NEWARK, NJ – Mark Denbeaux, professor of law at Seton Hall University School of Law, and Christa Boyd-Nafstad, who will be receiving her J.D. degree from Seton Hall Law on May 25, have had their article “The Attorney-Client Relationship in Guantánamo Bay” accepted for publication in the upcoming issue of the Fordham International Law Journal.

The article details how attorneys representing clients in Guantánamo are at the heart of “cause lawyering,” similar to the civil rights attorneys of the 1960s, as they seek to advance a cause, create a dialogue and spark change, but with one critical difference. As a result of government regulations, cultural differences and a resulting inequality in the attorney and client relationship, lawyers representing detainees in Guantánamo find themselves limited in their ability to adequately represent those clients.

“The relationship between the attorney and the client in Guantánamo Bay is severely limited in two major respects,” says Boyd-Nafstad, of Tom Bean, TX. “First government regulations hinder the flow of information between the attorney and the client, and second the client has little, or no, knowledge of the U.S. legal system, making it difficult for the client to trust and realize the role of the attorney.”

Boyd-Nafstad also edited the second of Seton Hall Law’s “Guantánamo Reports” in preparation for Denbeaux’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in April.

 

The only private law school in New Jersey, Seton Hall University School of Law was founded in 1951, and is located in the city of Newark. Seton Hall Law School offers both day and evening programs leading to the Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.) and Master of Science in Jurisprudence (M.S.J.) degrees. For more information on Seton Hall Law School, visit law.shu.edu.