| Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror - A Public Defender's Inside Account | 
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Sales Rank: 90056
Category: Book
Author: Steven T. Wax
Publisher: Other Press
Studio: Other Press
Manufacturer: Other Press
Label: Other Press
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 380
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 1590512952
Dewey Decimal Number: 345.73056
EAN: 9781590512951
ASIN: 1590512952
Publication Date: June 3, 2008
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
?OUR GOVERNMENT CAN MAKE YOU DISAPPEAR.?
Those were words Steven T. Wax never imagined he would hear himself say. In his thirty-four years as a lawyer, Wax didn?t have to warn a client that he or she might be taken away to a military brig, or worse, a ?black site,? one of our country?s dreaded secret prisons. So how had we come to this? The disappearance of people happens in places ruled by tyrants, military juntas, fascist strongmen?governments with such contempt for the rule of law that they strip their citizens of all rights. But in America?
Under the Bush administration, not only have the civil rights of foreigners been in jeopardy, but also those of U.S. citizens. In Kafka Comes to America, Wax interweaves the stories of two men he represented who were caught up in our government?s post-9/11 counterterrorism measures. Brandon Mayfield, an American-born, small-town lawyer and family man, was arrested as a terrorist suspect in the Madrid train station bombings after a fingerprint was mistakenly traced back to him by the FBI. Adel Hamad, a Sudanese hospital administrator working in Pakistan, was taken from his apartment and flown in chains to the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for no substantiated reason. Kafka Comes to America reveals where and how our civil liberties have been eroded in favor of a false security, and how each of us can make a difference. If these events could happen to Brandon Mayfield and Adel Hamad, they could happen to anyone. They could happen to you.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 A Wakeup Call! September 4, 2008
Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror - A Public Defender's Inside Account
A chilling reminder of what happens when we play loose with the Constitution and people's rights. Yes, even in America!
Importance of Due Process August 19, 2008
Kafka Comes To America: Fighting For Justice In The War On Terror is lawyer and author Steven T. Wax's story as to how he succeeded in freeing two unfortunate individuals, an American lawyer Brandon Mayfield and Adel Hamad, a Sudanese hospital administrator working in Pakistan. Both were falsely accused in the war on terror and both were caught up in the U.S. government's post-9/11 counter-terrorism measures. These measures, as declared by the Attorney General of the USA, was that citizens would now be stripped of their rights of due process, there would be no grand juries, no entitlement to a defence attorney, and the rule of law was to be chucked aside based solely on the word of the President of the USA.
Mayfield and Hamad were sent to Guantanamo where they were interrogated and prevented from receiving proper legal counsel and representation. In the case of Mayfield, he was suspected of being involved with the Madrid train bombing. Apparently, the Spanish version of the investigation pointed to the lifting of a fingerprint labelled "latent print #17" from a bag of unexploded detonators that was discovered in a van. The Spaniards requested assistance through Interpol wherein the FBI intervened and they were one hundred percent certain that the fingerprint was that of Mayfield. However, as the story unfolds, we are informed that the Spaniards were not convinced of this positive identification and they had informed the FBI of their uneasiness in accepting these findings. In addition, Mayfield was the subject of racial profiling as his warrant mentioned that he was a Muslim and that one of his client's, whom he represented, was a "bad guy," who was also a Muslim. Both of which had nothing to do with anything other than denouncing someone due to his religion and denying representation to an alleged criminal who is rightfully entitled to a defence attorney.
Hamad was arrested by Pakistani security police and taken from his apartment in Peshawar Pakistan at 1:30 in the morning in July of 2002. Hamad had left his native Sudan in 1986 for Pakistan where he was employed by an international Kuwaiti charity that operated camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan for refugees of the Afghan war with the Soviets. Eventually, Hamad left this job and took on employment with a Saudi-funded charity in Pakistan, the World Assembly for Muslim Youth (WAMY). Over the years he would return to Sudan for brief stays with his wife and children. His arrest and subsequent transfer to the Americans was all in collaboration with the US government that believed that Hamad was involved with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, although there was never any concrete evidence to prove these allegations.
Wax is the Federal Public Defender for the District of Oregon and executive abuse of powers has always interested him particularly, as he states, when the police can stop us on the street, enter our homes, intercept our telephone calls or e-mails, or monitor our Internet use. Although there are "bad guys" around whom we need to incarcerate, we still must be vigilant in the protection of our freedom and civil rights. Wax has spent over the last six years fighting against the abuse and the US government's assault on civil liberties and the corrosive effect of fear.
When Wax volunteered to participate in the Guantanamo cases, he had no idea if the clients assigned to his office would be terrorists or innocents. However, he did know that the rule of law was under siege and that the battle to defend the rule of law was of utmost importance.
Initially Wax was not all that familiar with habeas corpus litigation and he was required to brush up on this extremely important aspect of the American legal system. For those don't know what Habeas Corpus means, it is simply "bring the body forward" and is a fundamental part of Anglo and American law. As Wax mentions and as stated by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, it is the most powerful tool in Anglo-American law for guarding against executive abuse, "allowing our independent judiciary to act as a critical check on the Executive, ensuring that it does not detail individuals except in accordance with the law."
Unfortunately, daily news reports very rarely portray the injustices that have been committed at Guantanamo. This is not to say that there are some really appalling individuals that are imprisoned, however, on the other hand there are the innocent that are entitled to their day in court. What Wax does with this book is meticulously delve into the details of the abuses, presenting thoughtful insights into the shortcomings that must be addressed. He presents a great deal of information in a clear and concise manner, although at times he is prone to occasional bouts of too much legalese. Probably the best part of Wax's story is his objectivity in showing why and how abuse of executive power poses a danger to all of us. As he asserts, "do we need to give up freedom to maintain our security?"
Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures
worth knowing August 5, 2008
I was particularly interested in finding all the details about a fingerprint which seemed to link an Oregon lawyer who did not speak Spanish to the March 11 train bombings in Madrid. The government presents a major challenge to the nature of American society, and the slow pace which it often chooses to deal with matters on which others think "look again" means actually considering facts but the FBI thinks it has a major significance as casting doubt upon previously arrived at conclusions is more than stunning.
Jurisdictional questions might be of interest to lawyers, but by the end of the book it seems obvious that the real interest has been in any form of delay. YouTube news videos rock when real people get to explain how someone doing a legitimate job in a foreign country ended up in Gitmo. The author makes a few errors, but he has a grasp of the significance of the work that is being done by lawyers who actually believe in preserving a particular kind of society. I like the effort better than all the people who wonder why I am still running around loose after all these years of causing trouble for people who don't like being looked at.
 Kafka Comes to America August 3, 2008
It's good to know that there are honorable people who will stand up to an out of control administration.
Wonderful, Compelling Book July 29, 2008
Mr. Wax's book describes the best (the skill and dedication of the Federal Public Defenders Office) and the worst (treatment of individuals caught up in the post 9/11 web) of our govenment's actions during the "war on terror." This book is wonderfully written; I could not put in down until I finished it - not the stuffy rhetoric one would expect from a lawyer! As engrossing as a spy-thriller, but infimitely more chilling given the subject matter. It provides essential insights into the erosion of our constitutional rights since 9/11.
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