by TChris

Criminal defense lawyers know that their clients are often unpopular, but that doesn’t matter: the point is to assure that the government treats them fairly and that their rights are protected. Even if the client is Saddam Hussein, who at this point hasn’t met his legal team.

[Muhammad] Rashdan, captain of the defense team, positioned himself as Mr. Hussein's main counsel last December when he formed a committee to represent the former dictator two days after he was found in a spider hole near Tikrit. He said Mr. Hussein's wife, Sajida, who herself has gone underground, gave him power of attorney. The lawyers are now petitioning the tribunal to meet with Mr. Hussein, but they have not heard back yet.

Hussein’s defense team intends to argue that he’s immune from prosecution in Iraq because he was acting as the head of state at the time his actions were taken. It will also contend that the special tribunal established by the occupation authority has no authority to act because there was no legal basis for the invasion of Iraq. But first Hussein has to agree to be represented by them, and then they face “a more bureaucratic problem."

The Iraqi lawyers' union is lobbying to bar foreign lawyers from appearing before the special tribunal. Mr. Rashdan said he was trying to work out a compromise in which his group teams up with local lawyers. The trial is not expected to start for several months.