"Dear [President of the Association]:

I am attaching my memorandum on the The Legal and Ethical Implications of the Torture Opinion of Jay S. Bybee . Bybee's opinion is the illicit genesis of the policy and practice of torture by our Government for the first time in our history. That the lawyer who delivered the opinion was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals six months later, and still sits on that Court, is a national disgrace. The memorandum calls for his resignation.

I am a member of the New York Bar, and I write to you, as President of the [.....] Bar Association, to ask that the Association, or you, as its President, or one or more of its Committees, publicly subscribe to the conclusion that Jay S. Bybee has violated the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (it seems indisputable that he has) and thus should resign from the Bench, or be subject to public censure, or both.

The Association, and lawyers in general, can no longer remain silent on a question that is so vital to the integrity of our profession and to the rule of law in our society. The practice of torture began with us, the lawyers, and we must answer for it.

Sincerely,
Gerald Shea