In article <9ck4i0dp111p33pnkmo5buo8h3vgp33tee@4ax.com>,
Obwon <ob110ob@att.net> wrote:

Challenge to Be Filed to Military's 'Stop-Loss' Orders
Jeff Chorney
The Recorder
08-17-2004


Civil rights attorneys plan to open another front
against the war in Iraq today with a federal lawsuit
targeting Pentagon orders forcing military reservists
to remain on active duty.

The so-called "stop-loss" orders have kept people in
the military beyond the end-dates of their enlistments
since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

But lawyer Michael Sorgen, who runs a small San
Francisco firm, plans to challenge the stop-loss orders
as "arbitrary, unfair and unauthorized by law,"
according to a press release sent out by his office.

A member of Sorgen's legal team, Joshua Sondheimer,
said he expects the suit will be filed in U.S. district
court today before a 1 p.m. press conference.

The suit will be filed on behalf of an Army recruit who
served nine years on active duty, most recently in
Iraq. The recruit, whom Sorgen does not name in order
to protect his privacy, is a reservist in the
California National Guard, according to the release.

Although the plaintiff only signed up for one year, the
stop-loss could force him "to return to Iraq for up to
two years, and possible continued military service
beyond that time," according to the release. Critics
have dubbed the stop-loss orders as a "backdoor draft."

Sondheimer and Sorgen declined to answer further
questions about the suit Monday.

The suit would apparently be the first court challenge
to the stop-loss orders, which have affected more
troops of late. The most recent order came in June and
could affect up to 80,000 soldiers, said Army
spokeswoman Martha Rudd.

She had no comment about the pending suit, nor did the
Department of Justice, which will likely end up
defending the Pentagon.

Sorgen is working on the stop-loss case with lawyers on
the National Lawyers Guild's Military Law Task Force.

"We are asking the federal court to uphold their lawful
rights and not allow the Army to create a new category
of indentured servitude," said Marguerite Hiken,
co-chair of the task force, according to the release.

Sorgen has done civil rights work, especially
advocating on behalf of children, in the San Francisco
Bay Area for decades. He's also taught at several law
schools and served as general counsel at the Oakland
Unified School District from 1976 to 1980.

"This lawsuit seeks to stop the forced retention of men
and women like [the plaintiff] who have already
fulfilled their service obligations to the country.
Their enlistments should have ended, and they should
now be entitled to return to their families," said
Sorgen, who is also quoted in the release.

In other litigation stemming from the Bush
administration's war on terror, lawyers have challenged
anthrax vaccinations in the military and helped
soldiers try to avoid combat by becoming conscientious
objectors.

"If I can not dance, I want no part in your revolution." Emma Goldman