The BBA signed onto an amicus brief drafted by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in Bismullah v. Gates, a case pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit. The amicus brief was filed on behalf of a group of detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, seeking a protective order governing proceedings against Respondent Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates in order reasonably to protect access to classified information while addressing communications between the detainees and their counsel. The brief argues that legal representation is impaired if lawyers are not able to visit their clients as they find necessary to obtain the information they need and to consult with and inform their clients, as well as to establish the trust necessary to effective representation.
