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Michael Ratner is the president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and author of Guantanamo: What the World Should Know. Michael has worked for decades, as a crusader for human rights both at home and abroad litigating many cases against international human rights violators resulting in millions of dollars in judgments for abuse victims and expanding the possibilities of international law. He acted as a principal counsel in the successful suit to close the camp for HIV-positive Haitian refugees on Guantanamo Base, Cuba. Over the years, he has litigated a dozen cases challenging a President’s authority to go to war, without congressional approval. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Center has focused its efforts on the constitutionality of indefinite detention and the restrictions on civil liberties as defined by the unfolding terms of a permanent war. Among his many honors are: Trial Lawyer of the Year from the Trial lawyers for Public Justice, The Columbia Law School Public Interest Law Foundation Award, and the North Star Community Frederick Douglass Award. |
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Heidi Boghosian is the executive director of the National Lawyers Guild, a progressive bar association established in 1937. She recently published The Assault on Free Speech, Public Assembly, and Dissent: A National Lawyers Guild Report on Government Violations of First Amendment Rights in the United States, (North River Press, 2004), and Applying Restraints to Private Police (forthcoming in Missouri Law Review, Spring 2005). “The Lynne Stewart Case and the Impact on Federal Government Spying on Attorneys” will appear in the New Centennial Review this spring. Her book reviews have been published in The Federal Lawyer Magazine and the New York Law Journal. She lives in New York City. |
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Michael Steven Smith is the author, editor, and co-editor of six books, mostly recently “The Emerging Police State,” by William M. Kunstler. He has testified before committees of the United States Congress and the United Nations on human rights issues. Mr. Smith lives and practices law in New York City with his wife Debby, where on behalf of seriously injured persons he sues insurance companies and occasionally the New York City Police Department. Michael Smith also organizes and chairs the Left Forum. |
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Dalia Hashad is Amnesty International’s Director of the USA Program focusing on Domestic Human Rights. She works on a wide variety of issues including the War on Terror, Prison Conditions and Police Misconduct. Previously, Dalia was an Attorney Advocate for the ACLU focusing on civil liberties and human rights abuses post-9/11. Dalia has also worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a human rights legal advisor. As chairperson for CALPIRG, California’s largest environmental and consumer watchdog group, Dalia tackled a number of issues including the weakening of environmental laws, hunger and homelessness, campaign finance reform, and cuts to federal financial aid. She has been a commentator on a wide variety of news outlets, including CNN, ABC News, Democracy Now, Good Morning America and BET. She is a frequent lecturer at law schools, universities, and within activist circles. Dalia’s work encompasses human rights advocacy and protection, the plight of detainees, community outreach and empowerment, and discrimination. |
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Geoff Brady is the producer of Law & Disorder. His radio documentary work include a look into digital voting machines. |
