ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

Marty Lederman criticizes Administration arguments that they cannot reveal which interogation techniques are used on detainees.  This as new revelations emerge of the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo:

FBI agents documented more than two dozen incidents of possible mistreatment at the Guantanamo Bay military base, including one detainee whose head was wrapped in duct tape for chanting the Quran and another who pulled out his hair after hours in a sweltering room.

The reports describe a female guard who detainees said handled their genitals and wiped menstrual blood on their face. Another interrogator reportedly bragged to an FBI agent about dressing as a Catholic priest and "baptizing" a prisoner.

Some military officials and contractors told FBI agents that the interrogation techniques had been approved by the Defense Department, including directly by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Incoming members of the new House majority have annouced ethic reforms which they plan to pass within the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress.  The reforms include a ban on all gifts, including meals, from lobbyists to Members of Congress and their staff.

Dahlia Lithwick highlights the "10 most outrageous civil liberties violations of 2006."

Rachel Godsil profiles urban farming as an act of "environmental justice."

and finally, congratulations to Judge David Levi of the Eastern District of California, who will leave the bench to become Dean of the Duke Law School.