This Is What a War Criminal Looks Like

Law prof takes 1-year gig at OC's Chapman U.

(NEWSER) - It can be hard to be a professor: publish or perish, sit on committees…dodge protesters? Just ask John Yoo, author of the memos that laid out and justified the harsh interrogation tactics used by the Bush administration. Yoo, a Berkeley law professor, has taken leave from his left-leaning professional home, where his presence is regularly protested, for the calmer Chapman University in Orange County, the LA Times reports. More»

Jose Padilla can't sue John Yoo, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules

(NEWSER) - Convicted terrorist Jose Padilla can't sue the Bush administration lawyer who helped craft the legal justification for torturing him—nor can any American citizen in the same predicament, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. Padilla, an American citizen dubbed an "enemy combatant" in 2002, has been trying to sue John Yoo, the UC Berkeley professor who wrote the infamous " torture memo " advising the Bush administration that it had broad powers in detaining and interrogating terrorists, the LA Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that their use came under the president's authority. More»

(NEWSER) - If ex-Justice Department hand John Yoo thought he could fade into obscurity after writing infamous memos justifying the government’s use of torture and warrantless wiretapping, he was wrong. An Australian comedian crashed his class at Chapman University School of Law in California last week, dressed up like a detainee from the Abu Ghraib photos, Wired reports. More»

But disbarring Yoo or impeaching Bybee is an uphill battle

(NEWSER) - The Justice Department has signaled it won't prosecute the Bush administration lawyers who approved interrogation tactics widely considered to be torture, but they may have trouble keeping their jobs. A forthcoming report from the DoJ will recommend possible disciplinary action by state bar associations for the Bush lawyers, sources tell the AP. Jay Bybee, currently an appeals court judge, is facing calls for his impeachment, while students and faculty at Berkeley, where John Yoo now teaches, want him fired and disbarred. More»