intended simplification and cost savings are unlikely to be realized. These points are explored more fully in the attached analysis, which we respectfully invite you to carefully consider.

 For very good reasons, the concept of fixed formula valuation rules administered by pension plans was rejected by both the Ontario Law Reform Commission report tabled in 1995, and the Law Commission of Ontario's report tabled in September, 2008.

 Accordingly, we strongly urge that the portions of Bill 133 which relate to permissible at-source division go forward after careful consideration of the details. The valuation aspects should be dropped or deferred pending a fully informed, balanced review.

Yours very truly,

Dilkes, Jeffery & Associates, Inc.

JAMES E. JEFFERY, FSA, FCIA        KELLEY McKEATING, FSA, FCIA

Actuary                                             Consulting Actuary

Bill 133 was ordered for Third Reading on April 7, 2009.

The current version of Bill 133, as amended by the Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on Social Policy, is now online.

The new treatment of pensions pursuant to amended Bill 133 is summarized in the amendments as follows:

Under a new section 10.1 of the Act, the net family law value -the imputed value, for family law purposes of a spouse’s interest in a pension plan is to be determined in accordance with the Pension Benefits Act. The section also restricts the court’s power to make orders requiring the division of the interest in a pension plan in connection with the equalization of the spouses’ net family property. An order may provide for the immediate transfer of a lump sum out of the pension plan but, with one exception, cannot provide for any other division of the spouse’s interest in the plan. The exception applies if the spouse has begun to receive a pension under the plan on or before the valuation date. In that case, an order may only provide for the division of the pension payments. Additional restrictions that apply to the division of the interest in the pension plan are also described.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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The Ultimate Website List for Ontario Legal Assistants

Ontario's legal assistants have the benefit today of a wealth of online information and resources that can make our lives (or at least our jobs) considerably easier.

Here is my partial list of the key websites no litigation assistant in Ontario can afford to live without:

ü   Ontario Court Forms :

 http://www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca/english/

ü   Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/regu/rro-1990-reg-194/latest/rro-1990-reg-194.html

ü   Ontario Statutes and Regulations

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/index.html

ü   Court Addresses and Phone Numbers

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/cadaddr.asp

 ü   Court Fees – (Located at the bottom, left hand side of the Web page)

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/

ü    A Guide to Procedures in Family Court

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/guides/fc/

ü   Ontario Judges: a complete listing of Judges at the various Ontario Courts.  Don't overlook the search functions)

http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/ocj/en/judges/

ü   Post Judgment and Pre-Judgment Interest Rates

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/interestrates.asp

ü   Self Organization:

http://www.30boxes.com/welcome.php

ü   GST Calculator     

http://www.gtaproperties.com/gstcalculator.asp

More to come...

- Rachel Spence, Toronto

Rachel O. Spence is a legal assistant with Wise Law Office and a new contributor to Wise Law Blog.

......

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B.C. Court: Facebook Usage Logs Must Be Disclosed by Personal Injury Claimant

A March 5, 2009 British Columbia decision has greatly expanded the scope and nature of Facebook usage information that Plaintiffs in personal injury claims may be required to disclose.

In Bishop v. Minichiello,  the B.C. Supreme Court has ordered production of computer logs from a Plaintiff's hard drive that will purportedly reveal details as to the wee hours Facebook habits of the injured Plaintiff.  

B.C. personal injury lawyer, Erik Magraken, reported on the Court's ruling at ICBC Law Blog:

Reasons for judgement were released today by the BC Supreme Court (Bishop v. Minichiello) dealing with this issue.  In today’s case the Plaintiff allegedly suffered a brain injury as a result of the negligence of the defendants.  The Defendants wished to analyze the Plaintiff’s computer hard drive to ‘determine the period of time the plaintiff spends on Facebook between eleven at night and five in the morning‘.  The Plaintiff refused to produce his computer hard-drive and this resulted in a Court motion seeking an order compelling the Plaintiff to do so.

Mr. Justice Melnick granted the motion and ordered that ‘the parties agree on an independent expert to review the hard drive …to isolate and produce to counsel…the information sought or a report saying that the information sought is not retrievable.’.

In his reasons, Mr. Justice Melnick considered the Plaintiff's legitimate privacy interests, the fairlyly narrow scope of the disclosure requested, and the relevance of the information that would be revealed by granting the order requested:

[55]            It is true the Bishop family computer is more akin to a filing cabinet than a document; however, it is a filing cabinet from which the plaintiff is obligated to produce relevant documents.  This sentiment was approved in Chadwick.  Simply because the hard drive contains irrelevant information to the lawsuit does not alter a plaintiff’s duty to disclose that which is relevant.  If there are relevant documents in existence they should be listed and produced (or simply listed if they are privileged). 

;56]         ...The plaintiff advised Dr. Zoffman that his sleep varies with the time one of his friends goes to bed.  This is because he spends a substantial amount of time on Facebook chatting with this friend.  The plaintiff alleges that ongoing fatigue is preventing him from maintaining employment and thus his late-night computer usage is relevant to matters at issue in this lawsuit.

...[57]            The information sought by the defence in this case may have significant probative value in relation to the plaintiff’s past and future wage loss, and the value of production is not outweighed by competing interests such as confidentiality and the time and expense required for the party to produce the documents.  Additionally, privacy concerns are not at issue because the order sought is so narrow that it does not have the potential to unnecessarily delve into private aspects of the plaintiff’s life.  In saying that, I recognize the concern of the plaintiff that to isolate the information the defence does seek, its expert may well have consequent access to irrelevant information or that over which other family members may claim privilege.  For that reason, I direct that the parties agree on an independent expert to review the hard drive of the plaintiff’s family computer and isolate and produce to counsel for the defendant and counsel for the plaintiff the information sought or a report saying that the information sought is not retrievable, in whole or in part, if that is the case.  I grant liberty to apply if counsel cannot agree on such an independent expert or if other terms of this order cannot be agreed. 

The Bishop decision should be considered together with February's Ontario Superior Court ruling in Leduc v. Roman, in which disclosure of a Plaintiff's non-public Facebook content was similarly ordered.  

The Ontario Court found in Leduc that it was "reasonable to infer that his social networking site likely contains some content relevant to the issue of how Mr. Leduc has been able to lead his life since the accident.”

As we noted last month in Facebook, Disclosure, Leduc and Ontario Employment Law, online postings at social media sites may well now be fair game for disclosure in Ontario civil litigation. 

With the B.C. ruling in Bishop, it is clear that the Facebook disclosure trend in becoming a national one.

Importantly, Bishop has extended the potential scope of social media disclosure that may be required beyond mere content to include production and discovery of metadata and user logs where that information may be directly relevant to factual matters that are raised in the litigation. 

In other words, in terms of potential disclosure by Plaintiffs, it no longer is just about what their Facebook and similar pages say - now, it might also be about when and how they use these sites.

The broader question, still unconsidered, is whether this ever-increasing potential for forensic examination of  Plaintiffs' personal computers and computing histories in civil court actions may have a chilling effect on the willingness of some individuals to assert their entitlements in Canada's courts, at all?

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Audio: Caller Confronts Limbaugh on Torture

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Video: Twitter Takedown

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Starbucks Sidewalk Cookie Flap

Say it ain't so...

"I'm getting my hot chocolate from now on at the Second Cup," said Katie with a smile.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Iowa Appeal Court Overturns State Same Sex Marriage Ban

From Talk Left:

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled a ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.

The Iowa Supreme Court says the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making it the third state where gay marriage is legal.

In a unanimous ruling issued Friday, the court upheld a 2007 Polk County District Court judge's ruling that the law violated the state constitution.

How Appealing has more, including this link to the decision (pdf).

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Investigator's Affidavit Alleges Wider Madoff Web

From an affidavit filed  by securities investigator, Edward H. Seidle, in a Connecticut court proceeding that froze Madoff associates' accounts:

"It is my opinion ... that [the funds and their principals] were all aware that Bernard L. Madoff was engaging in illegal conduct in connection with his purported money management operations and intentionally chose to participate and support Madoff's illegal conduct in order to reap enormous illicit financial benefits," he stated.

(Via CNN)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Scared Twittless?

U.S. law librarians, that is...

Robert Ambrogi explains:

The folks at Law Librarian Blog wondered whether law librarians use Twitter. So they took a poll. The outcome: Most law librarians do not use Twitter for library-related purposes and have no plans to tweet anytime soon.

I'm guessing their Canadian contemporaries are more tweet-inclined.

Myself...  I still just don't get it.

..........

And in related news (April Fool's warning): Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink

• Newspaper to be available only on messaging service 
• Experts say any story can be told in 140 character

Consolidating its position at the cutting edge of new media technology,the Guardian today announces that it will become the first newspaper in the world to be published exclusively via Twitter, the sensationally popular social networking service that has transformed online communication.

....A mammoth project is also under way to rewrite the whole of the newspaper's archive, stretching back to 1821, in the form of tweets. Major stories already completed include "1832 Reform Act gives voting rights to one in five adult males yay!!!"; "OMG Hitler invades Poland, allies declare war see tinyurl.com/b5x6e for more..." 

...Sceptics have expressed concerns that 140 characters may be insufficient to capture the full breadth of meaningful human activity, but social media experts say the spread of Twitter encourages brevity, and that it ought to be possible to convey the gist of any message in a tweet.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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U.K. Survey on Lawyer Trustworthiness

The news isn't all bad, but then again, it isn't so good, either:

Lawyers can draw some comfort from a survey this week showing that they are not quite the figures of mistrust or contempt that mythology would suggest.

The survey on trust in the professions found — no surprise here — that bankers are held in as low public esteem as estate agents and politicians, with journalists only marginally better regarded. But while these four were the least trusted, lawyers were more highly rated than any of them.

All of which will be good news for the Bar Standards Board, which commissioned the survey and presumably hoped for just such findings to boost the profession’s morale when many are feeling the impact of legal aid cuts.

While only 3 per cent of the 2,000 adults polled trusted journalists, 2 per cent bankers and 1 per cent estate agents and politicians, 24 per cent trusted lawyers.

Yet a sizeable 57 per cent polled do not trust any of those professions. Ruth Deech, chairman of the Bar Standards Board, said: “Lack of public trust in the professions is clearly a substantial issue. While legal professionals do not fare too badly, their net trust rating of 24 per cent is at best underwhelming.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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