In New York, rounding up “the usual suspects” in terrorism cases nowadays may well refer to the defense lawyers.
Katya Jestin, a former prosecutor now in private practice. When asked why she had joined the defense of a Guantánamo detainee, she said, “For me it’s having just a deep belief in the legitimacy of our federal system and the rule of law.”
As Islamic terrorists from around the world are brought to Federal District Court in Manhattan or Brooklyn to face prosecution, an extraordinary outgrowth has been a deepening pool of lawyers qualified to represent them. It is a peculiar niche of defense work, requiring skills not always taught in law school.
These lawyers often must obtain government security clearances, and become adept at navigating the laws involving classified information and foreign intelligence searches. They often travel overseas to interview witnesses and a client’s family members. “Not only do you have the substantive law and the procedural law, but you have the whole cultural orientation,” said Anthony L. Ricco, who has represented a series of terrorism defendants over the past two decades. |