The War in Court - by Lisa Hajjar

About the Book

"In The War in Court, sociologist Lisa Hajjar traces the fight against U.S. torture policy by lawyers who brought the "war on terror" into courts. Their victories, though few and far between, forced the government to change the way prisoners were treated and focused attention on state crimes perpetrated in the shadows. If not for these lawyers, U.S. torture would have gone unchallenged; elected officials and the American public, with a few exceptions, did nothing to oppose it. This war in court has been fought to defend the principle that there is no legal right to torture. Told as a suspenseful, high-stakes story, The War in Court clearly outlines why challenges to the torture policy had to be waged on the legal terrain and why hundreds of lawyers joined the fight. Drawing on extensive interviews with key participants, her own experiences reporting from Guantâanamo, and her deep knowledge of international law and human rights, Hajjar reveals how the ongoing fight against torture has had transformative effects on the legal landscape in the United States and on a global scale"--

Book Synopsis

How hundreds of lawyers mobilized to challenge the illegal treatment of prisoners captured in the war on terror and helped force an end to the US government's most odious policies.

In The War in Court, sociologist Lisa Hajjar traces the fight against the US torture policy by lawyers who brought the "war on terror" into the courts. Their victories, though few and far between, forced the government to change the way prisoners were treated and focused attention on state crimes perpetrated in the shadows. If not for these lawyers and their allies, US torture would have gone unchallenged because elected officials and the American public, with a few exceptions, did nothing to oppose it. This war in court has been fought to defend the principle that there is no legal right to torture.

Told as a suspenseful, high-stakes story, The War in Court clearly outlines why challenges to the torture policy had to be waged on the legal terrain and why hundreds of lawyers joined the fight. Drawing on extensive interviews with key participants, her own experiences reporting from Guantánamo, and her deep knowledge of international law and human rights, Hajjar reveals how the ongoing fight against torture has had transformative effects on the legal landscape in the United States and on a global scale.

From the Back Cover

"If any words on a page can move the needle on torture in these squalid times, it is these. Read them. Heed them. Act."--Joseph Margulies, counsel for Abu Zubaydah, "The Forever Prisoner"

"In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, an American president did the inconceivable: he ordered the torture of prisoners of war. It was an unprecedented government assault on human rights, and the only institutions to fight against it were the federal courts. It is a vital story and in The War in Court Lisa Hajjar tells it with great authority and power. An essential book."--Mark Danner, author of Torture and Truth and Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War

"A tour-de-force portrait of war on terror defendants and their legal champions, Lisa Hajjar's The War in Court is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the consequences of torture after 9/11."--Karen J. Greenberg, author of Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

"In The War in Court, Lisa Hajjar tells the heroic story of the lawyers who have tried to force America to live up to its principles and follow the rule of law. This book is an invaluable record of how the US government's embrace of a policy of torture can fundamentally corrupt a nation."--Alex Gibney, Director, The Forever Prisoner

"In The War in Court, Lisa Hajjar creates a richly detailed narrative and historical record focused on the role of lawyers in challenging US torture, which will serve as an important resource for future scholars, students, and practitioners."--Jonathan Hafetz, author of Punishing Atrocities through a Fair Trial: International Criminal Law from Nuremberg to the Age of Global Terrorism

"The War in Court tells a gripping tale. Lisa Hajjar provides a front-row seat to the past twenty-one years of advocacy efforts to thwart the systematic use of torture by the US government. She shatters any liberal fantasies that uniquely evil partisans bear all the blame and demonstrates how the Global War on Terror was a continuation of US imperial tradition. There is no other book like this one."--Noura Erakat, author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine

Review Quotes

"The book helps to document and preserve the history of the anti-torture movement in the U.S., ensuring that future generations understand the legal and moral battles fought during this period."-- "Expofairs"

"The War in Court brings the dark story of U.S. torture in the "war on terror" to light, the utter bankruptcy of the endeavor from its origin, and the heroism of those who resisted."
-- "Against the Current: A Socialist Journal"

"Hajjar's masterful account of how the United States has descended into a pro-torture nation will benefit sociologists and historians for generations to come."-- "Social Forces"

"A riveting account of the legal challenges to the George W. Bush administration's torture policies, with a particularly insightful focus on the military commission proceedings at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. . . . Hajjar extracts some hope from what is often a dispiriting narrative."-- "Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books"

"A suspenseful, high-stakes story."-- "Law & Social Inquiry"

"Hajjar...revisits the subject of US torture of detainees after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Her focus is the group of lawyers who tried to use law, national and international, to stop and redress abusive US policies. . . . [S]he does an excellent job of systematically examining the political and legal dimensions of the subject, bringing everything up to date."-- "CHOICE"

About the Author

Lisa Hajjar is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, whose work focuses on the relationship between law and conflict. She is the author of Courting Conflict and Torture: A Sociology of Violence and Human Rights.